Increasing Firewall Security with Zone Alarm

With all the reports of spyware and viruses these days it doesn't hurt to add an extra layer of security to your computer. One thing about many of these spyware programs and viruses is that at one point or another they usually try to get access to the internet. That is where Zone Alarm comes into play. This short article touches on the difference between ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm and the Windows XP firewall.

Windows XP Firewall

The firewall that is built into windows does a good job but it only attempts to stop incoming traffic. What if you have spyware running on your machine or a keylogger and it attempts to send out personal information about you. Unfortunately, it is likely that you would never know.

ZoneAlarm Firewall

ZoneAlarm also stops unsolicited incoming traffic but also warns you when a program is trying to access the internet and gives you the option to allow or deny the access. You can also save which programs are allowed access so you aren't pestered with access requests when firing up your web browser, email program, etc. For any program Zone Alarm allows you to set the whether it can access or run a server for both the internet and the trusted zone. Finally, if you have given access to a program and the program executable changes for any reason, Zone Alarm will also notify you the next time that program tries to access the internet.

Although this does not mean you will be 100% protected, Zone Alarm will offer you another level of security and control over your computer and will definitely help to keep you informed of what programs are trying to "reach out and touch someone".

Download Zone Alarm

Zone Alarm is available as a free download from Zone Labs website