Installing Zone Alarm Free Firewall

Do you understand what a firewall really does? Most people would tell you that a firewall protects you from hackers out there on the internet. They’re right, but there’s a little more to it.

Every modern operating system has a firewall. Windows PCs are a special case, because they are specifically targeted by the dark forces out there. That’s mainly true because of the huge user base of Windows computers around the world.

Your firewall is meant to protect you from evil computers trying to access your computer without your knowledge (inbound protection). However, good firewalls also prevent your PC from broadcasting your private information or spreading worms, viruses and spam to other computers (outbound protection).

Many years ago, Windows shipped XP without any firewall protection turned on by default. That was a huge mistake and millions of people paid the price for it. The mistake was fixed by XP Service Pack 1, but many of us have never forgotten what happens when you don’t use a firewall.

Back in the days of Windows 95 and 98, I used a firewall called ZoneAlarm, because Microsoft didn’t even offer one at the time. These days, the Windows firewall for XP, Vista and 7 is adequate, but it doesn’t offer very good outbound protection. That’s why it may be a good idea to try out the newest ZoneAlarm Free. Here’s what the folks at ZA say about their product.

YOUR PROTECTION INCLUDES:

Firewall
Monitors inbound and outbound traffic flowing through your computer
Requests from an unknown or unsolicited source are identified and blocked
Hides your computer from hackers

DefenseNet
Leverages real-time threat data from community of millions of ZoneAlarm users to detect and block the latest attacks
All programs launched on your computer are compared against a database of known programs; malicious program are blocked and safe programs allowed, rare unknown programs result in a warning
Delivers stronger, quieter security

Anti-phishing
Warns you of phishing sites and spyware distribution sites
Uses signatures and heuristics to identify more fraudulent websites than standard protection

Online Backup
Securely upload/download files with User-defined encryption keys.
Retrieve data from any location – login via any web browser to your account and access backed up data.
Automated backup schedules the backup of data per your convenience.