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Symantec Protection Engine vs ZoneAlarm comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Symantec Protection Engine
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
19th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ZoneAlarm
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
32nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Symantec Protection Engine is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ZoneAlarm is 1.5%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Protection Engine0.6%
ZoneAlarm1.5%
Other97.9%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl
Real-time file security has reduced incident tickets and improves threat detection accuracy
The best features of Symantec Protection Engine include machine learning, file reputation, and real-time scanning. It efficiently handles heavy loads through ICAP and cloud-based processing, reducing the burden on endpoints compared to Trend Micro and other endpoint security solutions. Its centralized control is also noteworthy. Through machine learning, it detects both known and unknown malware and malicious URLs, in addition to performing signature-based scans that assist SOC teams in analysis. The solution is highly effective in leveraging both machine learning and file reputation. Regarding centralized control, it offers a unified management console for policy deployment and provides real-time visibility through dashboards, helping save significant administrative time. Symantec Protection Engine has had a positive impact on our organization by enhancing our overall security posture. It effectively blocks a high volume of file-based threats across more than 200 servers, saves SOC analysts time in endpoint remediation, and streamlines compliance processes. It further strengthens security through real-time scanning and machine learning-based quarantine, blocking phishing payloads in SharePoint uploads before they reach endpoints, thereby reducing incidents by 30–40% compared to signature-only tools.
Bala_Krishna - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at esupport Solutions Pvt ltd
Security suite has protected individual devices from threats, while installation and network features require improvements
BIG-IP is actually the LTM, Link Load Balancer, which comes with ASM, meaning Application Security Module. It consists of multiple modules, such as ASM, SWG, and a domain DNS manager. ZoneAlarm allows defining trusted and public networks, which helps maintain security in public Wi-Fi environments. It offers comprehensive protection, securing PCs against threats. Users do not experience any system slowdowns while scanning. Harmony Browser protects all your browsing activity and is bundled with Harmony Endpoint and Harmony Connect. It provides a small but effective security layer and sometimes comes packaged with the larger Harmony suite.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The biggest advantage of Symantec Protection Engine is that one tool protects all, and it is centrally managed."
"Symantec Protection Engine's been a game-changer for us at Kantar—blocks like 80-85% of file-based threats right at the gateway before they hit our 200 servers, cutting down endpoint incidents big time."
"Symantec Protection Engine has improved my security posture by helping me identify potentially malicious files before they reach users or critical systems, and the automated scanning process has also reduced manual efforts for my team, allowing us to focus on other security tasks and respond to threats more efficiently."
"Symantec Protection Engine is a cheaper and rock-solid product where basic anti-spam features and threat intelligence are needed."
"The best features that I like the most include the threat intelligence network, which is effective in protecting against evolving threats."
"Symantec Protection Engine provides me with the option of both cloud and on-premise solutions, which stands out for both me and my clients."
"What I appreciate in Symantec Protection Engine is the Virtual Policy Manager (VPM) and the Application Name feature, which are really effective."
"The operational efficiency with the high-performance scanning of Symantec Protection Engine is very good."
"Personally, I find the Game Mode of the Firewall very useful."
"This antivirus is regularly updated, and the updates can be scheduled."
"I strongly recommend ZoneAlarm as a simple but efficient solution, especially if your organization doesn't have a dedicated budget for providing a security solution for BYOD devices."
"The phone access scan stands out as the most valuable feature for me."
"It is quick and easy to configure."
"ZoneAlarm provides us with very good security and we are using both of the modules, including antivirus as well as firewall features, and it is very easy and stable for us."
"User friendly design and interface"
"The solution maintains reasonable scalability."
 

Cons

"As for pricing, I would say it is a little expensive compared to competitors, and I think the vendor could achieve more market growth if the pricing were more reasonable."
"While I have mentioned many advantages of Symantec Protection Engine, there are areas for improvement, particularly the dashboard features."
"I would like to see improvements in reporting and troubleshooting capabilities for Symantec Protection Engine, as more detailed insights and simplified diagnostics would make day-to-day administration easier."
"I have concerns about scalability."
"We have scenarios in which Symantec Protection Engine misses some threats, spam, and targeted attacks that Proofpoint can catch with AI security features."
"To improve Symantec Protection Engine, I suggest simplifying its integration with other tools, as it is more complex compared to Trend Micro and CrowdStrike."
"For the improvement of Symantec Protection Engine, the engine did not work with their basic engine when I was working, which was almost three or four years before."
"Price is a significant area for improvement. The pricing is quite expensive, and it is particularly high for regular customers."
"Perhaps the primary area for potential enhancement is to make it faster, ensuring a more seamless experience while maintaining robust security features."
"Some of our users say that the interface is a little bit outdated for 2020, and want it to be more modern and cozy."
"They need to update and improve the features available for Mac."
"I used ZoneAlarm a long time ago, so I don’t know the specific version."
"Currently, the client is only available for the Windows Operating System but it would be good if it were released for Mac OS as well."
"We'd like better performance of the network equipment. There are high-speed environments where an immediate response is required."
"The solution's efficiency in threat containment and overall protection needs improvement."
"They should release a single update with all the necessary characteristics to avoid being in a cycle of consecutive updates."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for ZoneAlarm, which is cheap."
"The pricing is reasonable, with a yearly renewal license costing seventy dollars."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"We use the free version of the software, but it can be upgraded to the paid Extreme Security edition."
"This is a freeware product and I recommend using it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
17%
Healthcare Company
13%
Construction Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Hospitality Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Symantec Protection Engine?
Symantec Protection Engine works well overall, but troubleshooting can sometimes take extra time when detailed logs need to be reviewed; other than that, my experience has been positive. I would li...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Protection Engine?
I mainly use Symantec Protection Engine for scanning files for malware, protecting emails, and web filtering URL protections. I use Symantec Protection Engine to scan files uploaded by users and sh...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ZoneAlarm?
ZoneAlarm has an acceptable price. Not much detail can be provided as I am not the one to judge the price.
What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?
Check Point support needs improvement. Currently rated at 9 out of 10, more support is required. There are some concerns on support that need addressing. The integration of new products with their ...
What is your primary use case for ZoneAlarm?
I work with vendors such as F5 and deal with F5 as a reseller. I work with F5 BIG-IP regarding F5 Shape Security. BIG-IP Advanced WAF is what I work with regarding BIG-IP DNS or BIG-IP AFM. Advance...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Terma, Optix, Samsung Research Amercia, SF Police Credit Union, Independence Care System, Mattias Thomsen, Carmel Partners, Desert Research Institute, CRIF, FXCM Inc, US State Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Protection Engine vs. ZoneAlarm and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.