Reply to: Paying for Antivirus

[SueEllen]

Just out of interest, is there really anyone's company PC is wholy and exclusively used for business?

HMRC allows you some personal use on your business PC.

The line between business and personal even for professional full-time employees is blurred. So you can easily argue that your personal web surfing, social media interaction or blogging is not 100% personal use.

[d000hg]

How can a PC be wholly and exclusively for the use of the business, but the software on it not be?

I assumed the version he wants gives him licenses for 2 or 3 PCs, so he's going to use one of those on a personal PC.

[d000hg]

Just out of interest, is there really anyone's company PC is wholy and exclusively used for business?

Well it depends. Does using the PC for web-surfing during your lunch-break stop it being 100%?

[sy8111]

Just out of interest, is there really anyone's company PC is wholy and exclusively used for business?

[ee61re]

AVG Free is only free for personal use. Microsoft Security Essentials used to be the same, but it is now free for small businesses up to 10 PCs.

[pmeswani]

Alternatively you could use a linux operating system.




[Well someone had to get that in. ]

I was going to suggest it, but rootkits and keylogers are no stranger to Linux. Plus, Spam is not invisible on Linux either.

[SueEllen]

. If getting infected by a virus is not an issue for you, then you are better off without any AV on your system.

Alternatively you could use a linux operating system.




[Well someone had to get that in. ]

[pmeswani]

We must have different usage patterns then.... i've had this rig 3 years, the last one 3 years and "it's regularly on 12+ hours a day, browsing/gaming/P2Ping the lot and NEVER had problem - like I said.

I do also run Spybot - Search & Destroy regularly, maybe that helped aswell. i'm also not a 'tard and randomly click untrusted sites or press install after 12 cans of beer, guess that helps aswell.

anyway, didn't really warrant a response I guess, just don't wish to be "dispaired" of by one so mighty.

I would be interested to know how many viruses you really have on your system. AVG does not pick up as many viruses as you may think. If getting infected by a virus is not an issue for you, then you are better off without any AV on your system.

[monobrow]

As regards free AV, I despair of anyone who promotes free AVG as being good or not had issues with it. That's because its tulip and always comes bottom of the free AV's in head to head.

We must have different usage patterns then.... i've had this rig 3 years, the last one 3 years and "it's regularly on 12+ hours a day, browsing/gaming/P2Ping the lot and NEVER had problem - like I said.

I do also run Spybot - Search & Destroy regularly, maybe that helped aswell. i'm also not a 'tard and randomly click untrusted sites or press install after 12 cans of beer, guess that helps aswell.

anyway, didn't really warrant a response I guess, just don't wish to be "dispaired" of by one so mighty.

[xoggoth]

I've used Bullguard and erm Bit something, both kept me safe so far. (Although I think that has more to do with not visiting so many porn sites due to decrepitude)

[BolshieBastard]

I always pay for my AV through the company. Its a company laptop so the AV is paid by the company. The AV actually comes with 3 licenses so the other 2 go on my kids pc's. strictly speaking, not wholly for the company's benefit but so what.

As regards free AV, I despair of anyone who promotes free AVG as being good or not had issues with it. That's because its tulip and always comes bottom of the free AV's in head to head.

Anyone using free AVG is asking for trouble. If you must use free AV, use something like Avast or Avira. second, install Malwarebytes. This is an excellent free tool and picks up virus' and trojans even paid for AV's miss.

[GillsMan]

Thanks all, brilliant advice.

I'm actually a big supporter of free AV and used AVG for years with no issues and have used MS Security Essentials and been mildly impressed. However, I think the license for AVG free precludes its use on a commerical machine, obviously they have no way of knowing but, hey, I'm honest. However, Kaspersky has been worth the money for me so far, although I'll be doing a review of AVs today and will be considering both paid-for and free AVs, so cheers for the advice everyone!

[Craig@Clarity]

Your company can purchase the antivirus software for your company laptop no problem and declare it as an expense of the company. If possible, get the receipt/invoice in the company name too to further support the expenditure.

[xoggoth]

Necessary and allowable I'd have thought. There's an MS site page of recommended AV.

[VectraMan]

How can a PC be wholly and exclusively for the use of the business, but the software on it not be?