• PC World
• » Security

Simple, Effective, and Free

Whereas Symantec offers extras that go above and beyond a firewall, Zone Labs takes a minimalist approach with its barebones ZoneAlarm. In terms of basic firewall security, in our informal tests ZoneAlarm appeared to work as well as Internet Security 2000 did--but without the bulk.

To run ZoneAlarm, you need only 3MB of hard drive space. We downloaded the 1508KB ZoneAlarm installation file in less than a minute over our DSL connection. We then answered a brief registration survey, and rebooted our PC.

While Internet Security 2000 lets experienced users access security adjustments at a more detailed level, ZoneAlarm offers only three levels of security. With ZoneAlarm's default setting of "high" in place, we returned to the Shields Up Web site, and found that ZoneAlarm protected our system as thoroughly as Internet Security 2000.

ZoneAlarm lets you set local and Internet-level security zones, which is useful for users who also have a home network and don't want to limit intranetwork access. The software also allows you to decide what programs on your hard drive can access the Internet, an added security measure that can prevent nasty e-mail-attachment software (sometimes referred to as agents) from installing on your system and broadcasting your data. Another useful feature is the Internet Lock, which you can set to block any incoming or outgoing traffic when you're away from your PC.

Two Good Options

Both Norton Internet Security 2000 and Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm offer strong firewall security for consumers. If you're looking for extras such as parental controls, ad-blocking, top-notch virus protection, and the ability to set your own firewall rules, you'll want to spend the money for Norton Internet Security 2000. But if all you're looking for is simple, strong protection for your broadband-connected PC, you'd do well to look at the free ZoneAlarm first.