No one likes to spend money on internet security, because it’s all about protection, and you don’t really get anything from protection, or anything noticeable, anyway.
We’ve even related it to being like toilet paper before, because you know you need toilet paper, but there’s very little thrill that you can get out of toilet paper, outside of knowing that it was either tested on a puppy or a baby (neither are true) and that it provides a comfortable sensation for your proverbial.
Security is a bit like that: you don’t get any joy out of buying it, but it keeps you protected, so you kind of need to buy it, as you really should keep yourself protected online, especially with all of the nasties that regularly appear.
But so many people don’t, and over the years, we’ve heard every excuse in the book:
- “I don’t need it.”
- “I’ve never been threatened so it won’t happen.”
- “I’m safe.”
- “I had it once and it didn’t do anything.”
- “I had it once and I keep it installed, so it’s still doing its thing.”
The last one has always been popular, with people seemingly believing that an old and out-of-date security program will perform just as well on a new virus or security exploit, something that is just plain not true.
And yet it often comes down to cost, because with a price of around $100 a year, security is one of those things people at home and business try to forgo doing without.
But with the release of a new freebie from Kaspersky, your excuses for not having security on your computer just became pointless. Sorry, it’s true.
This week, Kaspersky Labs has announced a free version of its security program, coming for Windows PCs as “Kaspersky Free”.
The name literally gives away what the program is, and while it doesn’t technically compete with the paid versions and offers basically a “light” security experience, it’s something that will be constantly updated, which is better than the nothing so many folks out there are using.
As such, you get the basics that you definitely need online, with file, email, and web antivirus to make sure you don’t get a nasty infected, a self-defence mode to stop anything from coming in as well as the quarantining of files that are bad. The updates are automatic and free, meaning you’re not paying for daily, weekly, or monthly signature updates, something you are paying for with a paid subscription.
What you’re not getting, however, is payment protection, a VPN, or parental control, features you’ll get with a paid upgrade, but not the core application.
However, for many that should be enough, because while internet security as a whole should be the sort of thing every computer owner should be looking into having, it’s not hard to realise that so many avoid it, adding an unwanted cost that many also believe is unnecessary.
By throwing a free product in, Kaspersky joins Avast and AVG with a free security client, thereby providing a bit more choice for folks not keen in spending on security.
And hey, it’s great for security businesses too, not just because it introduces them to the wonders of what security can do for them, but also because it helps create a safer web.
