Windows 7 - Is Zonealarm Even Needed Anymore?

What is this Zone Alarm you speak off?

I have not used a software firewall for years. I can see their place in the computing world though. If you or someone in your house is new to computing I would probably recommend installing one.

There are still a few reasons why a 3rd party firewall such as ZA is preferable to built-in Windows' firewall. I like the GUI, where you can easily change permissions on-the-fly for separate zones. It's right there. Right click the tray app, maybe change a tab, and it's there.

Also, I like to block all Windows stuff such as Host Process for Windows Services (which in my experience, I only need to communicate for WU, nothing else ever), explorer.exe, etc... and then only enable Host Process for a WU. Quick to do with ZA.

I like how ZA handles zones themselves and the settings you can apply to each.

That being said, I'm still waiting for a better beta of ZA for 7. I use the built-in Windows one right now on my 2 machines with 2 hardware routers/firewalls internet communications go through.

I hope they make a barebones version for 7 without the bloat.