Rich: Will you please send the following message out via our "njccmail"
listserve ASAP? Thanks - Fred



To all NJCC Members,

I have completed a review of the "ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5" firewall software from
"http://www.zonelabs.com", and have included a copy below (it will also be
posted on our NJCC Website / Product Reviews section). Per my Computer Security
presentation at our January meeting, I would strongly suggest that at a minimum
you get the FREE ZoneAlarm firewall to check out this product. It works!!!

In addition, I would strongly suggest that you check your computer for open
ports and other potential security problems by running the FREE "Shields Up"
detailed testing available from Gibson Research Corporation at:

http://www.grc.com

When I did this testing with my ZoneAlarm firewall turned "off" my computer
"failed" miserably. Needless to say, when my ZoneAlarm firewall was turned "on"
my computer "passed perfectly with a 100% score" on these tests. This is an
excellent independent confirmation of the value of this software!!!

Finally, you may also want to take advantage of the FREE ZoneLabs "Security
Scanner" that checks for potentially dangerous third party tracking cookies on
your computer at:

http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/cm/index4.html

Please also feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

With best regards,

Fred (Sabin)
President, NJCC
president@...
Tel: 732-469-3843


Computer Firewall
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5
http://www.zonelabs.com
(Reviewed by Fred Sabin, President, NJCC)

Computer security has changed! Simply updating your software on a regular basis
and using an anti-virus program is not enough. Hackers now have more tools to
access your computer and use it for identity theft, fraud, and other malicious
purposes. Thus, you in turn need more protection to keep your computer safe from
these threats.

A firewall, either hardware or software based, adds significantly more security
by examining everything that enters (and also leaves with ZoneAlarm) your
computer system, and allows you to select only those items that you approve of
to pass. You can pre-select items that you want to allow, as email or software
updates, or have the firewall notify you of other activity so that you can make
decisions on a case by case basis. After a while you will get a good feel for
what is happening, and you can then let the firewall work automatically in the
background and only notify you of critical situations where your input is
necessary.

I started with the free basic ZoneAlarm software downloaded from
http://www.zonelabs.com. It installed quickly and without problems. There is a
Help Menu, but unless you are familiar with ports, protocols, IP addresses,
etc., this may be difficult to understand at first. Fortunately, you can set up
the program to run automatically with minimum input, or if you get really
frustrated you can just turn it off. If you have the patience and interest, you
can gradually delve deeper into just what is happening, and this will lead to a
whole new understanding of how computer systems work. If you decide to stop at
this point you will have gotten extra protection at no cost.

If you get "hooked", as I did, you will soon want to know more about what is
happening, what the alerts and logs really mean, and what you can or should do
about them. Fortunately, you can learn a lot and do a lot in response to this
information. In addition, you can upgrade to ZoneAlarm Pro for many more
features, including customizable security level settings, hacker ID (including a
map of the source), ad blocking, cookie control, and much more. With this
version I have not received a single pop-up ad in over six weeks, and have had
174 high-rated intrusions detected with 70 inbound access attempts blocked. I
also have a log of who (DNS/IP) made the intrusions, when (Date/Time), and where
(Destination Port). This level of security and information is invaluable in
maintaining a safe and secure computer system.

ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5 requires 10 MB of hard-drive space and MS Windows 98SE or ME
with a minimum Pentium 233 MHz and 32 MB RAM; OR MS Windows XP with a minimum
Pentium II 300 MHz and 128 MB RAM.

The list price for ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5 is $49.95, but $10 to $20 discounts are
regularly advertised. The basic ZoneAlarm software is free, and I would strongly
recommend at a minimum that you download it and try it out before ordering the
ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5 edition.