10 April, 2008

I'll have that to take out, please

I use the free Zonealarm firewall on my home PC (not at work); it's more than adequate for my needs and did I mention it's free?

Recently, the updates procedure has become annoying, even unworkable for those of us still using dialup* .
I'd been accustomed to downloading the latest update file to my work PC every couple of months, then taking it home on a USB stick to install there. Yet the initial download is now merely a download-management 'applet' which in turn only obtains the real ~46 Mb update once installation begins on the destination PC. The applet claims to offer a 'download only, install later' option, but if one selects that, the 'Okay' button is greyed out – one can only download to the intended destination PC, as part of the installation procedure.

I think I've found a workaround. If one checks for updates from within Zonealarm, rather than from the ZA website, the URL of the ~46 Mb file is revealed. I cut-and-pasted that into an e-mail, and have successfully downloaded the right file to my work PC without having to install it. Here's the URL, if anyone else needs it.

However, that's incidental: the real point of this entry is an appeal to software developers.
Please don't forget dialup users, or at the very least, don't deliberately obstruct 'third-party' downloads. If this is an attempt to discourage use of your free software, it won't make me transfer to your commercial software – I'll merely switch to your competitor.

*: I have unlimited access to a better-than-broadband connection at work and a web-orientated job, so neither need nor particularly want much of a web connection from home. After a day in front of a computer, that's the last thing I want to do with my evening.