Computer Associates E-Trust EZ Firewall is, in fact based on the code used in Zone Labs' Zone Alarm, with a few modifications. First, you?ll need a licence key to install it, though you can apply for a 30-day demo key.

During installation you're prompted to activate privacy control and create a password to protect the firewall from settings changes, and asked if you want to allow it to work with Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing. The Lan our system was connected to was detected fine, but some users may find the question confusing since it only has two options, neither of which seemed 100 per cent applicable.

Unlike Zone Alarm Pro, there's no option to automatically add lots of programs to the list of allowed apps; you can add a number at a time, but you have to browse your hard drive to find each one.

Privacy controls are offered, including the option to set different controls for different sites, which is very welcome. You can even block adverts that don't load within a certain time limit.

There's a 'lock' button to lock access to the net, and setting certain applications can bypass that lock so your Seti screensaver can still work, for example.

EZ Firewall does the job - hardly surprising since it's based on Zone Alarm - but it lacks the range of features found in Zone Labs' Pro product. And, more surprisingly, it lacks a feature found even in the free version of Zone Alarm. While on first glance the pop-up alerts for intrusions or programs accessing the net look identical to the Zone Alarm equivalents, there's one button missing - the More Info option. That means those who want more background information about an application that's launching, or a potential attack, are left out in the cold. Whatever the reason for removing the button from EZ Firewall, it loses the program a few marks.

Contact: Computer Associates
www.my-etrust.com

System requirements:
Windows 98/2000/ME/XP

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