Why do you pay for security software?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by ssj100, Oct 26, 2009.

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  1. ssj100

    ssj100 Guest

    First off, I'm going to try to just observe the responses here, rather than respond negatively to those people who are dishing out relatively large sums of money on a yearly basis. I know that I've already created a thread here in the form of a poll, but I feel that more people will respond in this thread. By the way, feel free to vote if you haven't already:
    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=241501&page=3

    So what do I personally pay for? Well, nothing at the moment. Sandboxie was a one-off payment for life-time use and updates. The rest of my security "setup" is free for life, period. And despite trying a lot of paid (and other free) products, this current setup is the strongest I've ever had (in my opinion) - I've never felt more safe.

    So what about other people? Why do you pay for your product(s) annually? Is it really worth it, considering the protection you're getting (particularly for black-lister/behaviour-blocker software)? Who truly dishes out their hard-earned cash to purely support a vendor/company? If you are paying for protection, what are you trying to achieve with the particular product you're paying for? Do you understand what your malware "threat-gates" are? Is the product you're paying for going to cover all these "threat-gates", and to a level that doesn't rely on the "roll of the dice"?

    Or do people truly have too much money (like the 6 people who voted as such in that poll?).

    Thanks for anyone's participation in this thread.
     
  2. Rmus

    Rmus Exploit Analyst

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    I responded in that Poll but did not vote because none of the options applied to me.

    Post #26:
    However, in this thread you've added a qualifier:
    What I purchased does not require money on a yearly basis.

    regards,

    -rich
     
  3. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Stop and think. If no one paid at all, where would the free stuff come from?
     
  4. HKEY1952

    HKEY1952 Registered Member

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    The security solution that meets or exceeds my needs, desires, and most of all requirements, to secure my System or Network, be it Paid or Free, is elected for the task.


    HKEY1952
     
  5. Franklin

    Franklin Registered Member

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    Sandboxie is my only registered security app.

    Mozilla Firefox is free and seems to be doing quite nicely.

    Older Article
     
  6. Saraceno

    Saraceno Registered Member

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    ssj, I agree with Peter. The free programs exist because someone is paying (whether that be other users, or corporations).

    But you're right, it's a complex one.

    Why do some people pay? I'll throw in some reasons why I've paid at various times.

    Some might like the service they get, being able to email or contact support if they have a problem.

    Yes some free products provide equally as good service, but as a whole, a paying customer feels they have that 'right' to better service. Like when I pay a yearly amount for a 24-hour roadside assistance, haven't used their support in years, but on that one occasion when I was seriously stuck and in an outright jam, they came in handy. So I pay them for that 'right' to great service, whenever that might be.

    And at other times, I pay because I feel the product, or in this case, the program deserves it. I want to see the developer around, when a new operating system is introduced, or a new service pack is released, and so on.

    If the product does its job well, people will most likely feel 'proud' to be supporting that business/program/company or single developer. They know they've helped continue the product. As a free customer, you do provide data for the company to develop and target corporate users, but bringing back to the first point Peter made, if no-one was paying, why on earth would the developer give up hours and many days in their week to fix and update a program, if that means they can't work a regular 9 to 5 job and pay their electricity bills to keep the lights on at home?

    Anyway, the argument goes around in circles, and is discussed by those in the music industry. Many younger people today say, 'music should be free'. Well, ask the guys spending several hours a day practicing, carting their equipment around, paying for expensive equipment, do they deserve to receive something for all their effort, and bringing enjoyment to others? Definitely.

    Security programs are slightly different, because in the business environment, most businesses do pay, allowing people to use the stripped-down version for free.

    But I have to say, and this isn't aimed at anyone here, society is turning into a pack of free-loaders, who want everything for free, but these same people feel they deserve to be paid top dollar in their own job. 'I have one year experience, and I want a raise. I should be manager!'... 'Give me free books, free music, free movies, free shows, but please pay for my overtime!' ;)

    You can't ruin/cheapen art, creativity, and skilled thinking, it's rare and usually something that you can't just earn overnight. It takes years to develop. The day that happens (creativity isn't rewarded), you'll have one stale old world. :)
     
  7. Windchild

    Windchild Registered Member

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    Obviously from people who have a reason to create and distribute free software. Those would be people such as:
    - operating system vendors looking to improve their image in terms of security and/or helping customers get safer (MS Security Essentials as an example)
    - freeware/free open source software professional or hobbyist coders and companies (like, say, the folks who make things like Snort, IPTables and so on ad infinitum)
    - public authorities and government controlled organizations motivated to improve or control the state of security in the country or globally (such as, say, NSA, behind SELinux for example).

    Need I go on? Of course, such people might be less inclined to make the more hyped-up kind of security software that requires constant daily work to make it useful, such as, say, signature-based antivirus software. But obviously, security software isn't just blacklist scanners.

    And naturally, someone always pays something for everything. If MS releases free AV products, then typically the idea is that users pay for the Windows license and then get that AV for free as a kind of gift or bonus. If someone codes a free open source firewall software in their spare time and releases it for other to use for free, the author of course spends valuable time and resources on the development and distribution, so he's the one who pays.

    But the point here is that even if no-one paid money for security software licenses, that wouldn't make all security software mysteriously disappear. There are alternative forms of funding and motives beyond profit for making security software.


    As for the actual title of the thread: I don't pay for security software. There's nothing in the commercial security software that I would want or need, so I see no reason to pay for any of it at this time. And that's probably going to remain the case for as long as I'm likely to live. I'm happy with using my brains, the OS security features, and whatever interests me that is free and/or free open source.
     
  8. trjam

    trjam Registered Member

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    most associate paid with better. Not always the case but the word free in this world carrys a negative stigma. I dont mine paying if it is for what I want.

    Question is, what do I want.:D
     
  9. Saraceno

    Saraceno Registered Member

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    Some people like a pretty interface, or easy to use, so they'll pay for it.

    And as Windchild mentioned, many here don't need to pay for it. Buy the majority I've encountered in day to day life, don't even know where or how to download free software, register it, or tweak the settings to suit. If they do manage to get someone to download it, they soon freak out if there are any alerts.

    Some of the paid products (and I stress some) have an advantage by being simple to use from the get-go. Nothing more required. One that always comes to mind is the big yellow one. ;)
     
  10. dcrowe0050

    dcrowe0050 Registered Member

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    Very interesting ssj. Trjam makes a good point, when peple think about trusting their security to a free product they think there is absolutely no way this free software can protect me as good as any commercial mainstream product I can pay $50 for. And most can part with 40-50 dollars to be able to trust in their security solution. A lot of us know that some free security apps(avira, avast,comodo, PCT, and a lot more) are just as good if not better in some areas than the paid ones. But some people dont participate in forums or read user reviews and even if they do they can trust us enough to take our word for it because why trust something I can download for free anywhere on the net, when I can pay for protection and know without a doubt what Im getting.

    I've always been quite the opposite, Ive always been scared that I would pay for something that wasn't good protection or that I didn't feel comfortable using.
     
  11. elapsed

    elapsed Registered Member

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    It tends to be mainly about what I want from the product or not, whether it is free or not is irrelevant and usually only a bonus. For example, currently the only thing I paid for is KeyScrambler, and in a few weeks I'll be upgrading to win7 64, so I won't be using that either.
     
  12. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    1. It serves my wants and needs
    2. Usually support is included with the paid version and that's important to me
    3. I like to support certain developers, especially the lone efforts
    4. I could spend $30-$50 at the bar or restaurant, like so many people I know, but then the enjoyment is finished within a few hours. With the paid software I can use and enjoy it for years :)
     
  13. MerleOne

    MerleOne Registered Member

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    I used to pay for my A/V. Now I use a free one, Rising, which I find excellent and light. I agree to pay, but only for lifetime licenses (like SuperAntiSpyware), or at very discounted prices (I got a 1 year license for Mamutu, just to try).

    I also have a lifetime license for AntiSpamSniper for Windows Mail.
     
  14. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    Many free products are not licensed to be run at a place of business. A business running free antivirus like MSE or AntiVir or AVG or Avast...it's against the TOS, so it would be pirating.

    Many networks have a "Server OS"..and most AV products are not certified/supported to be run on servers.

    In many production environments, it's important to run "supported" products, which naturally discards most of the free options.
     
  15. DOSawaits

    DOSawaits Registered Member

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    I currently pay for security software because I use Windows, but that will change soon.;)
     
  16. MerleOne

    MerleOne Registered Member

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    Malware Bytes proposes lifetime licenses ?
     
  17. MerleOne

    MerleOne Registered Member

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    Thanks, I missed that last time I looked.
     
  18. TairikuOkami

    TairikuOkami Registered Member

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    Most people pay, because they do not know about freeware or they consider it less effective and no wonder, Symantec is good example claiming, that MSE sucks. Freeware is mostly used because it is preinstalled on computers, otherwise there is trial software and so on, which is just 1 click away to be bought.
     
  19. philby

    philby Registered Member

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    @SSJ100

    Do you happen to know whether the MBAM lifetime license covers simultaneous activation on mutiple machines as per the Sandboxie lifetime license?

    It's not really clear from the MBAM site.

    Thanks

    philby
     
  20. philby

    philby Registered Member

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    OK, thanks anyway.

    Don't s'pose you need it, running Sandboxie :)

    philby
     
  21. Gizzy

    Gizzy Registered Member

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  22. philby

    philby Registered Member

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    Thank you Gizzy.
     
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