ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2013

Many security vendors offer a three-tier product line: standalone antivirus, security suite, and mega-suite. Bonus features in a mega-suite can include backup, tune-up, password management, encryption, and more. ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2013 ($89.95 direct for three licenses) occupies the mega-suite slot in Check Point's product line, but it's woefully lacking compared to the competition and even compared to its own 2012 edition.

This product's main window is identical to that of the base-level ZoneAlarm suite. The only visible difference is that the Tune-up link is no longer disabled.

Limited Features
The product comparison chart on the ZoneAlarm website indicates that ZoneAlarm Extreme offers PC Tune-up and keylogger protection, features not found in ZoneAlarm Internet Security 2013. However, keylogger protection isn't entirely ready. My Check Point contact explained that the company is "transitioning to a new homegrown keylogger technology that has less conflicts with third party software," and that at present keylogger protection is handles by the behavioral detection component.

Last year's version included a license for ZoneAlarm DataLock, a whole-disk encryption product, but that product is "being phased out." A new File and Folder lock product replaces it. However, that product it's not yet integrated into ZoneAlarm Extreme.

"ForceField" virtualization technology was a big part of the first ZoneAlarm Extreme. This technology worked to protect the browser from drive-by downloads and prevent any Web-based malware from making damaging changes to the system. A glowing browser window border served as a reminder of its protection. And... ForceField is out. "It was a support and development nightmare," my Check Point contact said. "A more compatible replacement technology [is] in the works, but [we] are still in the awkward transition phase."

Limited Tune-Up
The Tune-Up feature isn't installed along with the rest of ZoneAlarm Extreme, but the first time you try to run it, you're directed to a Web page that lets you download and activate it. I smelled a rat at this very first step. Yes, it offered a button to let me install now, but another button proposed that I "Update Now" for $9.95. The extra $10 you pay for ZoneAlarm Extreme gets nothing but this feature; now they want another $10?

It turns out ZoneAlarm's PC Tune-Up is a stripped-down and re-branded version of a tool from Large Software. This version focuses specifically on the Registry, omitting features like management of startup programs, scheduling, and getting rid of useless files.

When you launch the Tune-Up component it goes through four stages of Registry cleanup. It backs up the Registry, scans for problems, fixes found problems, and finally defragments the Registry. Expert users can pick and choose which problems to fix; most users will just fix everything. On the off-chance that a "fix" breaks something, you can revert to the backup created in the first step.

I ran a Tune-Up on my physical test system, running Windows 7. I hit a snag at the very first step, as the utility reported numerous errors backing up the Registry. After I clicked the error messages away, though, it reported that the backup completed successfully. It found and fixed hundreds of Registry problems and proceeded to defragment the Registry, after which I had to reboot.

Once I rebooted, I ran the Tune-Up again... and discovered that it had done nothing the first time around. It still displayed error messages during backup, still found and allegedly fixed the same problems, and still found the Registry in need of defragmentation. After a third run-through, for a sanity check, I contacted tech support.

They suggested I launch the Tune-Up application by right-clicking and choosing "Run as Administrator." That didn't make a lot of sense, given that I was using an Administrator account, but I gave it a try. This time it worked. I wonder how many ordinary users will run Tune-Up over and over, not realizing that it isn't doing anything?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/dVeK9nKrNFk/0,2817,2417459,00.asp

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