In response to his queries, the reader was directed to a Zone Labs FAQ page for the explanation as to why the company had decided to drop NT support. There he found a rather pious statement from Zone Labs about the importance of “ keeping software updated with the latest security patches” and the fact that Microsoft’s “lifecycle” timetable meant Windows NT was end-of-lifed as of June 2003. If Microsoft no longer supported NT, Zone Labs apparently felt it shouldn’t either.

Since Microsoft’s timetable for NT’s demise has long been known, our reader was very upset that Zone Labs would use this as an excuse to shortchange him on four months of support. While it was true he could continue to use the version of ZoneAlarm he already had (in fact, the basic ZoneAlarm product is still available for free download anyway), a security product without updates quickly becomes useless. This was brought into stark relief by the fact that, at the same time Zone Labs was telling the reader he was no longer entitled to updates, the Blaster and SoBig viruses were beginning to spread.

The reader does not report being hit by those viruses, but what if he had been? And what if the update Zone Labs refused to make available to NT users – and update that he had paid for eight months ago -- would have saved him? A lot more than four months’ worth of a $40 subscription can be at stake when a company in the security business decides it’s not going to honor its support commitments.

By the way, I should point out that Zone Labs is still offering Windows 98 SE users one or more years of updates and support for its ZoneAlarm products. But by that same Microsoft timetable that showed NT sunsetting in June, Redmond is due to pull the plug on Win 98 SE as of March 31, 2004. Perhaps Windows 98 users interested in ZoneAlarm should ask for a six-month price.

Frankly, I am mystified by this behavior on the part of Zone Labs. The policy outlined on their website makes no sense, much less their refusal to honor their support obligations. Why follow Microsoft’s timetable for OS demise so closely? After all, Microsoft itself made its Blaster fix available to NT customers, end-of-lifed or not. You would think a company with Zone Labs’ reputation would certainly want to do no less for its paying customers.