Sometimes free just isn’t worth it.
We all love free stuff, but when it comes to antivirus protection, you get what you pay for. Sure, you can get a basic level of protection with free software, but there are some serious drawbacks:
- Prompts to upgrade. This is one of the most annoying downsides of having a free antivirus program – you will constantly have to deal with popup ads and notifications telling you how much better the premium version of your free software is.
- The lack of real-time customer support. The only way to get answers concerning your free antivirus software will be forums, tutorials or a Google search.
- Lack of advanced protection. For business in particular, free software will not give you the level of firewall and malware protection that you need.
Most significantly, it’s important to know that most free software is not intended for commercial use. Commercial use requires that you purchase the antivirus software.
License agreements typically have terms or fines for infringement of $10,000 or more per device.
As an example, consider the AVG Free License agreement, “ANY COMMERCIAL USE OF THE SOFTWARE, AND ANY RESALE OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION OF THE SOFTWARE, OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED BY THIS AGREEMENT, CONSTITUTES A MATERIAL BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT AND MAY VIOLATE APPLICABLE COPYRIGHT LAWS.”
Sometimes free just isn’t worth it. Effective antivirus software is affordable. Businesses need the high level of protection, support and monitoring that only paid, licensed software and the right IT partner can provide.
It’s time to take computer security seriously. Give us a call to discuss how to protect your systems and defend against the many threats out there today.