Do you trust free security solutions or prefer a paid one? Meh, personalleh, I don't trust any FREE AV, the only free AV I would trust if I didn't wanna pay is avast! Free Antivirus thanks to its good detection rates and auto sandbox features
The choices available in this poll don't reflect really my attitude towards paid and free security applications. I usually pay as a form of support for a particular company and not because I don't trust their free equivalent. Most of free applications either have a paid version or are open to donations. As far as I know, for example, Avira's main guard is the same in the paid and free versions as well as the web guard if one is willing to install the toolbar.
I think you should have added a couple more options because IMO i do trust free software as long as it comes from a reputable developer or source but right now i'm running paid software since it's good to support developers and it was dirt cheap. (Okay, i'll admit it was free the last time, thanks fellow member)
I use FREE. Its not the 'money' though. I have stripped down Avast to just the file guard. The other free &/or paid parts of the AV I already have via other applications. (See siggy - & a big thanks to Kees1958 for the suggestion.) The combo now just "floats like a butterfly & stings like a bee".
Off Topic Alert How can your combo float like that? Does DefenseWall not put tons of weight on the poor butterfly's wings?
Yes i use free internet security and i see no reason not to do so.I consider myself a safe user and dont come across malware that much if at all and comodo internet security covers what i need just nicely.Has a decent firewall that works like i want a firewall to work.The antivirus i have always felt has been very effective.Plus its incredibly light for a full suite and all this for free,what more could you want? I was using kaspersky but i felt this was an extremely heavy suite,its a superb application but it has too much for my needs and it does seem to get heavier over time. It depends on the end user and their personal needs.Comodo fits the bill for me and it is by far the lightest suite out there.ive known comodo to go down as low as 5mb at times and is a quiet unobtrusive sentinel for my computer. Best wishes.
I use none, but I always install freeware to users. I consider free good enough for home users and paid for companies. Detection is the same, paid has more tools and such.
All of the above apply to me, although only the "I don't use any antivirus" part, on the third option. Yes, why not? I dont wanna pay - Free is good, I use MSE on my laptop Windows XP install. No, I would rather pay and get more security - Paid is good, I use Outpost Security Suite on some of my other Windows installs. I don't use any antivirus / Internet Security - This last one, well... I am confused as to the meaning. Maybe I am misreading it. I take it as no anti-virus, no security? I'm typing from a laptop with no antivirus installed, it's running Linux. I have an OS X install with no antivirus and I have a couple of windows installs that run inside Virtualbox with no antivirus. Does this mean I don't use Internet Security? An anti-virus is not a prerequisite to Internet Security.
Nuh, that is just how security companies try to mislead people to force them to buy their products, that without running an AV or a firewall, PC will get infected within minutes. Windows since Vista is pretty safe by itself, also major browser include sandbox properties, so infecting without a user intervention is almost impossible, almost.
I can use both, but of course I prefers paid anti-virus. I feel more elegant, intimiditating and happier.
I use only free softwares Comodo Internet Security Premium Suite Free, Light, Effective & Excellent Protection
Well normally no Antivirus but since I got Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 for $ 5.95 US from store Downloadcrew.com, I purchased two licenses for the kids computers. If anyone is interested here is the link provided by Aventador. http://store.downloadcrew.com/p27766-bitdefender_antivirus_plus_2013_1-pc Note there is a issue with UAC prompt of No sound but all other music or video is fine.A few of us assume its a bug and had reported it on BD forum.Just a heads up that no more donk or what ever sound will be present when you elevate UAC.
Have you any idea how the new up and coming version is going at all? Any release dates etc. Many thanks.
I don't use an AV or security suite. My default-deny security policy is enforced by freeware products and system/user app configuration. It's been this way for many years. Regarding free vs paid, some of the best software anywhere is free and/or Open Source. Almost everything I use is freeware or Open Source. If an app is good and serves my needs better than the freeware equivalents, I will consider purchasing it, but only if it's a one time purchase. I will not lease software or use a product that requires me to pay repeatedly.
I can't say I like all those rushed polls lately, which seem to have as more or less only purpose to kill time (?), but well .. then just doing that I tell you now what I am using even if I know noone cares. A free AND (so not OR -> as in either .. or!) paid AV-solution! At the same time. Yes. I am using a FREE closed beta key of Webroot SecureAnywhere while owning a real (PAID, cheap 2011 upgrade ) key for it that is simply not (the next approx. 180 days) used (by me) because I need always to run the newest (hence beta = FREE) version. Also I do update and scan from time to time with Malwarebytes FREE product. But since I am not a stupid person I know that av-vendors have to live somehow (!) so I pay gladly (instead of putting up with evil toolbars or advertizing, being part of a cult etc.) if (!) there is something provided that I can't get for free or not even paid elsewhere: PERFORMANCE (of my system I mean, while at the same time being protected if some day finally something bad is deciding to get on it which btw. is never going to happen anyway - I say that having experience over many years with many AV running but (almost) not one real virus etc. found!). I doubt that at this moment there is an ("full") internet suite for Win7 out there that is faster and lighter etc. (by any standard) than Webroots SecureAnywhere .. (Commodo is nothing I would ever install after I read lots of dubious things linked in this very forum btw., not even if you give me money! ), but ... WRSA is not FREE! (Which I do not have a problem with.) And so I pay or want to pay even more for prolonging subscription, but see .. I only want to run their BETA version, which at the moment you are required (to my knowledge) to have and use a FREE beta key. (Please PrevxHelp - Joe - take this as a hint to please implement a possibility for customers to buy and prolong BETA enabled keys for Webroot SecureAnywhere! ) It's not uncomplicated. Nothing is. Making a useful poll for sure isn't an exception. - But thanks for letting me kill time .. mine and yours. But the old "fight" between FREE or PAID antivirus (or better their often extremist advocates) on the other hand is sooooo extremely boring to me (after years watching!) that I am very tempted to go right back into bed.
Free or paid ? It depends. I lean toward paid products as free often (but not always) lacks something significant which is present in the paid version of the same program.
Right now I use paid AV, but I wouldn't mind using free also. I use AV that gives me best overall experience.
I was surprised to read earlier in the thread that some free AVs are not the same AV as the paid ones. I thought the AV component was the same whereas in the free you might get ads, or not so easy updating proceedure or mostly no extra features. For my own needs, does Avast discriminate with their AV eng & signatures between free & paid?
Yes, why not? I dont wanna pay. The point is if a program is power, safe, reliable in doing what it have to do. Question: in this poll " free " means also the free version of a pay software ?
This is my feeling too. My poll choice, if you had included it, would be: I don't base my AV decision on whether or not it costs money. I base my decision on the program itself. Bingo!
