Pros

• Zone Alarm Internet security provides virus, Trojan, spyware, adware, email and Instant Messaging Protection
• It uses the Kaspersky scanning engine which provides the most efficient protection in the industry

Cons

• the help feature is not very comprehensive leading users to seek extra help from other areas of the website
• A new user might find the controls hard to use

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ZoneAlarm Internet security is a respected security software program that provides excellent online protection. We’ve reviewed it over the years and one thing we really like is its high virus detection rate. Perhaps that’s not surprising considering it has been supplied by Kaspersky, one of the world’s leading security software suites.

ZoneAlarm will destroy any threats residing in your PC before installation. And it will perform this without a flinch. Of course, like any other security product out there, it has issues that it needs to improve to place it in the top 5 list. For starters, its help section leaves a lot to be desired. If you get stuck with the software or just need extra help, then you might need to look elsewhere; like a separate forum for additional help for example.

It also has a habit of slowing down the PC during scans. You can of course leave the PC and let ZoneAlarm do some cleaning without interference. But what if you need to use the PC and run a scan at the same time. Nevertheless, we like ZoneAlarm Internet Security 2012 and we believe many users will too. So let’s look at some of its features to see how it fares against the competition.

Antispyware Protection

Spyware has been spreading like wildfire lately, and if you don’t secure your computer then you’ll get burnt. There are many types of spyware programs wreaking havoc and ZoneAlarm Internet security 2012 has proved it has the tools to deal with them. For example, the OSFirewall feature detects and destroys spyware that is in the process of installing itself. It doesn’t wait till they infect your PC. It dismisses these malware (malicious software) threats as they appear. And this includes all harmful threats like Trojan horses to rootkits.

Antivirus Protection

Finding a good antivirus product is never easy. With all the choices available in the market, it’s no wonder many people get confused and end up buying a lacklustre antivirus software product. With the introduction of internet security products, it has become even harder to select the right product to secure your PC. But ZoneAlarm is one of those security suites that simplify the process. Now that its antivirus scanner is provided by Kaspersky, it has been propelled to the big league of online security software suites.

So what other features make its antivirus product outstanding? For starters, it has superbly fast scanning abilities, which will sweep your PC in minutes. With many other antivirus software programs, you sit and wait for nearly an hour as the scan progresses slowly. It’s no real surprise that ZoneAlarm is very fast. It includes the Kaspersky antivirus scanning engine. In the past it was using the CA antivirus scanning engine which was nowhere near the top antivirus products. It would slow down the PC to a crawl and even miss some threats. But as mentioned before, the PC slowdown issues that plagued it in the past haven’t totally disappeared. It’s still ZoneAlarm and not Kaspersky, despite using its scanning engine.

Firewall Security

ZoneAlarm Internet security has set the standard for personal firewall software suites since the early part of this decade. Configuring it is not a problem you’ll have with this software. There are times when you might want to adjust the firewall based on your location or preferences. You’ll find this very simple and the learning feature takes the guesswork out of configuring it. It caught every threat we threw at it, including blocking some port scans that are designed to attack ports.

Summary

ZoneAlarm Internet Security 2012 has come a long way, and still has a long way to get to the top. It has all the effective features to protect your computer, but it just lacks a few features to make it the best. If you’re looking for basic online protection, then it’s the perfect choice for you.