I disagree with this. I have used AVG Free
(
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-virus/us/frt/0) on many
systems over the years and have found it to, usually, take up less system
resources than Symantec Corporate Edition but provides the same level of
protection.
That's not to say that I have never had a system infected, but I have had to
"lobotomize" systems that had both free software and paid software on them.
Your best bet, if money is an issue, is to go with the best free AV solution
you can find and in addition to that install a popular free spyware scanner.
Windows Defender seems to do a fairly decent job. I use this in addition to
the Malicious Software Removal Tool (updated monthly) and Ad-Aware.
You can never be completely protected. As unfortunate as this sounds, your
only real solution seems to be to protect yourself in a variety of ways and
limit how your systems are used.
As to the question of "What's it in for the makers of this software?" I
partly agree that some of them do allow you to use portions of their product
in hopes that you will purchase a full version in the future. Although there
are those, and to some this might be hard to comprehend, that program
because they like it. I have personally written apps in the past that solve
real-world problems (nothing on the level of an anti-virus app) and have
released these to the community through SourceForge and the like. I have
never asked for monetary compensation for my "side" work. I enjoy doing it
because I get a rush from working on a project to solve a problem. Think
about how your grandfather might have done woodworking as a hobby because he
liked to see the finished product. I feel this is comparable.
I hope this helps...
On 3/28/08 10:37 AM, in article
uNMRPmOkIHA.4356@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl,
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote:
> "Spin" <Spin@invalid.com> wrote in message
> news:6549jjF2cffpiU1@mid.individual.net...
>> Gurus,
>>
>> Free antivirus software such as Avast http://www.avast.com and NOD32
>> http://www.eset.com are well spoken of. My question is, given that
>> they are free, what's it in for the makers of this software? Because
>> of this question, I am hesitant to switch off of Symantec or McAfee.
>
>
> Free versions are:
> - Crippleware. They don't have all the protection and features of the
> full verison.
> - Lureware. They want you to eventually buy their paid version.
>