ZoneAlarm Reviews

Program control is of little use if a Trojan or other malware can gain access via a trusted program. ZoneAlarm is quite good at detecting sneaky techniques that try to work around normal program control.
Antivirus Lab Results
Checking the independent labs for ZoneAlarm results is a bit confusing. Virus Bulletin is the only lab that regularly tests ZoneAlarm. Even then, over the past four years ZoneAlarm has participated in just five VB100 tests and passed four of them.
Why this lack of love? Because the antivirus component in ZoneAlarm is licensed from another well-known security company, so most of the labs simply test the original. Check Point officially does not identify its antivirus partner, but you will find dozens of DLLs and other support files whose digital signature, copyright notice, and internal company name point to Kaspersky Lab. Coincidence? You decide.

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

The World’s most downloaded firewall software

• Free protection against hackers and spyware
• Effective and quiet security that won’t slow you down
• Easy for anyone with new quick install and simple interface

Two-Way Firewall Makes your PC invisible to hackers and stops spyware from sending your data out to the Internet.
ZoneAlarm Security Toolbar Provides site check, private browsing, convenient search and more.
Advanced Download Protection Analyzes downloads and warns you if a download is malicious-stopping it from infecting your PC.
Advanced Firewall Monitors programs for suspicious behavior spotting and stopping new attacks that bypass traditional anti-virus protection.

Short ZoneAlarm Review

Comodo Firewall Reviews

Comodo Firewall's program control is overshadowed by its Defense+ module, a kind of behavior-based malware detection that I'll describe in detail later in this article. Defense+ proved effective against leak tests, programs that attempt to connect to the Internet behind the firewall's back. I consider a product successful if it detects the attempt, since the whole purpose of leak test techniques is to connect invisibly. Comodo detected sneaky actions like trying to modify Internet Explorer in memory, trying to launch and control IE, or trying to modify a program's user interface in every case, even one that got past ZoneAlarm.

It's worth noting, though, that leak test control is only necessary when firewall program control relies either on simple rules or on user queries. Norton and Kaspersky ignore leak tests because analysis shows they're not actually malicious.

Like ZoneAlarm, Comodo Firewall didn't actively detect or block any of the thirty-odd exploits generated by the Core IMPACT penetration tool. Norton and Kaspersky block exploit attacks at the network level. When last tested, Norton blocked all of them and identified almost all by name.

Unfortunately, this firewall isn't quite as well-hardened against attack as ZoneAlarm. I couldn't kill it using Task Manager, and I couldn't stop its essential Windows service. However, setting the service's startup type to disabled and forcing a reboot disabled the firewall. It visibly launched, but its protection never started.

The basic firewall settings are fairly general, and accessible to non-expert users. Even so, most users shouldn't change the defaults. Clicking Network Security Policy brings up a dialog with a vastly more complex set of options. If you can look at a line like "Allow ICMP In from MAC Any To MAC Any Where ICMP Message Is TIME EXCEEDED" without fainting, then you may be qualified to review and adjust these settings.

Comodo Firewall Free Software

Comodo Firewall Software 

Basic Firewall protection

• Keeps you updated on all suspicious files
• Prevention-based technology stops viruses
• Automatic updates for the most current protection

 

Spotlight: Defends your PC

Our Firewall has an extensive list of over two million known PC-friendly applications.

Comodo Firewall review