Hello,
How well will Avast 6.0 Free work with Zone Alarm Free Firewall 9.2?
Zone Alarm folks say that it’s designed to work alongside an AV program - so I’m guessing I should be alright running both at the same time for real-time protection?
One more question 
>> How compatible is Avast with Windows 7 In-built Firewall: the windows defender?
Cheers,
HG
I cant offer much help with zonealarm other than there are a few people that do run it but i believe there are better free firewalls out there such as online armor and private firewall.
Avast gets along well with the windows firewall and no exclusions are necessary, avast also works with defender but most people here including myself have it disabled simply because its scanning and detection capabilities are far short of avast which make it rather obselete in its usefullness, malwarebytes is a far better program to run alongside avast.
Thanks Craig, I got a suggestion on using Outpost Free firewall with Avast from Pondus >> I’m thinking of trying it out >> would you know if exclusions are needed with Outpost?
And thanks for your views on using Defender… guess I’ll be good with MBAM (already have it, the free version).
what is ABP for IE ? is it a plugin?
ABP= AddblockerPlus.
I don’t blame you for not knowing what it is.
Abbreviations aren’t always helpful. Taking the extra time to spell out the name of
something referenced is always best.
I’d only just changed it to the abbreviation last night to lesson down the usable space and making thing’s easyer to read, i suppose i can change it back if people are having trouble identifying what it means, Bob maybe you need to take the extra time to spell out MBAM in your signature as i believe it is just as popular as Addblock Plus 
I use the Pro version of outpost firewall but im not to sure with the free version of outpost as its a suite and the av parts have to be disabled but mainly you should only have to check that in the applications list of outpost that all the avast processes are set to allow all and for the avast file system shield you can add the outpost program file to the exclusions list, there is actually only one DLL file of outpost that needs to be excluded in avast but i cant remember what it is, DavidR would know so for now you can just add the program file.
As Bob stated ABP stands for adblock plus which can be added through manage addons-tracking protection-get a tracking protection list online, there are two easylist addons to be added and these stop 99% of the adds being displayed when im browsing and give the obvious ( tracking protection ).
Bob maybe you need to take the extra time to spell out MBAM in your signature as i believe it is just as popular as Addblock PlusCraig, A simple Google search will tell you why it's ok to use MBAM. ;D
Should you choose Outpost.
Personally other than a single file exclusion I don’t believe you need exclude the Outpost folder, I haven’t in all of the time that I have been using avast and outpost together and that is many years.
This is the file and path that I have in the File System Shield, Expert Settings, Exclusions section, C:\Program Files\Agnitum\Outpost Firewall Pro\wl_hook.dll (easiest it to copy and paste this full path). This file is as its name implies a hooking tool that outpost uses to monitor activity also and is the only file where I ever had any issue with avast.
Bob im not doubting the use of MBAM, you made reference to me having used the abbreviation of adblock to which i stated that you are also using abbreviations, a simple google search will also explain my abbreviations not that anyone has to now since i reverted it for the sake of the unknowing 
HyperGeek,
I don’t follow crowds, I like to walk off the beaten track and I don’t chase fads.
I definitely don’t wait in line since midnight for the latest Iphone! ;D ;D ;D
But the firewall I use is the most downloaded free firewall. And for good reason.
ZoneAlarm keeps my computers secure with out any fuss or muss.
ZA Free is the perfect companion to Avast! Free, along with WinPatrol.
Oh, and I like OpenDNS and Opera to complete my security.
Mbam & SAS are both good on-demand scanners.
As it has been noted on this forum before ZoneAlarm could cause a conflict with avast!
That said I am currently using Online Armor Free with absolutely no issues. I also have Windows Firewall turned off and Windows Defender disabled. OA Free is a two way firewall and user friendly and doesn’t slow down my computer.
Here are some links:
http://download.cnet.com/Online-Armor-Free/3000-10435_4-10426782.html?tag=mncol;1
http://download.cnet.com/Agnitum-Outpost-Security-Suite-Free/3000-18510_4-75328020.html?tag=mncol;1
http://filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
http://filehippo.com/download_superantispyware/
I wouldn’t trust Zone Alarm as my personal firewall.
Zone alarm Scareware Warning,read more here > http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/21/zonealarm_defends_controversial_malware_warning/
I’ve tried most every fw there is and most several times.
No fw works better and smoother with avast! than ZA.
With my experience there isn’t any fw that I would trust more than ZA.
I have had the same experience.
Sometimes it pays to read something in full before trying to use it to prove a point. ;D
Her is a quote directly from the article:
The warning appeared whether or not users were infected with any malware. No attempt was made to check whether users had any anti-virus software installed, [b]a feature not bundled with free versions[/b] of the personal firewall.
Even if the scare tactic where included, which it is not, it doesn’t alter ZA’s ability to protect your system.
(I don’t use the product but don’t like to see false information. )
Thanks All for your views and useful insights… appreciate your help.
Regards,
HG
You’re welcome.