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Zone Alarm Firewall Review

It is my professional opinion that Zone Alarm is a completely unnecessary application.  When Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 1 were released, the Windows Operating System did not include a firewall.  From 2001 to 2004, it was therefore reasonable to install a third-party firewall application such as Zone Alarm.  After the release of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 in 2004 and the inclusion of the Microsoft Windows Firewall, it is my opinion that the use of any third-party software-based firewall application became completely unnecessary.  Further more, it has been my personal observation that Zone Alarm and other third-party firewall applications can prevent Microsoft Windows from operating properly.  This is because of one major tenet of third-party firewall applications - the assumption that users of the Microsoft Windows Operating System have a technical understanding of which applications, drivers and services are required and/or of benefit to the Windows operating system and which are not.  I believe this assumption could not be further from the truth.  This leads to personal computer users blocking required applications, drivers and services.  As an example of this, the printer no longer functions properly because the related service is being blocked.  It is my opinion that this assumption within third-party firewall applications is an extremely flawed design concept which further complicates the operating system rather than empowering users of the operating system.  I strongly encourage users of Microsoft Windows to utilize the free Microsoft Windows Firewall included in the Operating System.  It is a perfectly elegant and secure solution which fully meets all software-based firewall requirements.

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