ZoneAlarm Pro On Security Levels and Zones Forrest Stroud
On Security Levels and Zones
As with BlackICE Defender, one of ZoneAlarm's key selling points is that it provides complete protection for your computer without the need to learn anything about ports, types of attacks, protocols, hierarchical rules, and other Internetworking esoterica. All you need to do to get up and running with ZoneAlarm is download and install the app -- the rest is taken care of for you.
Two areas that are made simple and straightforward for users are the concepts of Security Levels of Zones. You can choose from three levels of security for two different Zones -- a local network zone and an Internet zone. By default, ZoneAlarm sets the Internet zone at the highest level of security and the local zone at the medium level, which is the best solution for at least 80% of the permanent Internet connection market.
The security levels can also be modified at the user's discretion. For example, you can choose a high level of security for your local network, which will prevent any unauthorized Internet traffic as well as block local network access to your file/printer shares and Windows services. Alternatively, a mid-range level of security will allow others on your LAN to access shares but will continue to prevent unauthorized Internet traffic from passing through.
ZoneAlarm's security settings also allow you to determine whether other computers on your LAN or on the Internet will be allowed to connect to any servers running on your computer. As with the rest of ZoneAlarm, making changes to the security levels for each zone is an intuitive, straightforward process.
