In the below quoted article on the Avira website the free antivirus software publisher attempts to debunk claims by Symantec that free alternatives provide insufficient protection (we do encourage you to purchase “full” editions of outstanding software like Avast! but you should not be misled about the value of “free” versions.)
We restore the article here as a means of calling consideration to the issues in choosing your security software.
Our work with Avira shows it to be a very strong solution for anitvirus protection in a single computer environment. Avira does not compare as favorably to Avast! for a number of reasons and you can read the Avast! review here.
Both programs compare very favorably with Symantec’s Norton Antivirus and both have extremely good track records of finding viruses before they actively cause damage.
The trade off between free and paid does go beyond how well the tools perform their functions.
Typically in comparing paid and free software limited functionality is an issue. We are strong proponents of Avast! because it covers all bases and does not limit any of its core functionality. It is easy for the user and does not present complicated configuration problems. Although it does provide a great deal of configurable settings, a user does not have to be a tech head to successfully use the product. The additional functions provided by Avast! Professional beyond those included with Avast! free are helpful, particularly in a home network environment or to protect your mobile devices. But we have never even heard rumours of a user being compromised using Avast! free. And if you are securing a single computer there few extras you will miss with Avira. So functionality and features is not a major issue in the antivirus free versus paid decision.
Technical support is another issue. If you require support for software you generally are better off going with a paid commercial version. Avira is clear that it does not offer user support for its free version, although free support is available in the Avira forums. Avast! has various support channels available including active forums. Unusual in the “free version of a commercial program space” is the fact that Avast also allows free users to register for their full support system, enabling the submission of Support Tickets to the Avast! technical team.
At the same time, paying for a product does not guarantee good support. Many expensive programs have earned well deserved reputations for awful support.
The key factor should be in getting software that is sufficiently robust and user-friendly that support will not be required. That is certainly how we feel about Avast! and Avira.
At the same time, companies such as Symantec and McAfee have a lot to lose if their support reputation falls consistently so it is reasonable to expect them,if they fall short, to strive to improve as a simple matter of keeping their jobs. This was certainly an issue for Symantec in the past as its product placed excessive demands on user systems and support responses were unhelpful to say the least. They have greatly improved according to the Secure Surfing Organization’s own users and some now strongly favour Norton as their personal home solution.
McAfee is certainly an excellent provider and delivers some free services in its own right. And you can get McAfee VirusScan Plus for only $29.99 after your Secure Surfing Organization 25% discount.
Our larger concern is with the move to all-in-one bundles. These bundles were originally created as a way for security publishers to distinguish themselves in a market where many free alternatives were presenting themselves. Since then it has become a claim of user convenience or greater stability to have one publisher deliver the user all the security applications in one suite. So the phenomenon of firewall, antivirus, anti-phising and so on has taken hold of the commercial market place.
In general we do not advise using an integrated suite or bundle.
There is a real convenience factor that we do not dismiss. If you purchase a suite like Norton 360 or you have only one vendor to deal with if there are problems and you do not need to worry about updating different programs since the suite will usually do updates for all the included components.
However, our observation is that there should be few if any problems to deal with if the software is well written. The number of publishers involved in updating your programs is largely irrelevant since the updates happen automatically in the background. (In the case of Avira, you will be presented a pop-up ad designed to encourage upgrades to the paid product, but it is not quite frequent enough to annoy us into uninstalling the product.)
Still, there may be some comfort in knowing you have a commercial solution and we do not discourage users from making the choice to buy rather than ride free. In fact, we strongly encourage you buy Avast! Professional partly because the extras are helpful, but mostly because users need to support outstanding software to ensure it continues to exist.
What we do object to is commercial publishers using innuendo or flat misinformation to discredit some great alternatives.
Avira – TechBlog » Blog Archive » Free Antivirus Solutions
Free Antivirus Solutions
August 7, 2008, 10:56 amIn a “fake Interview” Symantec’s Stefan Wesche (original article) shot against free antivirus solutions like Aviras AntiVir Personal – FREE Antivirus. Symantec claims that a functionally reduced free version doesn’t offer enough protection, especially compared to products where you have to spend plenty of bucks for. We see this different, of course. In our oppinion, Avira AntiVir Personal – FREE Antivirus is a second protection layer around companies: Malware doesn’t make its way into the company network e.g. on USB-Sticks, Digicams or MP3-Players anymore.
