Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Security Suite review

One word of warning though. Installation problems are an issue if you use ICS to share the network Internet connection, as ZoneAlarm no longer asks 'Is this machine an ICS gateway?'. This results in client machines being unable to access the Internet without tedious manual tweaking.

So if you've already bought into someone else's anti-virus solution, do you need to change? Not really - Agnitum Outpost Firewall Pro 2.1 is a perfectly good standalone firewall, and it's cheaper. Furthermore, with an all-in-one approach, if you need to turn off the firewall (as happens occasionally when compatibility problems rear their heads) you also lose anti-virus protection when you need it most. At less than £50, however, ZoneAlarm represents good value despite the recurring subscription costs (£20 per year).

If you have a valid ZoneAlarm Pro with Web Filtering subscription, then the remainder of this will be transferred into Security Suite. The same, however, does not apply for basic ZoneAlarm Pro users who will lose any remaining subscription time. To answer our original question regarding the A List, despite some minor niggles ZoneAlarm Security Suite provides more protection for your money than the competition: it deserves to be back on top.

Author: Davey Winder