I tend to use free software as much as possible. I only use paid software if there is no other alternative to it and it is absolutely necessary.
What ever works then you pay for it to support the author/company. Free from the same company supports them too as you can report bugs. Being a software developer myself if you support me I'll keep on making improvements so in a way yep!
By buying a security product or donating for it I value its quality and usefulness. This encourages the developers to maintain or improve the product. It's my way of saying THANKS.
I pay for security products because I have to. Unfortunately, nobody offers the programs I am interested in for free.
What are cracks and keygens? I'll never understand people who use cracked security programs to protect themselves from the people who cracked the security programs in the first place. It's like asking a thief to guard your house while you are away.
So far this year I have bought a license for both Defensewall and Shadow Defender (I got Defenswall for half price via bitsdujour.com, a good place for deals). Shadow Defender is just one of those make-sense-tools that I have been needing as I am a habitual tinker of setttings and so on. It will serve me well for my XP machines (as long as XP is supported by MS) Apart from sometimes impulse buying, maybe Defensewall was an impulse buy lol ... usually there is a definite chain of the events - Free version ► progressing to paid. 30 days trial is a trap really. I need much longer to fully suss out whether I really need something (took me 4 years to decide to buy Sandboxie license). I definitely try not to jump right in purchasing software as conflicts have an annoying habit of showing up after trial periods But I think those of us interested in computer security are very fickle. The impulse buying monster if always hovering on the shoulder. The next great thing is soo tempting.
I use free and paid, the reason I use Paid for security software is because theirs not any free Internet security suite or antilogger software that even comes close to the features in the paid software I use!
Like it was pointed out several times in this thread, there isn't really any free software. The home user has often the opportunity to access a free version as a form of advertisement for the company, so that by word of mouth they might have a chance to access the corporate sector or sell their services and/or software to a big company (see Russinovich and MS). AVs are special cases as the the free versions not only promote the company but they harvest new 0 day malware absolutely necessary to produce new signatures. As far as I'm concerned what I am interested in comes with a price. I don't mind paying because work must be remunerated, what I wish would change for home users is the licensing system: One license should allow at least 2-3 computers, as most households have several machines nowadays.
I am with Osaban.although trial first is Always a good thing(just don't trust free apps).don't mind paying because more often than not you get what you pay for.recently upped to ESS from KIS.already had more support from them than in years past with Kaspersky.Not saying they're bad(ok resourses needed stunk)a slowed a Broadband connection to that of dialup so turned out to be not for me.what works for others does not always work for everyone,in fact just repaired a friends KIS last night that was giving them fits. should this not work out and hope it does ZA IS could be next.many are starting to go 3pc but for a price of course.heard about ESS from/on the MG forum.do not know if Eset has one.this seems to be it. do a lot with the computer.
If you exclude the one time payment of KeyScrambler, I no longer pay for software subscriptions, complete waste of time when the free versions are equal or superior.
Jst like the one time payment(s) to MBAM and SAS(practically stold SAS Pro lifetime sub@9.95 long ago)
A very good question. I am proof you can pay out your ass and still get infected. The old way of AV is still my favorite but I honestly dont think the shelling out of money proves to work any better. Yeah no avatar, still smarting over Eset letting me down, but it vould have been any product. There are other paid ways that work better then a AV, but even still money doesnt always get you a "Get out of jail card free." Right now just using MSE and Sandboxie. Except on one 64 bit PC. Ihave just kind of worn myself out looking for what really doesnt exist. Malware is getting bigger and bigger of a problem everyday and it really looks like a lost cause for some. One product or five, it doesnt matter. Just save your money and hope for the best.
I got you beat there how many years but why pay for it since they make free version that lite and doesn't hose down the system and still offers protection. There are a lot of good opensource and freeware. Still everyone going dig in and pay up for what they can get for free. Again not everything is for free.
Quote. And the development has his cost, if I like a software I have not ideological barriers to buy it.
I would say there is tons of free software. For an accessible example, how about Ubuntu? Do I pay for security software? Sure, if I really want to test something and can't get it without paying for it. Other than that, not anymore.
I hate to say it but I agree. Paid software doesnt add much if anything to the pot anymore. Now having said that, I will say there are still specific paid applications that are very good and can not be found for free. Sandboxie, Defensewall, Gewswall to name a few. So it really isnt about paid or free, it is about what you can get by with. I love ShadowDefender and feel it is probaly the one app that is the best of all. If Tony can now just get 64 bit going.
I think this pretty much says it all.... You pay for security for the same reason you pay for anything else - you find value in the service/product. As with anything you purchase, shopping around and really understanding what you really want are important details. A consideration of those details may lead you to a free option, or the converse. Blue
I'll consider a pay product if there's no adequate freeware equivalent. Since I use single purpose apps exclusively, there's almost always a good freeware available. Exceptions: SSM Pro. I would have gladly paid for this one. SandBoxie. One of the few that are worth purchasing. Haven't decided if it's a necessary addition or an overkill with my existing security package.
