Firewalls act as your system’s first defensive agent against cyberattacks. They monitor and detect possible threats lurking around your network any possibly suspicious incoming connections, and prevent your data from leaking through potential vulnerabilities. Firewall agents are generally available as an added feature through antivirus software. Still, the two firewall agents we’re discussing here have the advantage of being standalone agents.
We put Comodo Firewall vs ZoneAlarm Firewall to discuss the features of each firewall agent, their pricing, compatible devices and operating systems and available customer support channels.
What is Comodo Firewall?
Comodo Firewall is one of the cybersecurity solutions offered by Comodo Group. The firewall is one of five divisions of the group’s Internet Security package, also known as CIS. The remaining divisions are antivirus software, sandbox, website filtering and HIPS, or host-based intrusion prevention systems. Comodo Firewall is compatible with Windows 7 operating system and later versions, OS X 1.09, macOS and later versions and several Linux operating system versions such as Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora.
Since its release, Comodo Firewall remains a free software to install and is one of the best features of Comodo Antivirus. Experts tested Comodo Antivirus in several independent tests, such as the Av-Tests, and the software mostly achieved low scores, but they praised the powerful firewall on each test. With several operating modes, the firewall allows you to customise the settings according to your expertise with cybersecurity agents.
What is ZoneAlarm Firewall?
ZoneAlarm Firewall is one of the cybersecurity products available by Zone Labs, a cybersecurity solutions company that was acquired by Check Point nearly 20 years ago. The cybersecurity solutions available through ZoneAlarm include a personal firewall and antivirus software. ZoneAlarm Firewall is a free software to install and will protect your data and device from any suspicious inbound or outbound connections.
ZoneAlarm’s cybersecurity technique depends on classifying elements through safety zones. There are two main safety zones; the first is the Trusted Zone, where the user can securely share files and send data. The second zone is the Internet Zone, which includes all the network elements apart from the Trusted Zone. As a user, you can grant a certain program additional permissions to either zone before it accesses the internet.
Comodo Firewall vs ZoneAlarm Firewall: What advantage does each firewall have?
So far, we’ve seen that both contenders are free firewall agents and provide decent protection against inbound and outbound network threats. However, which firewall should you consider installing to ensure your data is more protected?
Features
The features of each firewall agent depend on whether you choose the complete security agent for Comodo Firewall, which includes the antivirus as well, or the Pro Firewall plan from ZoneAlarm.
Comodo Firewall
As we mentioned earlier, the Comodo Firewall is the most praised feature of the Comodo Antivirus. The firewall’s powerful features allow you to control the protection level to enforce on your network. Compared to Microsoft Firewall, Comodo Firewall was able to detect more spoofing attempts, malware attacks and network intrusion attempts. Comodo Firewall allows you to whitelist any application, which proves beneficial in securing RDP ports, some of the highly vulnerable ports in any network, especially the work network.
Moreover, Comodo Firewall allows you to control your network connections by allowing or denying specific connections. The software gives you the choice of whether to allow or block certain connections and applications if it deems them suspicious. You can use the stealth mode to browse possibly suspicious websites after disabling firewall settings from the dashboard. However, we highly advise against such behaviour for fear you might accidentally disable important settings that allow hackers in.
ZoneAlarm Firewall
ZoneAlarm Firewall uses the same technique as its parent company: the division of safety into two main zones. The software prides itself on being the first world-renowned firewall designed for household needs. ZoneAlarm is a two-way firewall that works on preventing any outbound harmful connections from your device and prevents any harmful connections from gaining access to your network.
Additional features of ZoneAlarm Firewall include strong protection against automated cyberattacks, or bot-attacks, by protecting your system from spam and data theft. The software will monitor your device for suspicious behaviour, it runs before your system boots to detect possible rootkits easily, and Wi-Fi PC protection will guard your identity on unsecured networks. Moreover, the ZoneAlarm Firewall easily detects the backdoors malicious software uses to infect your device with malicious agents, such as loading it onto trusted applications.
Pricing
Both Comodo Firewall and ZoneAlarm Firewall have free versions that you can install. For Comodo, you can choose to get full protection, the firewall and antivirus for $29.99 a year. ZoneAlarm Firewall has a free plan and a Pro plan, which provides tighter protection and enhanced detection techniques for $32.95 to protect five devices a year after a discount.
Compatible Operating Systems
Comodo Firewall is designed for the Windows operating system only, starting from version XP SP2 up to Windows 10. Sadly, this feature drove many users away from the product and opted for other cybersecurity solutions that are compatible with the major operating systems for desktops, such as Windows, macOS and Linux, and smartphones, such as Android and iOS.
On the other hand, ZoneAlarm Firewall is also designed for the Windows operating system, except that it supports later versions than Comodo Firewall. ZoneAlarm Firewall is compatible with Windows 7 operating system, SP1, Windows 10 and Windows 11. Moreover, if you downloaded the ZoneAlarm Antivirus plus Firewall software, you will need to uninstall any third-party software on your device.
Customer Support
The norm is to look for customer support for antivirus agents, not firewall agents. However, we conducted the research to confirm whether any of our firewall agents offer customer support.
Comodo Firewall
Since Comodo Firewall is now a part of Comodo Internet Security, the antivirus and the firewall customer support channels are the same. So, you get a chatbox, in the software interface, email support that, unfortunately, isn’t effective nor quick, and if you’ve purchased a paid plan, you will get phone support.
ZoneAlarm Firewall
One of ZoneAlarm Firewall’s best features is you can download the software as a standalone agent. ZoneAlarm provides good customer support channels even for its firewall users. You can get help from their live chat, online support centre and quick email support. You can submit a support request at the software’s support centre.
What about their respective cybersecurity agents: Comodo Antivirus and ZoneAlarm Antivirus?
Both Comodo Firewall and ZoneAlarm Firewall come hand in hand with their respective antivirus agents. However, which of these antivirus agents provides the best protection?
Comodo Antivirus
Comodo merged its two cybersecurity options together, the Comodo Antivirus and Firewall, into one security suite: Comodo Internet Security. Comodo Internet Security is compatible with the Windows operating system only, which is a bit lacking for antivirus agents in this era of technological advancement. You can have up to 3 devices protected, which suits households who don’t need many devices connected to the internet.
When you choose Comodo Internet Security, you are guaranteed protection against malware; you will have multiple scanning options, a powerful firewall, a gaming mode, parental controls, a sandbox feature for secure application testing, real-time protection and a guarantee of infection protection. Unfortunately, the small number of devices Comodo protects is far lower than the market average of five and ten devices, such as Norton and Bitdefender. Moreover, the agent only supports the Windows operating system, which is a massive disadvantage against many cybersecurity giants such as Avast and McAfee.
Even though you have the option to download both Comodo Antivirus and Firewall together or download either of them, this means that if you choose Comodo Antivirus, you must know that the firewall isn’t integrated with it. This unusual feature can either be a great one or a disadvantage. It means you can use either cybersecurity agent with whichever third-party cybersecurity agent you want.
ZoneAlarm Antivirus
ZoneAlarm offers multiple cybersecurity solutions for homes, including several packages besides the free one. The free antivirus agent is compatible with Windows versions 7, SP1, 10 and 11 and includes the free firewall as well. You will get good protection against malware, real-time protection and security updates, continuous scanning of users’ data to avoid future threats, several scan modes and antispyware. This free plan protects only one device.
If you choose any of the paid plans, the price will change depending on the number of protected devices. The Pro Antivirus + Firewall plan starts protecting five devices at $35.95 a year after a discount. Added features include anti-phishing and cloud scanning of possible threats. The Extreme Security NextGen plan costs $44.95 to protect five devices for the first year after a discount. This package adds enhanced ransomware prevention and an enhanced firewall and is also compatible with Android and iOS.
ZoneAlarm offers two standalone firewall options. The first is the free firewall, which provides you with solid network monitoring and protection from prying eyes. The second option is the Pro Firewall, which costs $32.95 to protect five devices for the first year after a discount. The pro package adds an additional anti-phishing Google Chrome extension. While the Free Firewall is compatible with Windows versions 7, 10 and 11, the Pro Firewall is compatible only with versions 7 and 10.
Now that we’ve compared both firewall agents, our conclusion is that the ZoneAlarm Firewall offers better protection than the Comodo Firewall. ZoneAlarm Firewall’s features, the availability of free and paid plans and numerous customer support channels tipped the scales in its favour.