Q: What alternatives exist for Zone Alarm? I like having Zone Alarm to warn me when programs are trying to phone home / request for updates etc.
However, I feel its interface is a little clunky and was wondering if there are any alternatives out there?
I'm running Windows XP.

A: Try Comodo Firewall, it is free, has a 64 bit option and a training mode so you can set it up with your programs quickly and pain free.

A: Sunbelt Personal Firewall and Jetico Personal Firewall are both very good and very configurable.  Although I find the Jetico documentation to be a bit lacking.
