Kaspersky Internet Security

abff

My 3 user licence for the above is about to expire. When I click on the renew button, it quotes a price of £37.49, with the option to upgrade to Kaspersky Total Security at a total cost of £41.99.

I have an account with Amazon.com and that quotes a price of $24.50, but says that they are not able to ship this item to my default shipping address.

I'm not trying to hack the system or get something for free that I should have to pay for, but I would be grateful for advice on the following.

1. Is it worth paying for Kaspersky or are there free antivirus offerings that are just as good?

2. If Kaspersky is worth paying for, should I upgrade to Total Security?

3. Is there an alternative antivirus software that I should buy instead of Kaspersky?

4. If I do go ahead with Kaspersky, what it the best price currently available to me and how do I access it?

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

PropJoe10

Hi!

I personally am a believer in the free antivirus packages - I use Avast along with Malwarebytes Anti Malware (Free) and I've had no issues whatsoever with viruses or spyware for years.

I find that the modern operating systems (especially Windows 8) are much more secure and much less vulnerable to viruses and spyware than the likes of Windows XP were.

It really depends on whether you're using your PC for business, as to what I'd advise.

Hope this helps!

anvilfour

abff wrote: »

My 3 user licence for the above is about to expire. When I click on the renew button, it quotes a price of £37.49, with the option to upgrade to Kaspersky Total Security at a total cost of £41.99.

I have an account with Amazon.com and that quotes a price of $24.50, but says that they are not able to ship this item to my default shipping address.

I'm not trying to hack the system or get something for free that I should have to pay for, but I would be grateful for advice on the following.

1. Is it worth paying for Kaspersky or are there free antivirus offerings that are just as good?

2. If Kaspersky is worth paying for, should I upgrade to Total Security?

3. Is there an alternative antivirus software that I should buy instead of Kaspersky?

4. If I do go ahead with Kaspersky, what it the best price currently available to me and how do I access it?

Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

Hi buddy,

If I can't persuade you to switch to Linux which isn't affected by windows viruses, then I'd say use AVG free edition but on the basis prevention is better than cure I try to use browser extensions like AdBlock or Disconnect to stop harmful pop ups appearing.

Of course this won't protect you from opening a dodgy e-mail attachment but you can scan them with AVG to check them too.

Ctrl Alt Del

Hi,

According to our "friends" at NSA and GCHQ...the "best protection" is to turn off your security /antivirus/anti-malware programs...they are useless

The UK's spook agency GCHQ has been working with the National Security Agency to subvert anti-virus software, according to the latest piece of spoon-fed Snowden info reported on The Intercept.
According to Glenn Greenwald's rag, spooks reverse-engineered software products in order to obtain intel – a tactic that will surely come as a shock to no-one.

http://m.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/23/shocker_spooks_reverse_engineered_anti_virus_software/



The National Security Agency and its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters, have worked to subvert anti-virus and other security software in order to track users and infiltrate networks, according to documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/06/22/nsa-gchq-targeted-kaspersky/


PS
Just removed SEP and installed KIS.

abff

Thanks for the responses.

Anvilfour, how do I go about getting Linux and what are the implications for the various software programs, such as MS Office?

Ctrl Alt Del, I see that you recently switched to KIS. How did you purchase it and how much did you pay for it?

Darren 83

If you want to go the paid route try g2a.com, I got Bitdefender for less than a tenner.

PropJoe10

abff wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

Anvilfour, how do I go about getting Linux and what are the implications for the various software programs, such as MS Office?

There's an opensource alternative to pretty much everything that you'd use in Windows, although there's a bit of a learning curve when you first start using linux. What software packages do you depend on in Windows apart from MS Office?

abff

PropJoe10 wrote: »

There's an opensource alternative to pretty much everything that you'd use in Windows, although there's a bit of a learning curve when you first start using linux. What software packages do you depend on in Windows apart from MS Office?

Nothing much really - a web browser (usually Chrome), Acrobat Adobe. Can't think of anything else although I guess I probably have some version of Flash Player.

PropJoe10

abff wrote: »

Nothing much really - a web browser (usually Chrome), Acrobat Adobe. Can't think of anything else although I guess I probably have some version of Flash Player.

OK. There's Linux versions of Chrome and Flash Player which work in exactly the same way - Chrome has its own flash player built-in anyway. There's also lots of PDF readers in Linux that are just as good as Adobe.

The main thing you might find with Linux is that its a bit of a learning curve in terms of installing software, but the likes of Ubuntu have their own software centre now, which makes it a lot easier.

Anyway, I guess this isnt a Linux thread but there's lots of options out there for you. Linux doesnt require an antivirus, but if you're sticking with Windows, I'd definitely think twice about paying for an antivirus.

syklops

Theres a few issues when it comes to paying for antivirus. First is anti-virus vendors differentiate between viruses and malware, so in most cases even after buying your shiny new AV, you need to organise some form of anti-malware software, the best of which are all free.

The second issue is AV is really quite slow. Its mostly signature based which means the AV vendor has to capture the virus somehow, analyse it and write a signature for it, then push it out to you, you update your AV and only then can it detect that latest nasty. By which time, in many cases, the virus has released a new version which doesn't match the signature and remains undetectable.

For the limited protection it provides, I'm not sure I'd spend a lot of money on it.

Blowfish

syklops wrote: »

For the limited protection it provides, I'm not sure I'd spend a lot of money on it.

I'd agree when it comes to something that's just AV, they are a waste of time and not worth it. The better vendors (including Kaspersky) have long moved away from relying on signatures though and now actually have some pretty useful security features.

Outside of AV though, the 3 simplest things to improve security would be to uninstall Java & Flash, make sure your browser is auto updating and has an ad blocker, and install EMET.

anvilfour

abff wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

Anvilfour, how do I go about getting Linux and what are the implications for the various software programs, such as MS Office?

Ctrl Alt Del, I see that you recently switched to KIS. How did you purchase it and how much did you pay for it?

Hi abff,

As Propjoe says there is an open source alternative to pretty much every MS app. Linux Mint is great for beginners and has Libre Office bundled which mirrors the functions of MS Office. There's a Windows version of LibreOffice if you want to try that first.

Ctrl Alt Del

abff wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

Ctrl Alt Del, I see that you recently switched to KIS. How did you purchase it and how much did you pay for it?

Dunno yet !
I used to run SEP all my PCs but now,after the news,i switched them to KIS.
I guess i will pay full price as is well worth it !

Is guaranteed to be the best by NSA and GCHQ at the end of the day...

Enjoy it...

abff

Ctrl Alt Del wrote: »

Dunno yet !
I used to run SEP all my PCs but now,after the news,i switched them to KIS.
I guess i will pay full price as is well worth it !

Is guaranteed to be the best by NSA and GCHQ at the end of the day...

Enjoy it...

I was heading away today and my son was freaking out because his virus protection had expired, so I just renewed it. Got an extra fiver off, so cost me £32.49 for a 3 user licence for a year.

I'll look into the other options mentioned over the next few months so that I don't end up making another last minute decision this time next year.

Many thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice.