Firstly, thanks Max for that very useful and informative link.
Secondly, can so many paranoid people with just enough information to frighten themselves be wrong about ZoneAlarm ?
Nah - it's good kit - I am happy with that. The underlying thread here is the number of us who don't really understand the "horses for courses" aspect of different programs. As previously mentioned, Nukenabber ISN'T a bad program - it's just not as comprehensive as ZoneAlarm in the way it hides ALL the ports rather than those you manually ( or by default ) chose to guard with Nabber.
No one program is going to cover you for Trojan/virus/unauthorised access.
Use the experiences of those guys here who have used and tested the various programs and then make a reasonably informed decision on what you need to have running for peace of mind.
I respect the opinions of many of the contributors to this forum very much and will continue to use that experience as a part of my overall defence strategy.
Finally, for those of you, who like me are a little paranoid ( no doubt due in part to ignorance ) THEY ARE OUT THERE !!!! but with ZoneAlarm the bastards can't see me.