Is paying for antivirus a waste of money?

[hjlbx]

With all the problems that come with most security suites, I have grave doubts about their cost. Are they of value ? Well... sure - IF they protect your system and IF they are not problematic.

It also is largely dependent upon the user's computing habits. A high-risk user has much greater need than someone who uses their computer once or twice per week to visit MalwareTips.

I think for most safe home users that Windows Defender + Windows Firewall + uBlock Origin + NoVirusThanks Exe Radar Pro will keep their system safe - plus it is a completely freeware solution.

The bottom line to this debate is not so much paid vs free, but instead the user tailoring their security config according to their likes\dislikes, use patterns\habits, their specific system - in short - their needs.

And therein lies the problem: most home users make no determination of what they need - but instead just look at test lab rankings or try to fabricate that whole "impenetrable fortress" thing...

 

[Ink]

It's a business, what more.

antivirus of them all.. your brain

Not quite true, the brain and body can get attacked by viruses and can be fatal, or damaging. The human brain cannot detect (sense), see, taste, or feel computer viruses, likewise for living-viruses. They are invisible, but YOU can take informed decisions to protect your electronic devices, and for yourself, if human, a vaccination and avoiding high-risk areas.

I do not understand why many refer to it, but the way I see it, the brain is not an Antivirus and common sense is only a judgement call.

(I am not a doctor or medical specialist).

 

[Soulbound]

agree with @exterminator20 : average user not a waste of money.
For experienced users, well thats why Trial and giveaways exist.

 

[hjlbx]

It's a business, what more.
Not quite true, the brain and body can get attacked by viruses and can be fatal, or damaging. The human brain cannot detect (sense), see, taste, or feel computer viruses, likewise for living-viruses. They are invisible, but YOU can take informed decisions to protect your electronic devices, and for yourself, if human, a vaccination and avoiding high-risk areas.

I do not understand why many refer to it, but the way I see it, the brain is not an Antivirus and common sense is only a judgement call.

(I am not a doctor or medical specialist).

I think many people use this manner of speech to mean knowledge and experience; as you mention - informed decisions.

However, I can tell you - as someone who has tested a lot of softs and malwares - that even with knowledge and experience once can miss something or just plain make a mistake.

I still argue that what one is really paying for when one purchases a security soft is support - and not perfect protection.

 

[Soulbound]

I think many people use this manner of speech to mean knowledge and experience; as you mention - informed decisions.

However, I can tell you - as someone who has tested a lot of softs and malwares - that even with knowledge and experience once can miss something or just plain make a mistake.

I still argue that what one is really paying for when one purchases a security soft is support - and not perfect protection.

and for many support is what is needed

 

[juhful]

agree with @exterminator20 : average user not a waste of money.
For experienced users, well thats why Trial and giveaways exist.

I must agree with this. I have been using PC's for 25 years and never have I paid anything for security software. Over the years I have used free solutions mixed in with trials and giveaways of premium products. Have I been infected? Yes, but strictly by my own doing, if you play in the bad part of the internet you will more than likely get infected , and no paid pruduct will save you. So stay safe and stay FREE!

 

[Deleted member 2913]

Nope because you cannot get Norton for free as far as i know.

My vote Yes.

Paid AVs are not miracle And most of the free version of paid AVs share the same protection minus bells & whistles. And quite a good free AVs are there that protects good, same & better than paid too.

It may boil down to features that may not be present in the free version but as mentioned that feature may not be necessary for core protection. And better free alternatives are there.

And malware out there are infinite but infection is not like you start the system & will be infected as it is presented to the public on the net, blogs, tests, etc... I do think Home users are pretty safe with good free AVs & free & better alternatives out there.

Free doesn't mean Bad & Inferior & Paid doesn't Good & Better. Quality defines good or bad or inferior or better, etc...


And Yes you can get Norton for Free as far as I know Infact this is 1 AV you can get Free easy, just need to look at right place

 

[Exterminator]

I still argue that what one is really paying for when one purchases a security soft is support - and not perfect protection.

The average home user is basically someone with little or no computer knowledge.They basically shop,FB,online bank,watch videos and read email.Aside from that they know nothing else.They are not going to know about a free trial or promo for some software or the different free versions available.For these people,which are probably the majority of users,paying for protection is probably one of the best things they could purchase.It is surely better than buying those pair of shoes on eBay essentially naked to the world of hackers.
There is no perfect protection free or paid but this question has to be addressed as if you were that average home user.In a world full of more infections than ever losing the paid security software industry would be devastating.

 

[BoraMurdar]

The question is too wide. For some users it's no waste of money and for some it is.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

Some users say paid security software is good for average users, protection & support, etc...

IMO it all boils down to users/average users i.e knowledge of the users... Otherwise protection or support he/she will simply not know what/how to?

For Ex - Once I have installed KIS trial on my cousin laptop. Now for bank site KIS ask to open in protected mode. He continued & for some reason the site didn't opened & KIS gave a popup like extension is not installed or something. Next he simply cancel & browse bank website normal.

So if you say there are benefits of paid products, to get that benefits you should know how to get it or work out & that needs knowledge/little knowledge/ready to learn or patience to look into, etc...

So IMO free/paid doesn't matter, depends on users & the products itself. Depends how knowledgeable a user is... & depends what a product has, a free product may provide more & better than paid & a paid product may provide lesser & inferior than free.

 

[jasonX]

And therein lies the problem: most home users make no determination of what they need - but instead just look at test lab rankings or try to fabricate that whole "impenetrable fortress" thing...

-- Eons ago I was like that or check out what is the "popular" and most used by my pals at the office. Doing that and leaving the settings mostly in default I get infected most often with files from the office that came from those very people that I "check out". It was then that I started viewing security forums and read and read threads/comments etc.

It isn't enough that a normal user goes on and leave a security software in it's default and just do as he/she wants. It is his/her duty to learn it and use it well. User behavior also plays an important part there. Going to unsafe sites or exchanging files clumsily etc have been a factor to me being infected before. I remember in another forum about a guy that blamed Avast Pro how he got infected but did not understand how to set it / use itproperly. Ran/executed(turning off Avast Pro during the install) a game that he downloaded from a site he just visited. And because he loves that pirate game even turned-off the AV so he can play it without Avast pestering him("ONLY just when I'm playing" --he said)....tsk tsk GAME OVER! Safe behavior is key with keen understanding on how to properly setup your security software to protect you wherever you might wanna go or visit. Continuously read/understand or get involved if you are confused or get into some issues with your security software functions.

Is paying for an AV a waste of money? Not quite. If the security app is a top notch and it is what you like and use and feel at ease using it then you get what you pay for. You love using it. You trust it. So you get what you pay for.

Just as the guys have stated and explained it depends on the user and his preference/behavior.

Anyway, that is why I set my pc's to have freeware setup at a certain partition at a certain time and a paid version in another. That way I can see what gels better with how I behave and usage. Just my two cents

 

[Kate_L]

CIOs admit to wasting millions on security technology that doesn’t work. (source)

 

[LabZero]

If we look at the fundamental elements, and then the common infection detections, many free antivirus behave as well as those payment. Some of them are faster than others, but not always the paid AVs are winners by comparison.
A possible difference between the paid products and the free ones relates to the identification of new, highly-sophisticated threats, for example, a site infected with a 0day malware, or complex threats. In these cases, some paid products may be more effective due to a better technical implementation and/or to the presence of additional security modules.

But it is not possible to generalize or say that it is a waste of money.

 

[Mihir :-)]

If user submitted FUD Malware samples to every AV company who they belong to the difference will be less.No matter if they are free or paid.Every Av need a Second opinion Scanner.Nothing is 100%.Users knowledge is more important than security.

 

[Behold Eck]

So are the paid suites worth the money? Looking at all these facts, I'm unclear.

The fact that someone is in doubt indicates that they should be using a paid suite for it`s (hopefully)extra features and automated responses.

Imo any experienced Malwaretipper worth his or her salt can put together a free suite that is superior to any paid version if they want to ?

Either way a second opinion scanner is always a good idea as mentioned.

Regards Eck

 

[Razor555]

The best AV is your brain and of course if you know how to use it...

 

[Crystal_Lake_Camper]

No, because you have to pay for Norton and Zemana

Or if you where one of the lucky ones : The first few months of bèta testing zemana did give out lifetime keys. Product translators also get a lifetime key for up to 7 pc's if i remember corectely

 

[tonibalas]

My opinion is that if someone doesn't want to tweak a free AV and has doubts about the effectiveness of the free AV then
he/she can buy a security product.
On the other hand if someone reads some interesting threads here in MT and spend some time for tweaking the AV then he/she doesn't have to pay to be protected from online threats

 

[malis2007]

Is paying for antivirus a waste of money? = Yes.

alone? = YES.. IT IS A WASTE..

 

[McLovin]

Guess it can be a waste as you can find just as much as a paid antivirus in free setups. I've always had Trend which is a paid antivirus and nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with a paid antivirus but if you don't have the money go for a free antivirus/setup