Does Microsoft's free AV will put cloud over the current AV Industry?

AVG Sees Uphill Battle for Microsoft in Its Launch of Free Anti-Virus Software

AVG Replies to Announcement of Competitor's Replication of Its Anti-Virus Software Offering

Last update: 9:22 a.m. EST Nov. 21, 2008
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov 21, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- AVG, a global anti-virus and Internet security software provider with over 85 million users in 167 countries, today responded to Microsoft's announcement of a free anti-virus software product slated to appear in mid-2009.
AVG, which for eight years has offered free anti-virus software to users worldwide, noted the multiple challenges Microsoft faces in supporting a free anti-virus software product -- chief among them the enormous overhead costs it will incur for customer service and support issues, as well as for ongoing product management and upgrades.
Microsoft will also likely contend with a severe backlash from dissatisfied channel partners, whose margins and unit sales will be negatively impacted as a result of the free product offering, AVG believes.
"For over eight years, AVG has recognized and responded to the growing global threat of malware by offering a free and comprehensive tool to combat computer viruses, spyware, malware and online threats," said J.R. Smith, the company's CEO. "Microsoft is clearly following our lead, which will certainly help combat basic and less sophisticated threats. But the real threat in this scenario is to Microsoft's own profitability and channel partner relations."
AVG also highlighted the challenges facing Microsoft to keep pace with the growing proliferation of new and increasingly onerous online threats. Microsoft often relies on its monthly "patch Tuesday" updates to refresh its current anti-virus product, leaving computer users vulnerable to botnets and other malicious attacks. Importantly, the free Microsoft anti-virus software will have even less protective features than its current OneCare offering - further heightening computer users' vulnerability to fast-spreading viruses and other threats.
Statistics highlight the escalating problem. Computer infections from malware are increasing exponentially. AVG's in-house research team notes that 50,000 variants are being issued every day - further pointing up the need for real-time protection.
AVG's LinkScanner feature provides up-to-the-minute protection against the very latest threats. What's more, AVG's award-winning anti-virus products have long been recognized for providing maximum computer security and online protection with minimal resource strain.
From a global protection perspective, AVG has a strong presence in established and emerging markets. The company's strategic growth plan includes the introduction of several new native-language versions of its anti-virus programs in the coming weeks. Moreover, the company's worldwide user-support community -- with people and small businesses from 167 countries -- continues to grow as the industry's only truly "self-help" network.
"The exceptional ease of use and simplicity of AVG's products have long been a strong sell for the channel, providing more security strength and functionality at a much lower cost than Microsoft's anti-virus offerings," added Mr. Smith. "Given these tough economic times, our resellers appreciate the robust product margins we offer and the vitality of our end-user community to help drive future sales."

About AVG Technologies
AVG is a global security solutions leader protecting more than 85 million consumers and small business computer users in 167 countries from the ever-growing incidence of web threats, viruses, spam, cyber-scams and hackers on the Internet. Headquartered in Amsterdam, AVG has nearly two decades of experience in combating cyber crime and one of the most advanced laboratories for detecting, pre-empting and combating Web-borne threats from around the world. Its free online, downloadable software model allows entry-level users to gain basic anti-virus protection and then to easily and inexpensively upgrade to greater levels of safety and defense in both single and multi-user environments. Nearly 6,000 resellers, partners and distributors team with AVG globally including Amazon.com, CNET, Cisco, Ingram Micro, Play.com, Wal-Mart, and Yahoo!. More information is available at http://www.avg.com.
SOURCE AVG Technologies

http://www.avg.com

Just recently Microsoft announced that they will offer free AV for Windows users, and so does this mean everyone will use Microsoft's free Antivirus instead of paid Antivirus software?
The real question is why Microsoft is offering FREE AV? If Microsoft's AV was great Antivirus software would Microsoft give it away for FREE? Their Microsoft's Office is NOT FREE, because they know they can make profit. The bottom line is Microsoft's AV is simply not the worthy competitor in AV Industry.

Microsoft was trying to persuade Windows users to use their Antivirus program for years and failed miserably; very few customers out there will use Microsoft's OneCare as its rated one of worse performing AV.

Even AVG's free AV don't detect much as some of the paid Antivirus like Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, Kaspersky etc.. These free AV users out there are NOT using AVG free AV or free Microsoft's AV because they want to use it but rather they have to, they wants FREE AV and don't want to pay for it. Average computer users know that AVG or Microsoft's AV is not good as others that they can buy from computer shops or Internet.

Freebie users often don't pay for other software that they are using, therefore having freebie users as main market is No good for the software company.

I remember the free Antispyware companies like Adaware and Search & Destroy; both companies are now selling their software; and they are not doing well on their sale because their initial offerings were FREE base software. Once a free, then it will have to be remain as FREE otherwise average computer users will not use them again. Why would you pay for second graded software where you can get the best available software on the market for same price?

These freebie users will use other free softwares when free versions ceased, simply means freebie users will always wants freebies. Going from freebie to pay versions is not a good marketing strategy.

If you don't make any profit then you are out of the business is fundamental law of the business

Microsoft dumps OneCare

Article: Microsoft scraps OneCare security suite

By Daniel Robinson
20 November 2008 06:10AM

Microsoft is to replace Windows Live OneCare with a free security service from the second half of 2009.
The company said that the replacement, codenamed Morro, will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans.

It will also be less demanding on system resources, making it suitable for low bandwidth connections or less powerful PCs.

Morro will be available as a download for users running XP, Vista and Windows 7. OneCare will continue to be available through retail for XP and Vista until 30 June 2009, and will be gradually phased out when Morro becomes available.

At the time of writing, Microsoft had not responded to inquiries regarding the reasons for dropping OneCare. Some commentators have speculated that the service has not been doing as well as the company had hoped, while others believe that Microsoft is trying to get a foothold in emerging markets.

"This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware," said Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for online services at Microsoft.

Other security vendors appeared unfazed by Microsoft's announcement, at least publicly.

AVG sees the move as a positive step in the anti-malware landscape, according to head of global communications Siobhan McDermott, who said that AVG did not feel threatened by Microsoft's entering the market.

"Our free product competes with most paid-for products from other vendors. We see no need to change our product at this time, based on what Microsoft has announced so far," she said.

Symantec warned that Morro would probably offer less protection than currently provided by OneCare.

"The security business is fundamentally different from any other market Microsoft plays in, and consumers are encouraged to consider how they will protect themselves, their identities and their families online," said Tom Powledge, vice president of Symantec's consumer business.

McAfee was even more scathing, suggesting in a statement that Microsoft was effectively exiting the security market because OneCare had failed.

"Microsoft has given up. They have now defaulted to a dressed-down freeware product that does not meet consumers' security needs. With more malware attacks than ever before, consumers require a trusted advisor and expert in security like McAfee," it said.

Copyright © 2008 vnunet.com

OneCare security suit have been scoring one of lowest detections from various independent virus samples testers. And despite the effort from MS marketing team, OneCare wasn't selling well; may be this made the decision to dump the OneCare.

Joke: Man tries to pay bill with spider drawing

Australian man, David Thorne tries to pay his over due bill with his spider drawing.
So funny! Read the email

Importance of QA in Antivirus Industry: Case 1 - False positive detection

Just recently AVG offered infected customers with free one year license or update.
Read the article:

AVG offers infected users free year of service

By Emma Hughes
17 November 2008 07:06AM
Security

AVG announced yesterday that it would be offering a free year of service after its antivirus software got confused and misidentified a key Windows system file as malware.

The problem affected non-English versions of XP.

The security vendor identified earlier this week that user32.dll was coming up as a generic Trojan which caused a warning pop-up asking if the user wanted to delete it – unfortunately for those who say ‘yes’ they were stuck in an endless reboot cycle.

Once the floods of complaints began, AVG identified the mistake and began offering workarounds for affected users – which is fine if you’ve got someone else to look it up for you.

Yesterday however, AVG announced, "As a follow-up to the rapid distribution of recovery instructions and repair CDs, AVG Technologies is offering all affected users a free license or license extension as follows.”

This basically means a free year of AVG 8.0 service, or a free upgrade for AVG 7.5 users.

The upgrade also includes users of the free AVG antivirus service.

Once the company began apologising, it seemed to be unable to stop, "AVG Technologies apologises again for the inconvenience caused to our customers and wishes to assure our users worldwide that the company is actively putting new processes in place to avoid similar occurrences in the future.”

AVG has said that it will begin contacting affected customers beginning November 24 in order to give further instructions on this service.

Look how important is QA testing for false positive in AV Industry; not only AVG have lost revenue for little mistake, it also created unwanted media attraction.

Few years ago and only few months ago, Symantec had exactly same thing when Norton AV was deleting part of Windows. It's all fixed up and updated now, but if these companies have done proper scanning testing before the release of their anti virus definitions or database then this wouldn't happened.

False positive detection must be cleared before the release of the anti virus definition/database, if only AV companies properly implemented QA testing lab to perform FP detection at least on popular operating systems like Windows XP/Vista then AV Industry won't spend their time & money on patching or fixing their mistakes.

Security giants propose new testing standard

By Shaun Nichols 12 November 2008

A group of leading security firms has proposed a new standardised system for testing security software.Symantec, McAfee, F-Secure and Kaspersky are among the names that have pledged support for the project, which boasts more than 40 security vendors and media groups as part of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organisation.

The new system would provide guidelines as to how a test should be conducted, including the types of malware used, method of analysis and accurate support for a conclusion.
The guidelines will also outline procedures for studying and disclosing new malware samples.
Security vendors and experts have long called for an updated standard for testing.

Current security tests, such as the Virus Bulletin 100 system, have been criticised for their procedures and what some say is an inability accurately to access certain types of anti-malware programs.
The new group hopes that its outlines will allow security firms and independent testing groups to research the effectiveness of anti-malware solutions with better accuracy and a built-in neutrality.

"While there have been many great security software reviews in the past, many poor reviews have confused or misled people," said McAfee senior vice president Jeff Green.
"This is a significant milestone that should skew the balance towards fair and scientific testing, providing users with a true viewpoint on the security protection vendors provide."

Copyright © 2008 vnunet.com