OT: Zone Alarm (buggy software releases)

[Karim]

I had been using Zone Alarm Pro as my firewall for about a year. It was highly rated and recommended and for the most part, seemlessly integrated into Windows XP (sometimes it was slow on automatic startup).

I'm not sure what's up with the company but the last two product updates have been nothing short of disastrous.

The first came around February. They somehow managed to switch between the Pro and Free version so people running the paid version were being told an update was available when it really wasn't. You would install and then find out your license no longer worked.

The more recent update causes severe problems to your system. I could no longer reboot XP. When I finally managed to get back to Windows, the screen size was changed, no program loaded on startup, quick launch disappeared, I couldn't access the internet and I wasn't able to uninstall. Two hours later I'm still reorganizing my system.

A quick check on the Zone Alarm message boards reveals hundreds of upset people. I know I'm switching firewalls because I simply no longer trust any of their updates.

[albionmoonlight]

Hmmmm... just installed the update for the Free Zone Alarm this morning. Hope that it didn't mess up our system.

[yabanci]

you know, I've used Zone Alarm for a long time without any issues. But after installing the update from a day or two ago, I've been having nothing but problems. It's interesting to know I'm not the only one.

[Cuckoo]

I just installed the update a day or two ago, but it hasn't effected me adversely at all. I'm running Windows 2000 though. Maybe that's the difference.

[rjolley]

I installed the update (5.0.590.015) and I haven't had any issues.

Running XP Home.

[yabanci]

I think some of my problems might have been because it upgraded me to the full suite, with antivirus, etc., when I already had Norton antivirus running. Hopefully turning all that stuff off will help. I just want the firewall, not a big bloated piece of software.

[Mac Howard]

I had problems too. I lost email access and the error message was grossly misleading -reporting TCP/IP problems. In the end it proved to be that the upgrade had changed many of the ZA configuration settings and had set the email program as a banned program.

Check your Program Control - Program settings and make sure this is not preventing programs from operating. You might be lucky.

It now also has the "don't ask this again" option SET in the Alert Boxes so that if you want to temporarily deny a program access you inadvertantly permanantly deny that program. You have to unset the box before clicking the deny button.

I understand the company is now under new management
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Two hours of surfing later and I'm experiencing popups that didn't occur before the upgrade (and, yes, I do have privacy set to stop them).

Oh, and System Restore doesn't take you back to release 4.5.

[Galaril]

I am reformatting my hard drive this weekend and reinstalling Windows XP and though I have used Zone Alarm for some time now I may not reload it. Can anyone recommend ant good firewalls that are cheap or free like Zone Alarms. BTW I have been using the Panda Software's Anti-virus Titanium on my machine which offers free updates for two years and it has been great. I use to use Norton's but, found it overly expensive to buy a update license every year.

[Ragone]

I recently had a ton of connectivity problems i blamed on bad service.. come to find out it was zone alarm all along.. i switched to Kerio and have had nothing but clear sailing since

[Silver Owl]

I'll second the Kerio comment. I have been using it for awhile with no problems.

[albionmoonlight]

I installed it yesterday morning and went to work. Then I read this thread and went to the Zone Labs message boards and saw what was happening to people. Then I went home and uninstalled it before anything bad could happen to us.

Thanks for the heads up.

How in the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks do you release software THAT BUGGY to the public?

[Mac Howard]

For newcomers to ZA: the problems are with release 5.0 not the previous release 4.5. I've used 4.5 for several months without problems. It may even be that the full release 5.0 is ok - I have upgraded from 4.5 to 5.0 and, as we've often seen with Windows, the upgrade can be disastrous while the full installation is ok. So it doesn't necessarily mean that a newly installed release 5.0 is problematic.

[yabanci]

what a mess. I've downgraded back to 4.5 and all the problems are gone. I would recommend not making the upgrade until they solve what are obvious problems. At the very least, you should read through the forums before taking the plunge so you know what you potentially are getting into.

[Cuckoo]

I consider myself very fortunate then because I have yet to have a problem (knocking on wood).

[Wolfpack]

*sighs in relief upon finding out his ZA version is 4.5...*