free-antivirus posts

Nice try, Symantec! Cheesey video warns against free antivirus

by Lee Mathews Sep 29th 2009

Back in July, a Symantec exec predictably talked down free antivirus apps. This week, the cheeky devils behind Norton Antivirus have turned out a real tour de force. Seriously. It's a flippant look at the old adage "the best things in life are free."

The spot starts by mentioning love. Yeah, that's free, right? Sure, except for weddings says the straightman - those could cost as much as *gasp* $10,000! I'm not sure what year Symantec thinks it is, but I'm pretty sure many weddings run well in excess of three to five times that amount.

What about kids, those are great - and free! No, jackass, that's another bad call on your part. They're expensive too, says Unfunny Guy. Really? Thanks for pointing that out.

Tags: free-antivirus, norton, symantec

Filed under: Business, Security, Symantec, Freeware

Avast responds to Symantec's jaded criticisms of free antivirus

by Lee Mathews Aug 5th 2009

Last month, Symantec Product Manager David Hall ruffled some feathers when he blasted free antivirus software. Avast's Vincent Steckler has since had a look at the interview, and believes Hall "erroneously concludes that free products cannot be trusted, are not sufficient, etc."

He continues, "But then again why should a firm that makes a billion dollars a year off of paid anti-virus conclude that a free anti-virus product is good..." Many of you echoed that sentiment in the comments.

Steckler has plenty of good counterpoints, which you would expect from a guy that works for a free AV provider.

Hall slammed free programs for lacking targeted indentity theft protection. Not so fast, says Steckler. "Malware focused on stealing identity information is just malware." What about that "big gap" between the changing threat landscape and the defense provided by free apps? "[Hall] is wrongly assuming that antivirus products do the same as what they did 10 years ago," but they don't.

Yes, Mr. Symantec, Even free antivirus like Avast and AVG now use much more sophisticated methods to thwart potential threats.

Tags: avast, free-antivirus, malware, norton, propoganda, spyware

Filed under: Internet, Security, Symantec

Symantec's Hall says free antivirus is for chumps

by Lee Mathews Jul 4th 2009

In a discussion with tech.blorge.com, David Hall, who is Symantec's Product Manager for Asia-Pacific Consumer Products and Solutions, voices his concerns over the popularity of free antivirus programs.

"People tell me, 'oh well look I use free antivirus because it is free and it protects me from everything in those areas,' but when you compare that with what's really going on in the threat landscape, there is a very, very big gap between what antivirus does and the threats that are being delivered today."

He later continues, "[...] attackers are not necessarily only targeting the web browser. Think about all the plug-ins you have installed on your machine – RealPlayer, Flash, QuickTime – all of these have vulnerabilities too."

Yes, the threats we face on the Internet have changed over the years and In some respects, Hall is correct.

Like many of you, I no longer rely only on AV software. It's a starting point in keeping my systems protected. I also use a firewall, OpenDNS or a hosts file blocker, and browser addons like NoScript and NoFlash. For added protection, I'll use Sandboxie (and sometimes Windows SteadyState). All of these tools are totally free, and they've been doing the job quite nicely on my home systems.

Hall's quotes do help explain why I've seen several machines on my workbench running only Symantec's own Norton Antivirus that have fallen victim to drive-by attacks. Yes, Symantec, even users running your AV protection aren't totally safe. And it's not free. They paid for it.

In fact, they're still paying for it.

See what I did there?

Tags: free-antivirus, norton-antivirus, symantec

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free-antivirus posts

Nice try, Symantec! Cheesey video warns against free antivirus

Avast responds to Symantec's jaded criticisms of free antivirus

Symantec's Hall says free antivirus is for chumps

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