More than satisfied

[Rottie]

I have never paid for any software in my life except for Windows XP Home when I had it installed 5-6 years ago. It is not a matter of money, that`s no problem, it is simply that I have found freebies give a very satisfactory result providing you select the best ones. My Momma told me never to pay for something if you can get it free.

Only get what you pay for ? That`s what they always say, but in practice everybody knows it is a sick joke. Some you do and some you don`t. The term "Rip-Off" is not a new expression.

My current selection is :-
Windows 2002 XP Home, SP3
Firefox 3.6.8, AVG Free 9.0, Sandboxie Free 3.48
Comodo Firewall Pro Free 3.0, SpywareBlaster 4.3
NoScript, Adblock Plus, KeyScrambler 2.6.0.0, WOT

All are frequently updated automatically or manually.

I also have a number of stand alone programs which I use ad lib, sometimes daily like ATF that only takes a few seconds. The others are cleaners, defraggers, AM etc. including MBAM, A-Squared AM on trial at present and on expiry I will keep the freebie version.

Over the years I have tried most of the popular highly acclaimed security freebies.

My computer is 100% clean and has been for longer than I can remember. I run a variety of scans weekly, sometimes a quickie daily and nothing ever shows. I attribute my security situation almost entirely to Sandboxie, which I have had for about 4 months. Since installing it, absolutely nothing has penetrated this miraculous program and entered my system. Tzuk/Tzur is a genius.

Finally, having tried A-Squared AM full version and seen how it performs, I would rate it light years ahead of any equivalent market competitor that I have come across.

Freebies are not an embarrassment, they are the mainstay of countless millions of Internet users throughout the world. With a freebie, you can dump it whenever you wish and try something else, with a paid-up program it is not so easy to chop and change without thinking of that cash you forked out.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by Rottie

Finally, having tried A-Squared AM full version and seen how it performs, I would rate it light years ahead of any equivalent market competitor that I have come across.

How did you arrive at this assessment and why would you need something this aggressive and some of your other stuff together with Sandboxie?

[Rottie]

Originally Posted by MidnightCowboy

How did you arrive at this assessment and why would you need something this aggressive and some of your other stuff together with Sandboxie?

No real need as you say, it is not a necessity, I knew from previous A2 freebie experience that the new full AM version was good. It has a wide accolade of nice things said about it on the net by independent users.

Just trying it, that is all, like I have tried many other programs. You name it - I`ve tried it. When the trial is finished, then like I said, I will keep the resulting freebie as a stand alone plaything.

By far the most important program I have other than my FW and AV is Sandboxie. You could probably just have Sandboxie with nothing else and still put up a mighty good fight against the bad guys.

My assessments - my opinion and judgement, nothing more, nothing less.
Once my basic need has been derived to my satisfaction, then it is simply playtime, experimentation and fun.

[deya]

I agree with most of what you've written there about free programs. I've used paid for stuff over the years, most of it very good, but nowadays I don't need to use it. Like most people on here I've come to the conclusion that much of the freeware available is as good, if not better than paid. That goes for many programs, not just security ones.

I've tried some paid for programs that have been giveaways, 1 year licenses etc, and found some of them to be excellent, I'll use the recent Time Freeze 2.0 one as an example. So I think there are some programs that are worth the money, if you really need them. But the good thing is that there's nearly always a freeware alternative and I have no complaints about the freeware I use on a daily basis. Like you say, if something doesn't work for you, try something else.

[Rottie]

Originally Posted by deya

I agree with most of what you've written there about free programs. I've used paid for stuff over the years, most of it very good, but nowadays I don't need to use it. Like most people on here I've come to the conclusion that much of the freeware available is as good, if not better than paid. That goes for many programs, not just security ones.

I've tried some paid for programs that have been giveaways, 1 year licenses etc, and found some of them to be excellent, I'll use the recent Time Freeze 2.0 one as an example. So I think there are some programs that are worth the money, if you really need them. But the good thing is that there's nearly always a freeware alternative and I have no complaints about the freeware I use on a daily basis. Like you say, if something doesn't work for you, try something else.

What a delightful post ! The "I Love Freebies" Fraternity of happy customers has quite a large membership in the big wide world - we are not alone. Every word you say is true. Like me, the proverbial highly successful Scrooge.

Mind you, although the likes of us wander through the Valley of Death using freebies and Fearing no Evil, it is not too impressive at a dinner party to admit that you only have an Old Banger instead of a Ferrari or a Bugatti.

[Ritho]

There a lot of people that say if its free it can't be any good. May be they got burned on a free program once and that is why they feel that way. What a lot of people don't realize however is that the majority of freeware is not free for businesses, and it is that model that fuels much of the freeware market.

I remember in the early days of the free antivirus, AVG gained a lot of ground when they began to offer their free Antivirus. I had a friend that used Norton, but let his license expire because it cost so much. I told him why don't you use AVG its free. He said it can't be any good and I said its better than an expired copy of Norton. He said nothing can be developed for free, and I explained that AVG focused on corporations and sold their products and support to them, and basically used the free version for personal use as advertising. Yet he simply could not believe that it could be any good and when on using his expired software.

For the longest time most of the elite mega software corporations really apposed the freeware concept and tried everything they could to sabotage it. Then Google and others came along and began to offered many great softwares to people for free. Now even Microsoft is "caving" in and offering some very good free programs like Security Essentials, Virtual PC, PhotoStory and such. It is proof that the freeware model works, and does not poison the market like many have claimed.

[Ritho]

The "I Love Freebies" Fraternity of happy customers has quite a large membership in the big wide world

We have a lot to be happy about! I use one of the ultimate freebies for 90% of my work -- i.e. Linux and specifically Ubuntu. I have been amazed how fast they can get bugs fixed that are reported by the user community. I have reported things personally and gotten an email back saying that it had been looked into and a fix was being worked on. Try that with Window's support sometime.

[Rottie]

Originally Posted by Ritho

We have a lot to be happy about!

Oh Ritho, where have you been all my life ? Now we are an army of TWO.

When the indomitable Rottie mounts his well used soapbox and spouts his Gospel of complete adoration and total allegiance to Freebies and their revered, generous vendors, he always gets pelted with eggs and run out of town by the local "Pay the Guy" posse.

[deya]

I've had the same reaction from people concerning freeware, Ritho, same as the friend you mention. And using AVG is a good example because I reckon most of us have relied on it for AV in the past, millions still do and it doesn't seem to have done them any harm as a company in providing AVG free. The free version of MBAM is another, I can't count the times I've used it to clean machines, at no cost, and it still continues to get better.

As far as freeware goes, I don't really mind the odd ad, the option to install a toolbar or not, even a quick splash screen. Business is business after all. So things like that are a small price to pay, although I know it does bother some people.

If you think about how much free software these companies allow us to use, and then compare it to other businesses, industry, retail etc ... I mean, who gives perfectly good products away for nothing these days? So in that respect I think we're very fortunate to have this mass of free products from software companies to use in our daily lives.

For many people using freeware comes down to money, or maybe lack of it, but for me it comes down to doing the job just as good or better. Personally, I'm very grateful for MSE, I really am, and that's provided for free by one of the biggest companies of the modern day. Good will? .. slap down the competition? .. who knows. All that really matters is that we, the everyday users, in some way benefit from their efforts.

You only get what you pay for .. or, you never get 'owt for now't? Not so when it comes to good, free software.

[Jojoyee]

Originally Posted by Ritho

...For the longest time most of the elite mega software corporations really apposed the freeware concept and tried everything they could to sabotage it. Then Google and others came along and began to offered many great softwares to people for free. Now even Microsoft is "caving" in and offering some very good free programs like Security Essentials, Virtual PC, PhotoStory and such. It is proof that the freeware model works, and does not poison the market like many have claimed.

That's a good point Ritho.

See also How do freeware authors earn a living? mentioned in "About Freeware" accessible from ABOUT on Gizmo's Freeware homepage.