Dear ZA Users:

We understand that some questions have been raised in the forum around the extensions to our auto-update system integrated into ZoneAlarm 6.5, and we wanted to provide additional information about the feature.

Certain ZoneAlarm products have long had automatic updates with antivirus signatures by default. In ZA 6.5, we added the capability to offer customers additional security updates and product patches on the fly with the least amount of user interruption as possible (although in some cases a reboot may be necessary). This new functionality is a natural extension of the old system and has many benefits, most importantly enhanced security.

For example, with the expanded auto-update, we can send to users a new OSFirewall policy to protect against a zero-hour attack, or even update ZoneAlarm to be compatible with a new version of another popular consumer application.

We believe in allowing our users the choice to maintain more granular control of their software, which is why we have always offered the option of turning off all automatic updates in the ZoneAlarm security center interface (located in the main "overview" page under the preferences tab). More and more, users are asking us to find ways to better automate security by default. This new functionality is one more step toward making security both stronger and easier.

Thank you,

The ZoneAlarm Team