Paying for antivirus software is mostly BS

OK, I'll take that.

 

ok then those i like (mentioned without any orders of preferences):

- AV/Suite: Avira, ESET, Emsisoft, Webroot, Symantec EP, Comodo,
- FW and related: Binisoft WFC,
- Anti-exe: NVT ERP,
- SRP: Appguard, Hadware Configurator
- Sandboxes: Sandboxie, ReHIPS
- Adblockers: Ublock, Adguard for desktop

Alongside those, all the Windows10 built-in features.

i surely forgot one or two but this is my personal list.

 

Nice list guest, thanks. I notice no VoodooShield.

 

I've been using just free antiviruses for a few years now. Whereas in the past, I used paid products at times, even some lesser known ones.

Earlier in the year I was using an extended trial of Panda Global Protection for some time. I liked it, and was going to buy a license for it, or Panda Internet Security at the end of the trial. However, despite Panda still promoting and selling their old paid products, they have been discontinued, having been replaced with a new monthly subscription service, and new versions of them have not been released for over a year. I didn't want to pay a monthly fee, or buy an outdated antivirus so I switched to the free version of Panda.

I don't feel that I need to use paid security products to be well protected. But, it is important for me to use a product that has all the features I need. I don't care if the antivirus is free of paid as long as it meets my very specific needs, then I'm happy.

 

What's an AV?...

 

What I do is select the free version of different security programs that do well in ratings. That means one antivirus, a firewall, a sandbox, etc. (if it's not included in the other security programs), offline scanners, ad blockers, etc., for browsers, and so on.

 

Agreed. Nobody works for free. I work for a software company (not security related). If we didn't charge the boss wouldn't pay me. I wouldn't work there anymore. The people at security companies are skilled professionals and they likely work harder than me keeping up with all of the latest threats. They don't just do it because they like all of us. Pay the folks.

 

They are already paid, even with "free" versions.......
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https://www.wilderssecurity.com/thr...us-software-is-mostly-bs.396814/#post-2707649

"If you’re not the customer, you’re the product"

 

Don't AV companies get tax concessions for freeware versions of their products for home users?

 

I would think that would vary by country.

 

Personal list as i said

 

Yes, but it's still probably one of the incentives to provide freeware.

 

Well said. I also had license of all AV ( in fact for more than 10 years), yet I chose the one that I find best for my PC ( which is currently Panda Free). I do not care if its paid or free.

 

It is an animal that looks a lot like a live DVD with Linux on it.

 

Adult video. No seriously, did you think I was going to say antivirus? I never paid for mine...

 

There ain`t no such thing as a free lunch(cept family and friends)

How many businesses in this day and age would push out something for free without realising this might in fact damage thier overall standing and financial stability ?

There`s a reason for most things including cyber security products i. e.porfile enhancement, data mining, advertising, increased malware databases due to a larger customer base ...and all that malarky

Paid for solutions are a must for "normal" click-happy users because of the extra features but not so much peoples with an ounce of sense.

I use mostly free apart from Outpost Pro 9.3(slurp,slurp what a lovely firewall) Kerish Doctor(slurp, slurp...what a lovely system optimiser) and WSA which I don`t use(don`t know what I was thinking of there).

Get it while it`s hot!

Regards Eck

 

It isn't BS if you need extra features. But nowadays free AV's are often good enough when it comes to blocking most malware. The problem is that nowadays both free and paid AV's are often bloated and act more like spyware.

 

The funny thing is, I would rather pay for a free AV than for the paid version bloated with junk. AV can not protect a digital identity or stuff like that, but people are willing to pay for that.

 

i also would much rather pay for a REASONABLY priced av or suite. my reasons are a few. i want to be able to run something that is add free first and if a company starts throwing stuff at me in my paid products well then they get an ear full. if i can not do a custom install i dont run it period, or at least let me turn off features without throwing a fit at me. maybe for testing but not on any production machines. i also prefer to give a small bit of support to those companies. also sometimes there may be a feature i want that may not be included in the free version. i will NOT however pay for ridiculously bloated software that installs everything under the sun on its own or will not allow me to remove certain things. i also will not dish out say 100$ for an av for like a year. that to me is not worth the cost.

 

It's really sad what happened with the AV industry. To me they are complete sell-outs, instead of focusing on protecting people with simple and lightweight solutions, they ruined it all with bloat/unneeded features and data collection.

http://blog.emsisoft.com/2015/06/26...ting-your-files-at-the-price-of-your-privacy/

 

I have Bitdefender Total Security, before that, I had McAfee Total Protection, so I don't think it is "BS" to pay for an AV
I think it is foolish to think you can get the same security for free

 

i won't say foolish, you may have something as efficient for free, but with cons (like ads, less features, etc...)

 

You can have better security for free