How to beat the scam of security software
Whenever the fashionable concept of ’software-as-a-service’ is discussed, security software companies are always held up as a prime example. Everyone knows you need a decent anti-virus/anti-spyware/firewall combo that updates itself regularly, so automatically renewing it makes sense, right? The short answer is: possibly, but you should still do some shopping around.
To work out how to get the best deal on total security suites, we examined the pricing options available for a single PC. Options we considered included the RRP, what the Australian site of the developer charged for it in both new and upgrade versions, and how much it cost from other overseas locations.
We’re ignoring completely free packages such as Grisoft’s AVG Free Edition here, since if you meet their requirements — that is, you’re happy with the package and it’s solely for personal use — a price comparison is hardly necessary, is it?
For those of us stuck with paying, here’s the key lessons we learned:
Everything costs more or less the same.
As a broad rule of thumb, you can expect to pay between $90 and $100 for a brand-new Internet security suite (including both anti-virus and firewall components). Prices differ slightly, but hardly dramatically, so your own preference in terms of package is just as important as the cost.
Buying at retail is a waste of time unless they throw in a freebie.
Assuming you’re happy with downloading software rather than paying postage for an oversized box filled with air and a single CD, the prices offered on company sites are generally as good or better than those offered by ‘conventional’ retailers, so you might as well skip them.
The only partial exception is if the retailer has some kind of bundling deal going. For instance, it’s been possible to pick up a free basic web cam with Trend Micro recently, or a wireless mouse with some McAfee multi-PC licences. That’s only worthwhile if you really need the product in question, though, and it’s not just going to become desk drawer clutter.
Shopping offshore can save you money — but not often.
Most software companies have got wise to ‘download from an overseas site and save money’ arrangements; what with the current state of the US dollar exchange rate, we couldn’t find a single product where buying from the American parent site was a better deal than picking it up locally.
If you want this kind of discount, you’ll need to be more imaginative. Symantec’s products, for example, are somewhat cheaper from its Singapore site than via Australia ($65 versus $80 for an upgrade, for instance). However, whether that really works out will depend on the exchange rate on the day, and also on what foreign transaction charges your credit card company imposes — if they go too high, the saving might not be worth it.
Go academic if you can, but accept the limitations.
If you do qualify for the ‘academic rate’ offered by a given software vendor — typically, you’re a student or university lecturer — you can save quite a bit. For instance, at $49, CA’s suite is almost half the official $90 price, while McAfee offers a less generous $20 discount.
However, some companies (e.g. Kaspersky) don’t offer any academic pricing at all, and others (e.g. Symantec) offer it only on individual components, rather than entire security suites.
In some cases, the discount isn’t very pronounced anyway — Harris Technology, for instance, sells an academic licence Symantec Anti-Virus 2006 for $55, but you can buy a normal version of the 2007 release for $56!
Multi-PC deals are generally cheaper.
If you’ve got any kind of home network, then you’ll need security software on all of them. Some packages (such as Symantec or Trend Micro) can automatically be used on up to three PCs; purchasing multi-licence bundles is nearly always cheaper, regardless of your preferred package.
Get more than a single-year licence.
Software vendors prefer certainty, so they offer discounts for two-year licences over one-year options. Hence a one-year Symantec upgrade is $79.95, but two years is $129.95. Despite this, most offer one-year deals as standard (Grisoft’s AVG is a notable exception, and its two-year standard price of $98.95 is the cheapest deal we found overall).
