Free AV - why not charge?

FunkyT · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:39

What do companies such as Grisoft get out of providing free AV solutions?

Glaucus · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:40

FunkyT said:
What do companies such as Grisoft get out of providing free AV solutions?

It spreads there name and they charge for companies.

FunkyT · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:48

Do corporate companies use anything other than Symantec and McAfee?

oddjob62 · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:50

FunkyT said:
Do corporate companies use anything other than Symantec and McAfee?

I see Sophos used quite a bit.

cymatty · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:52

So they can try their products on many machines for free.

FunkyT · 8 Oct 2006 at 23:56

cymatty said:
So they can try their products on many machines for free.

So the free users act as 'guinea pigs'?

cymatty · 9 Oct 2006 at 00:13

FunkyT said:
So the free users act as 'guinea pigs'?

Yes so they can fixany bugs in the software before shipping it out to large business where if there is a problem it could cost them money.

Digital Punk · 9 Oct 2006 at 01:17

I think AVG is a cut down version of their main suite.

Suits me tbh, cos all I want is a basic virus and email scanner.

Unlike the ever more bloated Norton.

FunkyT · 9 Oct 2006 at 06:58

I hate Norton with passion tbh

bledd · 9 Oct 2006 at 08:26

also, donationware is far better imo (speaking about freeware in general)

they try to be the best freeware alternative then, to get a massive user base, and rely on the few that do actually donate

if there's an invaluable freeware tool i find that really would be worth paying for, i'll happily paypal the creator(s)

The_KiD · 9 Oct 2006 at 09:07

It makes sense to give your software out free, especially to novice users.

It is the reason why most "novice" users use Norton, they get 3 months "free" with their new PC and then they buy it cos it's what they know and trust.

Same goes for AVG, they give it out free in the hope that people that come to know and love it will then pay for the upgraded version with a few more bells and whistles.

Corporate companies use lots of different scanners. The company I manage the IT for currently use F-Secure, but it's a bit heavy on the processes, we did use Trend for a few years which was good, however I think I will look into the Corporate NOD32 client when it comes up for renewal again.