Slashdot Mirror
ZoneAlarm Employs Scare Tactics Against Its Users
snydeq writes "Check Point Software appears to be ripping a page from the 'scum it claims to fight,' running a scare-tactic warning dialog to frighten users into upgrading to a paid version of the company's ZoneAlarm firewall product. Preying on fears of ZeuS.Zbot, the Check Point warning dialog tells users their PCs 'may be in danger' without having found ZeuS.Zbot, nor having checked to see whether you're running an antivirus product. 'The program doesn't care if you're infected with ZeuS.Zbot, or if you have protection in place. It just wants to sell you an upgrade to the firewall that may or may not detect future ZeuS.Zbot variants' activities — some day.' Check Point's customers have inundated the ZoneAlarm forums with complaints."
I haven't used that piece of garbage software in about 5 years.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I used to recommend them to residential users. I will not ever again.
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
Well, they fooled me at first because I've had ZoneAlarm installed for ages and trusted it. After looking through my running processes, registry, etc, and doing a virus scan I suspected something was dodgy because there was no indication of this zeus trojan. It was then I found the big list of complaints on ZoneAlarm's forums. I was a bit annoyed that they wasted my time. Until yesterday when this showed up I had no reason no to trust what ZoneAlarm was telling me. Now, I am not so sure.
I thought ZoneAlarm got outed for essentially being a backdoor some years ago ? I stopped using it then and never looked back.
Can I light a sig ?
As a poster indicates, ZA was bought out by CheckPoint a few months ago. This scare tactic will probably backfire on them...
Why in the hell did someone at CheckPoint say to themselves "Wait a second... Gestapo style marketing that looks like a phishing scam sounds like a great idea!"
Here's to the crazy ones
The summary is spot on. I haven't been a Windows user for a number of years, but a friend asked me to fix her malware problem and I reinstalled her Windows XP box. For the firewall, I remembered ZoneAlarm from a few years ago and installed it. After the first reboot, some stupid popup appeared, prompting me to "like" the software on Facebook. I'm like WTF? But still gave them the benefit of the doubt. Next reboot it comes up with the totally bogus popup that I may get infected with Zeus. I had to reread it twice to find out it really was an advertisement.
I downloaded Comodo, unplugged the network, uninstalled ZoneAlarm, installed Comodo and plugged back into the inter webs. Never looked back.
I probably will not buy any Check Point software for my business either.
8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
Is it like a frontend for iptables?
Seriously. What morons are using ZoneAlarm? WHY would you use it, when Windows has had a better firewall since XP, and the Vista/Windows 7 firewall is even better than that?
ZoneAlarm has always been a piece-of-shit.
I remember ZA being decent, especially the registered version. However, there isn't a need for it anymore, just like there isn't a need for QEMM-like packages for new equipment. Windows 7 has a decent built in firewall to keep things out [1], and for antivirus protection, Microsoft Security Essentials is a download away and licensed at no charge.
[1]: If a compromised app is trying to phone home, the battle is lost when it comes to host security. So having a firewall popping up Allow/Deny dialogs is pointless on post-XP Windows versions because of the amount of false positives generated.
Requirements:
1) Rule-based. I want to permit/deny network traffic to certain apps. 2) Option of "PermitTraffic/AllowTraffic" and "LogTraffic/IgnoreTraffic" as independent settings. (e.g., I want to allow logging of permitted applications' traffic, as well as denied apps' failed attempts, and after looking at the logs, decide whether or not I want to bother logging it.)
3) Accurately figure out which app is actually responsible for denied traffic. (Looking at you, PrivateFirewall 7.0, which never actually says that it's the Windows Update client that's legitimately trying to access some random Akamaized download site.)
I tried the built-in Windows firewall, but it was difficult/cumbersome to set up in default-deny mode, and when I did, I couldn't easily find out which app was causing the denied traffic. (e.g. is it some game that phones home on the first attempt to register/activate, or is it some bullshit Games For Windows Live client that has no need to be used in a single-player game?)
Thanks to PrefBar for one-click Javashit and Flash toggling, a non-Adobe PDF reader, an ad-blocking local proxy, and the equivalent of a decent-sized ad-blocking HOSTS file implemented in the external router, I've never actually been hit with malware, so I'm more interested in monitoring unsolicited outbound traffic than worrying about inbound traffic. Likewise, I'm more interested in legitimate apps rather than malware that could trivially disable the software "firewall". Given that sort of environment, what's the current best practice for software "firewalls"?
There are posts that reference other threads where this was "already posted," but clicking those links leads you to a vBulletin "No thread specified" page. Presumably ZA has been deleting threads....
See http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283423 and http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283420 for example posts... both those posts reference a nonexistent thread.
Damage control maybe?
Here's to the crazy ones
Feels like thread merging to me.
Whatever happened to alliteration in article titles?
When they basically refused to support Windows 7. I have sense replace the firewall on ALL my machines (including my XP machines) with PC Tools Firewall Plus. It is free, and provides better protection than Zone Alarm.
They're also editing people's posts under their "terms of use" policy. Mostly it's removing the names of other firewall products, but there's a couple by the main editor "GeorgeV" with no indication of why the edit was made or any placemarker to show where it was made.
Ah, and there's also some posts which have entirely disappeared. Since the unique post ID is common to the entire forum it's hard to detect, and the #x post counter on the right is dynamically generated when the thread is displayed. I did see one post disappear, and then the user re-posted. Here's the details of the new post, which I expect to disappear as well.
http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283543&postcount=40
Attack command redacted because I'm nice
Whoops, that post's gone, too.
Way to go Checkpoint, with one twitch of your marketing neuron you've alienated your loyal users and enraged the script kiddies.
I don't think that word means what TFA's author thinks it means.
- Necron69
Looking at the posts in this thread makes me very glad I don't have to do any of this to keep my computer functional. Windows is a complete joke, I don't think anyone has to put up with more bullshit in computing than the average Windows user, I do genuinely feel bad that these people waste so much time and money on such poorly built technology. It's really very tragic.
Years ago. The built in version for XP, Vista & 7 for most people are sufficient.
Hello,
Below is a list of free application software firewalls I put together a while ago. Not sure if they are all current, and I am probably missing quite a few, but it is a starting point.
Firewalls
Active Network - Active Wall Free Edition
Agnitum - Outpost Firewall Free
AS3 Soft4U - AS3 Personal Firewall
Ashampoo - Ashampoo Firewall Free
Comodo Group - Comodo Firewall (now a part of Comodo Internet Security)
FilSecLab - Filseclab Personal Firewall Professional Edition
Group 4 Business Intelligence - IDNWebShield (main web site down when last checked)
NetVeda - NetVeda SafetyNet
PC Tools - PC Tools Firewall Plus Free Edition
PrivacyWare - Privatefirewall
SecurePoint - Securepoint Personal Firewall & VPN Client - (discontinued?)
SoftPerfect - SoftPerfect Personal Firewall
Tall Emu - Online Armor Free - (acquired by EmsiSoft?)
WIPFW Project - WIPFW - (port of BSD IPFW)
Firewall Managers
GT Delphi Components - Windows Firewall Ports & Applications Manager (WFWPAM)
Sheesley, Eric - XPFiremon
Hopefully, this is of help.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
Dexter is a good dog.
It took me a while to decide where I stand on this. Generally speaking, users of a free product who complain about what they get have an over-active sense of entitlement. I would make an exception in the case of blatant deceit, but I don't think that this quite qualifies as such -- a reasonably careful reading of what they say shows what little they actually claim to offer. What they deserve some grief for, IMHO, is poisoning the well for more selfless and principled purveyors of freeware, whose interests are presumably harmed if people are turned away from trying their products on account of actions like these, and also for spreading confusion over so important an issue as security.
"I swear Bill Gates could come to my house and hit my balls with a hammer for all the harm it would do."
I, for one, find that idea vaguely arousing.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
"We have met the enemy, and he is us."
I stopped using zone alarm a long time ago.
But besides all that, I've noticed that just about everything you download these days also tries to install (besides Yahoo Toolbar) a free copy of -some-name-brand- Security Scan, which appears to be nothing more than an advertisement for the company's non-free antivirus package. It really seems like the antivirus people are more and more adopting the same business model as the scareware vendors from which they purport to protect us.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
If you are on a small network, get a router with a built-in firewall (even a home all-in-one broadband router is good enough for this)
If you are on a larger network, get a proper firewall (e.g CISCO PIX)
And in all cases, run a GOOD anti-virus (that means something OTHER than Norton or McAfee) and keep all your software patched.
If you DO feel the need to run a firewall e.g. if you are connecting over wireless broadband (where you cant put a hardware firewall between you and the network) or if you are on coffee shop or McDonalds WiFi, the windows firewall is good enough for the purpose and doesnt have any of the problems that 3rd party programs like ZoneAlarm or Norton Internet Security has.
Last time I tried a software firewall (Norton Internet Security), it worked GREAT. It did a great job of preventing my internet from working :)
I'd say with Vista and 7 the firewall is good enough that you don't have to use a third party software. The XP firewall is very basic and only monitored (controlled) incoming traffic. So If you got something nasty on your system it would do nothing to stop it from phoning home. 7 and Vista can monitor outbound traffic also so that alone make them much better solutions. 7's firewall goes even farther then vista's giving the user ability to configure multiple policies for different environments, nice for a notebook that connects to multiple networks.
I have tried a couple of different software versions for XP boxes, because contrary to what others say XP's firewall is not really very safe regardless of what service pack you have installed. I have tried Comodo's and ashampoo's (in addition to ZA) offerings. Comodo had a feature that it was supposed to "learn" your surf habits and adjust accordingly to be less intrusive over time. Never happened no matter what I did and Comodo just kept asking and asking for permissions for every little thing, even multiple instances for the same program. I'm sure it is very secure, but I think it is going a little overboard on it to a level that I feel I do not really need. Ashampoo I just did not like at all. The interface seems clunky and its gap from easy mode to expert mode was vast, too vast and need a in between setting to make it feel safe but not locked down. I went back to ZA on my XP boxes after using the other 2 long enough for a couple versions of ZA to pass. The reason I went away from ZA was the bloat, but with (ver 9.2) the newer version the bloat didn't seem to be the issue it was before. I didn't care for the "you might have this virus" pop-up, but I can read and see it was a ploy to get me to buy the full version. Sneaky and under-handed as it might be, I'll stick with it for now till I get another chance to try some others.
As I understand it, this popup is to get people to upgrade to a paid version. In other words, those who get the popup haven't paid, and are thus not actually customers. That's what I imagine the company must be thinking, if they are as stupid as I think they must be.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
If you absolutely have to continue suffering the worst computing experience possible, get at least Kaspersky. It works, not too much overhead and doesn't use incomprehensible blinky tray icons that won't tell you anything useful (yes, Norton, that is you).
Otherwise, enough already. I'm very weary of anything that has a complete cult as supporters, but as I also use Linux I figured I ought to try a Mac as well. I'm still not a fanboy, but I can recommend it, if only to experience what computing ought to be like. You really do not realise just how many interruptions per day you get as Windows user because something or another wants to update - only when you have been working on a Mac becomes that clear.
I guess this is also why anti-virus companies are anxious to avoid offering you a listing which tells you how many virus infections and trojans exist for each platform - you would switch, and they would lose their market..
Insert
I recently gave in to the nagging "Update" prompts and had my Zone Alarm update itself.
After that my machine (XP) started totally freezing periodically, requiring a restart. Being a device driver and having been updated recently, Zone Alarm was the natural suspect.
So I looked around for a new free firewall and found Comodo Internet Firewall. I replaced Zone Alarm with it and, lo-and-behold, no more freezes.
The Comodo firewall can be quite bit more nagging than ZA, and unless you have it set in the lower paranoia mode it will prompt for stuff which is real obscure for non-technical users but at the end of the day it still works better and is more powerfull and configurable (for example, ZA free has nothing to show which applications have which connections open, but Comodo does).
5 years ago, Zone Alarm free was great and most other personal firewalls were either enormous turds (McAfee, Norton) or obscure and hard to configure. Nowadays there are plenty of good personal firewalls out there and Zone Alarm has been going downhill.
ZoneAlarm is not the only one doing it, Panda Antivirus is doing the same. Panda freezes the PC and even the Control Panel whenever a user tryes to remove it so the software don't complaints every 5 minutes stoping their work.... Get smart, change to *nix or Linux distros and you'll never need an antivirus or firewall to protect your PC from viruses that are created by the same companies that try to sell you an antivirus for your security. Of course not all the viruses are created by this Companies.
"Check Point's customers have inundated the ZoneAlarm forums with complaints."
How can you complain about something you got for free. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.
If you don't like it, don't use it.
lose != loose
From one of the comments by the ZA forum moderator: "ZoneAlarm Marketing team has turn off this pop-up alert in ZoneAlarm Free firewall."
The Marketing team has turned off the pop-up alert? Why would the marketing team have control of pop-ups appearing on my system? Sorry, ZoneAlarm, but turning off the pop-up isn't going to fix all of this. I now know that having ZA on my system means that some marketing guy somewhere can make messages appear on my system just to sell a few more pieces of software. I'll be uninstalling ZoneAlarm the first chance I get and will install one of your competitors instead.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
windows firewall only blocks incoming. In today's world you need to lock down outgoing as well.
But ya, ZA sux. Where are the OSS firewalls? It cant be that hard to write one?
---- Booth was a patriot ----