I always wanted to keep my computer as safe from malware as possible. My only weapons, as well as of all the other computer users were the anti-spyware, anti virus, anti trojan solutions available on the market or the suites developed by producers like Symantec, Kaspersky or Avast. They work fine, but malware still found its way to my computer and damaged some of the files. And you all know how effortful the process of removing malware can be.

Fortunately, there is more than one solution on the market, besides the regular suites and the anti-spyware available. Firewalls will also keep your machine safe from intruders up to a certain level. But using firewalls can be sometimes pretty difficult if their interface is not intuitive and the options are not properly explained.

However, lets just assume that you have one of the best anti virus softwares on the market that comes complete with anti-spyware, anti-trojan, anti-phishing etc., and the most reliable firewall you have been recommended. Do you think you are safe from malware? If your answer is positive, then let me tell you how naïve you are. There is no program or technology that can guarantee that you cannot get malware on your computer as long as X software resides on your machine. Both viruses and anti-viruses are the pieces of imagination and progress. They will always be changing and new doors inside your computer will be discovered.

However, adding a plus of security never hurt anyone (as long as there were no software conflicts). Window Zones is an innovative application designed to prevent your workstation from getting infected by any malware. The basic principle is very simple and the application works similarly to a firewall, but not quite. Based on the rules you create, you can put a certain process into one of the two zones available: safe and admin. Generally, the applications that are in direct contact with the Internet are placed in the safe zone (web browsers, messengers, web players, mail clients etc.) while those that do not require an Internet connection are placed in the admin zone.

The selection is made based on the rules created by the user and the transfer from one zone to the other is made very easy. You simply drag the applications/processes from one part to the other in Window Zones interface. Another method is clicking on the padlock button created to every application window. If the padlock is red, then the application is placed in the safe zone. When it is red, it means that the application is in the admin zone.

The safe zone will not allow malware to install on your computer and will practically prevent it from using the administrative rights. This way, it will not be able to replicate and damage the system. Its powers are limited to those of guest. Window Zones does not rely on any detection mechanism. To give you an example, when IE or any other browser are in the safe zone, no matter what it is downloaded, it cannot be written to C:Program Fiels or C:. Using this method, you will not have to worry anymore about malware installing itself.

Also, the application is not recommended to run alone on the computer and I think it is in your best interest to keep the firewall and anti-virus working.

The first time you are using the software you will be asked to enforce the default rules available. Nothing bad will happen with this and if it does, you can always change them. One thing you should keep in mind: the rules are made only to keep the respective processes in the safe zone. If there is a rule for a process which you want to be in the admin zone, the only thing to be done is delete the rule. You cannot change it.

The software will run in the background continually, watching the rules to be respected with every application you are launching. The main window is Programs. Here, the user is displayed all the processes that are currently running in the assigned zone. To temporarily transfer a process from one zone to another you simply have to drag and drop it.

The Rules area shows all the rules that are currently running. They include a default number of processes that are automatically placed in safe zone, but you can reconfigure them to your own taste. You can delete them in order to run in admin zone or add some more processes to be run in safe zone.

Options section is not as rich as I have imagined and there are General Options, Alert Options and Security Options. Security allows applying a password for changing the rules and reverting the processes to the admin zone. Alerting includes enabling notification about successful or failed zone moves or about admin processes that should be in the safe zone.

General Options allow the user to add the padlock button to the title bar of all the applications (it comes in handy when you want to quickly change the residence zone of a process; however, it takes some time to get used to it), start Window Zones at startup and hiding the main window to tray notification area when in minimized mode.

That is all about it. For a better understanding of how the application works, and the flash video tutorial, check out the website. The presentation is very tasteful, funny and easy to understand.

The Good

High functionality, it does not intrude into any other security application. I had no problem whatsoever with regards to conflicts between softwares and Window Zones functioned exactly as it should have.

The interface is great looking and understanding the way it works (as well as the presentation on the website) will not give you any headaches.

The Bad

The price does not look so good. I am aware that it is innovative, but $35 is too much for me.

The Truth

Window Zones is designed to function complementary to all the other security applications you have installed. You will not be guaranteed that there will not be any malware on your computer from the moment you install it, but the security will be much increased.

While in safe zone, nothing can be downloaded from the Internet. That's the time the little padlock on the title bar of the web browser comes in handy (simply click it and add the browser temporarily to the admin zone). After restarting the application, all the rules will be reinforced, so if by chance you forget to place a process to safe zone, this will not be a biggy.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: