I’m sure you know that a “firewall” was originally the metal barrier separating you from the engine of your car. Now, it’s used in relation to computers as well. A computer firewall serves a similar purpose to the one inside cars. It blocks dangerous or untrustworthy information packets from getting into your network.
You should always, always have a good firewall running. Without it, hackers can infiltrate your system, spy on you, upload viruses or steal your data. Usually, this takes a matter of minutes.
Windows comes with a decent firewall installed, but many people like using a third-party solution, like ZoneAlarm.
ZoneAlarm is a free, downloadable firewall and anti-virus that is highly configurable and effective against many kinds of cyberattacks.
In addition, the ZoneAlarm suite offers download scanning and optional identity protection. There’s also an option toolbar that provides do not track, private browsing and Facebook privacy scanning.
There are three versions of ZoneAlarm. The basic one is free and comes with the full anti-virus and firewall combination. If you choose to pay to upgrade to a premium version, you’ll get 24/7 customer support, parental controls and PC tuneup services.
Note: Before you download ZoneAlarm, you need to know that you can only have one firewall and one anti-virus running at a time. You can’t use Windows Firewall and ZoneAlarm simultaneously, for example.
Download Instructions
To download the security suite, navigate to the ZoneAlarm download page using the blue link at the bottom of this page. Click the gold button in the center of the screen labeled “Free Download.”
You will see a popup asking you to upgrade to the whatPro version. Click the gold button on the left of the pop-up that says “Download Free.” Your free download should begin immediately.
When the download is complete, open the file and run the installation package. The installation will try to install its own toolbar, homepage and search service in your default browser using the Quick Install option.
You can avoid these add-ons by clicking the blue “Custom Install” link under the gold button. Next, you’ll see the user agreement. Make sure to read it all the way through before continuing. Click the blue “Skip all offers” link at the bottom of the window to avoid adding extra toolbars and other add-ons.
On the next page, you can choose Auto-Learn mode or Max Security mode. Auto-Learn mode will set your security setting based on your behavior, and Max Security mode will give your more freedom to customize settings.
Upon installation, ZoneAlarm will automatically do a preliminary virus scan and activate itself as the default anti-virus and firewall on your computer. If you have an anti-virus and firewall already active, ZoneAlarm will be unable to do this until you disable each one.
This means that you don’t need to have an anti-virus software running in addition to ZoneAlarm. You can set ZoneAlarm to automatically scan your computer and receive daily virus definition updates to stay protected against recent threats.
Download for Windows – FREE
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Story Source: KimKomando.com