Cost of AV's and choices with confusion.

[Davidpr]

This is the first time I have posted here but I have been reading these forums for a while.

PC security is such an important issue but for someone like me who has two family PC's the cost of buying a good quality AV is prohibitive. I have been using Avast for a while which, so far, has been ok.

However I would love to put NOD 32 or KAV on both my machines. I wish AV companes would be more imaginative with their licensing policies. For example instead of charging £25 each why not charge £30 for the two? I am sure that this would generate many more sales for them and reduce the number of people using pirate copies.

Thanks.

David.

[JerryM]

{QUOTE-> This is the first time I have posted here but I have been reading these forums for a while.

PC security is such an important issue but for someone like me who has two family PC's the cost of buying a good quality AV is prohibitive. I have been using Avast for a while which, so far, has been ok.

However I would love to put NOD 32 or KAV on both my machines. I wish AV companes would be more imaginative with their licensing policies. For example instead of charging £25 each why not charge £30 for the two? I am sure that this would generate many more sales for them and reduce the number of people using pirate copies.

Thanks.

David. <-QUOTE}

Hi David,
Bit Defender permits the use of one license on two personal machines by the same user. I don't know for sure if that would apply to a family. You might query them if interested.

Best,
Jerry

[Bob D]

Frisk's F-prot has a liberal policy:
Personal license covers up to five computers in the license holder's home

[YeOldeStonecat]

You will often find family packs. Eset has one for example. I know Symantec does also. I'm sure a few others do.

[Howard Kaikow]

{QUOTE-> This is the first time I have posted here but I have been reading these forums for a while.

PC security is such an important issue but for someone like me who has two family PC's the cost of buying a good quality AV is prohibitive. I have been using Avast for a while which, so far, has been ok.

However I would love to put NOD 32 or KAV on both my machines. I wish AV companes would be more imaginative with their licensing policies. For example instead of charging £25 each why not charge £30 for the two? I am sure that this would generate many more sales for them and reduce the number of people using pirate copies.

Thanks.

David. <-QUOTE}


The ONLY reason I continue to use NAV is that almost all year long, one can find free, or very low cost, AFTER rebate NAV or 3 user NAV packages. Often these are bundled with another Symantec product.

If you live in the USA, check th weekly ads at stores such as CompUSA, Staples, Circuit city, Best buy, Frys, etc., (and their companion web sites) and watch web sites such as http://www.buy.com/ and http://www.outpost.com/.

Do NOT get such McAfee packages, VS 10 just ain't worth it.

[ardvark]

Hi David...

I know how you feel, the only thing that prevents me from using NOD or Kapersky (or ANY paid AV) is that I refuse to pay both the cost of the program AND yearly "subscriptions" just to get the definition updates. The updates are part of the program and should not be an additional charge.

Guess I will be using a free AV for the rest of my life;D

Best Regards...

[Howard Kaikow]

{QUOTE-> Hi David...

I know how you feel, the only thing that prevents me from using NOD or Kapersky (or ANY paid AV) is that I refuse to pay both the cost of the program AND yearly "subscriptions" just to get the definition updates. The updates are part of the program and should not be an additional charge.

Guess I will be using a free AV for the rest of my life;D

Best Regards... <-QUOTE}

I do not agree,

It is perfectly valid to charge for subscriptions.

Also, at some point, as with any software, specs change and updates cease.
No company can be expected to provide updates forever for old software.

An advantage of NAV is that you get FREE program updates AFTER the subscription expires, until Symantec drops support forthat versopn of the software. I get the impression that othe AV does not do this.

[ardvark]

Hi Howard...

Well, I guess we can agree to disagree, that's fine;D

[YeOldeStonecat]

{QUOTE->

An advantage of NAV is that you get FREE program updates AFTER the subscription expires, until Symantec drops support forthat versopn of the software. I get the impression that othe AV does not do this. <-QUOTE}

What good is that without current definitions?

[ErikAlbert]

{QUOTE-> What good is that without current definitions? <-QUOTE}
Yes, I would like an answer on that one too. :)

[pykko]

well, my humble oppinion on this topic....
AV vendors have to set prices for their products according to a country's specific economy. E.g. higher prices in USA, France, Germany, etc and lower in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, etc. :)

[Blackcat]

{QUOTE-> well, my humble oppinion on this topic....
AV vendors have to set prices for their products according to a country's specific economy. E.g. higher prices in USA, France, Germany, etc and lower in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, etc. :) <-QUOTE}
Russian KIS 6 users are not very happy (http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showtopic=14766)!

[aigle]

{QUOTE-> An advantage of NAV is that you get FREE program updates AFTER the subscription expires, until Symantec drops support forthat versopn of the software. <-QUOTE}
That is really great. At least other AVs should offer 2 or 3 years updates rather than just a single year.
And now a days I will say the licence should be for 2 machines( one PC and one laptop).
Just my point of view.

[Sputnik]

Kaspersky's prices are insane high for Russian customers. :gack: I don't understand how they came at such prices...

[aigle]

{QUOTE-> Kaspersky's prices are insane high for Russian customers. :gack: I don't understand how they came at such prices... <-QUOTE}
So what about 3rd world countries where its cost may be equal to 25-50 % of the salary for an average worker. They must offer special prices in different regions of world.

[DonKid]

Here in Brazil, KAV and KIS version 6 will have the same prices of version 5.;D
And KAV's price is cheaper than most of other AV companies here in Brazil.

[ellison64]

{QUOTE-> So what about 3rd world countries where its cost may be equal to 25-50 % of the salary for an average worker. They must offer special prices in different regions of world. <-QUOTE}

I agree to an extent but in my opinion ,av buisnesess (like others) charge as much as the customer is willing to pay.Generally this means that countries like the UK which hardly ever complain about anything ,usually pay through the nose for goods that are much cheaper on the continent or in the US where people tend to be more vocal and protest more.I had a laugh yesterday when the g/f came back from holiday in florida and mentioned that many americans were complaing about the price of petrol (gasoline) which was something like 3 dollars.In the Uk that would cost you around 7 dollars (if my calculations are correct).The thing about charging high amounts for an item is that when they then offer you a small discount you think your having a bargain .Maybe Mr Kasperskys looking to get rich quick and maybe buy a football team? ;)
ellison

[Howard Kaikow]

{QUOTE-> What good is that without current definitions? <-QUOTE}

Current definitions are not needed for OS that rarely connect to the internet, but program updates are needed.

Only 1 of my OS regularly conects to the internet.
The others only when necessary to run Windows/Office Update, or an update of some particular software product.

[aigle]

{QUOTE-> What good is that without current definitions? <-QUOTE}
Ya, u are right. I misunderstood it initially. Without current definitions AV is pretty useless.

[Howard Kaikow]

AV definitions protect ONLY against known viri.

It is the heuristics that try to catch unknown viri that are part of the programs and have nothing to do with the AV definitions.

[SDS909]

Just install the AV on your PCs, most don't check for the machines that have it installed, and your home IP's are probably all of the same range. Kaspersky6 is the only one I have personally seen check how many machines it is installed on. (and close itself down any machines past 2)

I have VBA32 on 6 machines in my house right now. Frankly, I don't care what their license agreement says, I am not buying an AV for each machine, that would be ridiculously expensive.

[Howard Kaikow]

{QUOTE-> Just install the AV on your PCs, most don't check for the machines that have it installed, and your home IP's are probably all of the same range. Kaspersky6 is the only one I have personally seen check how many machines it is installed on. (and close itself down any machines past 2)

I have VBA32 on 6 machines in my house right now. Frankly, I don't care what their license agreement says, I am not buying an AV for each machine, that would be ridiculously expensive. <-QUOTE}

Ethics??

[Blackcat]

{QUOTE-> I have VBA32 on 6 machines in my house right now. Frankly, I don't care what their license agreement says, I am not buying an AV for each machine, that would be ridiculously expensive. <-QUOTE}
This is also called theft and you are hurting a small AV vendor and not one of the big ones!

6 licenses for VBA32 would only cost you $13 each and this (http://www.anti-virus.by/en/buy.html)becomes even cheaper with the 2-year option.

Most conscientious users opt for either free AV's, select family packs, or go for an AV with a license that covers multiple machines ( F-Prot for Windows) for their additional computers.

[mercurie]

{QUOTE-> This is also called theft and you are hurting a small AV vendor and not one of the big ones!

6 licenses for VBA32 would only cost you $13 each and this (http://www.anti-virus.by/en/buy.html)becomes even cheaper with the 2-year option.

Most conscientious users opt for either free AV's, select family packs, or go for an AV with a license that covers multiple machines ( F-Prot for Windows) for their additional computers. <-QUOTE}:thumb: Indeed it is. :(

IMHO yearly definition update renewals are to expensive, but it does not justify this behavior.

They should be a fraction of the cost of the initial product purchase. New improved versions justify a full price. Promos for exisiting users are nice too. :)

[lotuseclat79]

Hi David,

Looks like Bubba closed your other thread just as I was posting.

I can empathize with regard to your family's confusion - but taking away the software firewall is not the answer. You family is going to have to learn to apply the most important weapon against the Internet nasties we are all subjected to every day - i.e. common sense. And if they refuse to learn, as you may well understand, you may well have to limit access until they learn the cost of not learning to use the tools that will keep them safe - and you computers up and running.

Look into DefenseWall, Sandboxie, RegDefend and Process Guard in addition to NOD32 and Kaspersky which you have already mentioned.

You family is just going to have to learn how not to be confused - and when they do - they will be a lot better of for it - and know what to do!

-- Tom

[TOMxEU]

{QUOTE-> Not looking for the 'Holy Grail' just something that does not confuse the family when they are surfing. Stopped using software FW's because they allowed everything through!!!!!! <-QUOTE}
Windows Firewall seems to be the best choise for your family. It is good and easy to use.

[Firecat]

Well, I live in a country that is NOT economically forward, so I have to look for the cheaper AVs, preferably having discounts for 2-year licenses. For cost effective solutions, the best bets would be:

- Dr.Web ($33 for 1 year, offers attractive migration prices too)
- F-Prot ($29 per year, can be used on 5 PCs, renewal price is the same as the original purchase price)
- PC Tools AntiVirus ($29.95, has a renewal discount but exact amount is unknown)
- NOD32 ($39 for 1 year, has renewal discounts, attractive family pack discounts and student discounts at http://www.nod32-av.com)
- BitDefender ($29.95 for 1 year, has a discount on renewal, allows for installation on 2 computers)
- Defender Pro ($29.99 for AV+Firewall+AntiSpyware, can be used on 3 computers, not-so-good support though, uses Kaspersky engine for AV and Firewall)

All of the above solutions will protect your PC well, and are quite cost-effective too.