Why do people pay for an antivirus at Home?
- Thread starter jackuars
- Start date
- Feb 1, 2013
- 977
Average users reason: They believe paid avs are better.
Average users reason that could have a point:
Many free avs like avast and avira show popups which many users click, enter a trial period and after a while..no protection. I have come across many users that have done this.
More knowledgeable users may prefer paid producta for the above reason because popups etc might be disturbing for them as well as free avs tend to be more buggy than the big names like kaspersky and Eset.
Average users reason that could have a point:
Many free avs like avast and avira show popups which many users click, enter a trial period and after a while..no protection. I have come across many users that have done this.
More knowledgeable users may prefer paid producta for the above reason because popups etc might be disturbing for them as well as free avs tend to be more buggy than the big names like kaspersky and Eset.
The bottom line is, paid versions tend to be more complete/offer more then free versions. Some of your more advanced users will still use paid products because of, or maybe because they do not want 5 programs running to do the job of one. Do not get me wrong with that statement, as i believe free is as good as any paid product, but generally there is a cost either way, one requires money, and usually a set and forget atmosphere follows, the other, well, may require time learning "which some people neither have time for nor want to spare" and or eat up unnecessary resources.
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It used to be fun mixing and matching programs and antivirus to make a custom suite. But I always had to wonder how compatible it really all was. I never minded popups and choices and luckily my wife was pretty sharp about it. Then one day one of the three year old twins was playing a game and one of the security programs we were using had a popup something to the effect of allow or terminate. Without hesitation she clicked on the allow knowing if she hit the other one it was game over. She couldn't read but she knew what kept the game going. They are to smart for me so now I gladly let Kaspersky take care of it!
- Jun 22, 2014
- 905
Ah, spoken like a true shopper, and an experienced shopper who is particular about his choices and knows a great value when he see it!This rightly encourages others to explore further in order to discover something good for themselves too.
Now thats as good as a discription of Sandboxie as I`ve ever heard.You must have that Sandboxie feeling too, Cats.
Thanks for the poetically expressive words.
Regards Eck
- Jul 25, 2014
- 272
- Jan 22, 2014
- 577
I know an expert who could deny this information (at least about 3 or 4 months ago)
What you mean more programs ?
Let say you bought a paid Security solution ?
Don't you install CCleaner ?
Don't you install and Adblocker ?
Don't you install privacy extension ?
Don't you install MBAM and HitmanPro ?
Don't you use your common sense ?
Then why you should pay for security, while you can able to design it for free ?
Please dear @Fantasy do not take it personal, these are general questions
if you got your paid product from a Giveaway it is Ok
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- Feb 23, 2014
- 3,329
I prefer to buy products that I know that are quality products.What you mean more programs ?
Let say you bought a paid Security solution ?
Don't you install CCleaner ?
Don't you install and Adblocker ?
Don't you install privacy extension ?
Don't you install MBAM and HitmanPro ?
Don't you use your common sense ?
Then why you should pay for security, while you can able to design it for free ?
Please dear @Fantasy do not take it personal, these are general questions
As for your questions I shall answer them....
I have ccleaner but I bought the professional version.
I have adblock plus installed.
I have privacy extensions, but I always end up deleting them and re-downloading them at one point.
I have bought malwarebytes and use it daily.
Yes, I mean who doesn't use common sense nowdays?
I really only pay for products because I always have extra money to spend/waste money on because I feel like it
Last sentence is my answer thanks.I prefer to buy products that I know that are quality products.
As for your questions I shall answer them....
I have ccleaner but I bought the professional version.
I have adblock plus installed.
I have privacy extensions, but I always end up deleting them and re-downloading them at one point.
I have bought malwarebytes and use it daily.
Yes, I mean who doesn't use common sense nowdays?
I really only pay for products because I always have extra money to spend/waste money on because I feel like it
If Security companies don't have paid products that people buy, then there may not be any money for them to even.. Well survive? You need food/drink, shelter (a house, which will have bills attached), the staff at these companies most likely have families to feed as well. There's a difference between a hobby with a sidejob to earn money and then dedicating time and effort and working on Security as a main job (staff at comapanies like ESET, Emsisoft etc).
While yes I do agree that some free applications/services may provide a fair level of protection, whereas some people (most, actually) will want that bigger level of protection (or should I say "protection taken to a higher level").
For example, a single parent wants to protect their children on the internet. What does she do? Does she download a free application/product off a website? No. She doesn't. She most likely goes to a shop and get's a DVD with the installation on it, instead of going to the website altogether. Yes, believe it or not, I see A LOT of people buying the DVD's for the installation, check the stores in UK (not sure about other countries). No offense, but even if she did go to the website and saw the "Free version" box/tile/label, I doubt she would know how to correctly set it up for the maximum protection, prior to even having no experience with Software but just using it here and there for Word Processing for her work (Microsoft Office) and wanting to put Security for her children, who neither know much about it all, or none due to starting using the computer properly and not being aware at how viruses can really affect them, but their information/ID and personal files also.
Another example could be a School who are starting out. They launch their school and they have what? 3,200 students who have applied (and were thankfully accepted ). After the Summer, when they all join, one of the I.T admins decides to show the user log to a guest/visitor to the school when he accidentally discovers a huge list/log of (well, for the rules on this website, let's say "inapropriate" websites or "unsuitable" for the age group of the children, being the age of 13 - 16) ... He quickly panicks, the guest would be shocked so he finds a way to hide it and moves on to the next feature. After the visitor leaves, he needs to find a way to stop this from happening. Yes, being a I.T admin at a school he should know how to use a free application to help him, however being a school they really need the maximum security therefore he goes out and buys a security suite with also a custom filtering tool where he can also "blacklist" certain URL/websites in a category and log all users accounts who try to access it (so they are aware who it is trying to use those services/websites and view the content).
Carrying on about the schools, a good Antivirus/TS suite is a necessary requirement due to the kids taking a interest in I.T. As far as im aware, schools all have the computers linked up to a server. If a kid with I.T as a hobby outside of school gets his hands on the computer and finds a backdoor solution to bypassing the free Antivirus with a day0 sample he could have even written himself (it's possible), he could easily bypass it and do anything he likes. He could delete and remove sensetive files the school needs (or if he's really mean, he could do a more "secure" file deletion. He could not only delete the file, but make another app (or use a existing one, having control over the system being able to install apps), to overwrite the file data (let's say even 30 times for maximum security of the file being gone).
HOWEVER, If the school put their hands in their pockets and pulled out some cash, and got a proper TS suite, or even better, contacted a vendor for a customised version to suite their school, then they could avoid all these problems. They could also disable use of Command Prompt, hide the disks with the sensetive information, have a proper IP/website blocking filter with reports and proper instant popup reports, zero-day malware protection, and a behaviour blcoker to avoid personally written apps never seen before by the vendors to catch them out with the behaviour analysis... In fact, if they were really serious, they could lock up things like Windows repair with the boot, lock up the BIOS (and stop booting of USBs/Disks without a password), deny permission to installing apps without the admins permission... That's even better. They have all that sorted, and more problems solved with the custom made Security suite (which is paid).
Then there could be issues to people in this kind of group (users of MalwareTips, I will only do one example for this*):
Let's say a user with a high reputation on this website was testing Malware Packs and the free Antivirus didn't have the signature in their database yet, but the protection wasn't as good as on paid and the behaviour blocker protection was limited (just as a example, but I don't usually see that limit on behaviour blockers with free versions... But anyway, back to the example), then they accidentally executed the file. Or, even better, their little brother executed the file (say they were still in College and lived with their parents still), then where will they be? Zero-day malware running, could be a backdoor or ransomware, or anything they could be not expecting. However, if they then had bought the paid copy of the Anti-malware/Internet Security, for backdoors they would be aware of the connections when checked/alerts and the Heuristics could have fished out the file with a fishing rod instantly.
Then there could be a average PC user who did know what he was doing and had very, very important files only HE could ever need to see hidden on his computer. He was planning on destroying the hard drive with a lot of techniques combined into one to make sure the files really were never recovered. He would start by smashing it with a hammer, throwing it around for a bit, setting it on fire, bloating it with water (I don't know, that came into my head), driving over it with a car, going for some fun rockclimbing (throwing it off) then using a zipwire to fly down and collect the pieces)... Skydiving and throwing it out. Who knows what he could do... OH NO! The guy got hacked whilst he was dreaming of what he would do with the hard drive. Damn. They stole the files (well a copy). If he had the TOP NOTCH paid security and Anti-hacking technology (Firewalls,...) then possibly, just maybe this could have been avoided.
Then there are free tools which help in some of the situations but for the BEST protection, you'll need to spill. They always make you sqeel with cash, lol. Feel free to have your opinions, I am not taking that away but my opinion is they always do better wth paid. Look at @OpenSecLabs signature, there is a link to what he feels is the truh about Security and I also agree with some of his thoughts etc about it.
Sorry for this very, very, very long post. I was bored, I was in the mood, so I decided to write it...
While yes I do agree that some free applications/services may provide a fair level of protection, whereas some people (most, actually) will want that bigger level of protection (or should I say "protection taken to a higher level").
For example, a single parent wants to protect their children on the internet. What does she do? Does she download a free application/product off a website? No. She doesn't. She most likely goes to a shop and get's a DVD with the installation on it, instead of going to the website altogether. Yes, believe it or not, I see A LOT of people buying the DVD's for the installation, check the stores in UK (not sure about other countries). No offense, but even if she did go to the website and saw the "Free version" box/tile/label, I doubt she would know how to correctly set it up for the maximum protection, prior to even having no experience with Software but just using it here and there for Word Processing for her work (Microsoft Office) and wanting to put Security for her children, who neither know much about it all, or none due to starting using the computer properly and not being aware at how viruses can really affect them, but their information/ID and personal files also.
Another example could be a School who are starting out. They launch their school and they have what? 3,200 students who have applied (and were thankfully accepted
). After the Summer, when they all join, one of the I.T admins decides to show the user log to a guest/visitor to the school when he accidentally discovers a huge list/log of (well, for the rules on this website, let's say "inapropriate" websites or "unsuitable" for the age group of the children, being the age of 13 - 16) ... He quickly panicks, the guest would be shocked so he finds a way to hide it and moves on to the next feature. After the visitor leaves, he needs to find a way to stop this from happening. Yes, being a I.T admin at a school he should know how to use a free application to help him, however being a school they really need the maximum security therefore he goes out and buys a security suite with also a custom filtering tool where he can also "blacklist" certain URL/websites in a category and log all users accounts who try to access it (so they are aware who it is trying to use those services/websites and view the content).Carrying on about the schools, a good Antivirus/TS suite is a necessary requirement due to the kids taking a interest in I.T. As far as im aware, schools all have the computers linked up to a server. If a kid with I.T as a hobby outside of school gets his hands on the computer and finds a backdoor solution to bypassing the free Antivirus with a day0 sample he could have even written himself (it's possible), he could easily bypass it and do anything he likes. He could delete and remove sensetive files the school needs (or if he's really mean, he could do a more "secure" file deletion. He could not only delete the file, but make another app (or use a existing one, having control over the system being able to install apps), to overwrite the file data (let's say even 30 times for maximum security of the file being gone).
HOWEVER, If the school put their hands in their pockets and pulled out some cash, and got a proper TS suite, or even better, contacted a vendor for a customised version to suite their school, then they could avoid all these problems. They could also disable use of Command Prompt, hide the disks with the sensetive information, have a proper IP/website blocking filter with reports and proper instant popup reports, zero-day malware protection, and a behaviour blcoker to avoid personally written apps never seen before by the vendors to catch them out with the behaviour analysis... In fact, if they were really serious, they could lock up things like Windows repair with the boot, lock up the BIOS (and stop booting of USBs/Disks without a password), deny permission to installing apps without the admins permission... That's even better. They have all that sorted, and more problems solved with the custom made Security suite (which is paid).
Then there could be issues to people in this kind of group (users of MalwareTips, I will only do one example for this*):
Let's say a user with a high reputation on this website was testing Malware Packs and the free Antivirus didn't have the signature in their database yet, but the protection wasn't as good as on paid and the behaviour blocker protection was limited (just as a example, but I don't usually see that limit on behaviour blockers with free versions... But anyway, back to the example), then they accidentally executed the file. Or, even better, their little brother executed the file (say they were still in College and lived with their parents still), then where will they be? Zero-day malware running, could be a backdoor or ransomware, or anything they could be not expecting. However, if they then had bought the paid copy of the Anti-malware/Internet Security, for backdoors they would be aware of the connections when checked/alerts and the Heuristics could have fished out the file with a fishing rod instantly.
Then there could be a average PC user who did know what he was doing and had very, very important files only HE could ever need to see hidden on his computer. He was planning on destroying the hard drive with a lot of techniques combined into one to make sure the files really were never recovered. He would start by smashing it with a hammer, throwing it around for a bit, setting it on fire, bloating it with water (I don't know, that came into my head), driving over it with a car
, going for some fun rockclimbing (throwing it off) then using a zipwire to fly down and collect the pieces)... Skydiving and throwing it out. Who knows what he could do... OH NO! The guy got hacked whilst he was dreaming of what he would do with the hard drive. Damn. They stole the files (well a copy). If he had the TOP NOTCH paid security and Anti-hacking technology (Firewalls,...) then possibly, just maybe this could have been avoided.Then there are free tools which help in some of the situations but for the BEST protection, you'll need to spill. They always make you sqeel with cash, lol. Feel free to have your opinions, I am not taking that away but my opinion is they always do better wth paid. Look at @OpenSecLabs signature, there is a link to what he feels is the truh about Security and I also agree with some of his thoughts etc about it.
Sorry for this very, very, very long post. I was bored, I was in the mood, so I decided to write it...
People pay for security products in malls but still they get infection. No vendor guarantee that so why buying an AV? (another question just came my mind)
People pay for Windows and they get infection. (by the way look at Linux users, they have no concerns like this) First you pay for Windows, then pay for "All in one" security product in order to secure it (they do not guarantee remember) Why?
People pay for Windows and they get infection. (by the way look at Linux users, they have no concerns like this) First you pay for Windows, then pay for "All in one" security product in order to secure it (they do not guarantee remember) Why?
To address Linux users "like myself" there are still concerns, as many Linux users out there know exactly how to exploit Linux, and can do so..
Although i am a Linux fan, and not so much a fan of windows, i understand users not using a free operating system and paying for windows, many of them use programs that just will not work on linux, nor does the open source community have programs that compare to some of these high dollar softwares people need.
This same thought of mind can be placed on the question by the original OP.. Full complete paid suites just offer more then a free program, and it takes using several free programs to fill in that gap/need. Do not take what i am saying here wrong, as i was one of those windows users that used several programs of over lapping security at one point. It tended to take a lot of configuring and maintaining "especially every time i introduced something new to the system".. I dealt with a lot of bugs, false positives, and spent many hours tweaking, and learned more about windows from crashes using "those" kind of combinations. I have rarely seen these problems just using a full suite like Eset.
There are pro's and cons to both using free and paid. Just like there are Pro's and Con's to using windows or Linux.
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- May 26, 2014
- 1,051
Well, kind of. However the cash cow of most security companies is actually business and endpoint protection.
most paid products are all in one (AV + Firewall + BB/HIPS + webfilter + cloud + sandbox + etc...) to protect you , so you will have less services running in the background and no compatibility issues unlike several products doing the same job.
paid products are better not because they protect you more but because they keep you free of hassles.
paid products are better not because they protect you more but because they keep you free of hassles.
- Jan 22, 2014
- 577
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