ZoneAlarm Extreme Security by Check Point Software Technologies provides some welcome extras such as, automatic online backup, laptop hard drive encryption and a registry repair tool and a full year of credit monitoring. This premium internet security suite also includes necessary security basics such as keylogger protection, a virtual browser, parental controls and laptop tools. However, ZoneAlarm has yet to receive antivirus detection certifications and awards from a list of third-party test labs.
This security suite misses the mark in third-party testing. ZoneAlarm scored well with VB100 in the last few years with passing scores in 2010 and 2011; however, they have not been tested by WCL, ICSA labs, AV-Test or AV-Comparatives recently. Although, they have scored well with VB100 – earning an average of 94% and 100% detection of polymorphic viruses. The best internet antivirus products produce consistently high scores with several test labs over a duration of many years. An extended list of efficacy scores shows to us that the product can be depended on and that the provider is able to combat new threats as they emerge. Nonetheless, we will watch for new test results for this internet security software and report any new test results when we revise this review.
Extreme Security lacks a few of the features that we consider premium features, such as centralized management and file shredding. However, it does include some valuable premium features, such as credit monitoring, hard drive encryption for laptops, a startup manager and a registry cleaner. They also provide 2GB of free online backup through iDrive, and the credit monitoring is free for the first year through Identity Guard. One annoying aspect is that their PC tuneup tools are an additional download rather than being included with the initial installation.
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security has a configurable two-way firewall, adjustable spam filters, full parental controls and other necessary security features. It has a fullscreen mode, and you can encrypt your laptop drive so your data cannot be accessed if it is stolen. It also has a virtual browser for safe browsing, a customizable browser toolbar and a track eraser for private browsing. However, the parental control module is an additional download and isn't included with the initial installation file. We also had trouble with the updates. In the internet security overview, we received a warning about our web security not working, but every time we hit the "Fix Now" button, nothing happened. We were expecting to see a security update or some other action occur.
Should you require customer or technical support, Check Point provides 24/7 chat support; however, their Contact Us link goes to a support page that does not display a telephone number or email address. In fact, the majority of their customer support links go to an indirect support section, which includes articles and FAQs but not telephone or email support options. We would like to see ZoneAlarm post easy-to-find email and telephone support contact information and the hours support is available.
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security provides excellent extras and is simple to use; however, until ZoneAlarm is able to boast an extensive collection of high efficacy scores, we cannot confidently assert that they can provide complete protection from malware.
