40% Of U.K. Consumers Would Let AV Subscriptions Expire

PRESS RELEASE

London, UK – November 18, 2010 – GFI Software, a leading IT solutions provider for small and medium-sized enterprises, today released the results of a new survey looking at how consumers in the UK choose and buy antivirus and security software for their PCs.

Conducted in October 2010, the survey by OpinionMatters of 1,123 consumers across the UK revealed that 40% of those surveyed would be prepared to let their antivirus software go out of date at the end of the initial subscription period rather than pay to renew for another 12 months. A further 15.3% of those surveyed would also let their existing antivirus software lapse on the grounds that the renewal process was too difficult or inconvenient.

More concerning is the stat that 35% of those surveyed do not know when their existing antivirus software is due to expire, or indeed whether it has already expired, while 20% confirmed they had decided not to renew their subscription when the current one expires.

“Consumers continue to invest in security products that offer more frequent updates and improved protection over free antivirus alternatives, but there is a clear move away from the cost, complexity and hassle associated with renewing or replacing antivirus software every year,” said Walter Scott, CEO of GFI Software.

The way consumer buy security software has changed significantly in recent years, with 81.5% of those surveyed buying their software online (either as a download or ordering boxed software from an online retailer), while only 6.4% of respondents buying boxed software in a physical retail store. Only 2.6% of those surveyed retain pre-installed antivirus software on a new PC.

The survey also found that 40% of those surveyed would be prepared to replace their existing antivirus software with one that offered lifetime coverage for a one-off fee, while 21% would be prepared to switch to a single product that offers cover for all the PCs in the home.

“The results of our survey show that the recent launch of products, such as our own GFI VIPRE Lifetime Edition, have come at the perfect time. Consumers want a product they only have to buy once and that will protect their machine until they buy a new computer, and that is exactly what our product does. After retail purchase, there are no annual renewal fees for the life of the user’s PC,” Scott added.

Additional data from the survey, including regional, age and gender breakdowns, are available on request.

About VIPRE Antivirus Lifetime Edition

VIPRE Antivirus Lifetime Edition is designed to provide the fundamental, necessary desktop malware protection that users need in today's threat environment. Instead of creating a product loaded with "marketing" features (such as parental controls or online backup), GFI focused on the core features that provide users with comprehensive protection - desktop firewall, host-based intrusion prevention (HIPS), malicious URL filtering and an intrusion detection system (IDS). This enables the best protection on the market today with minimal demand on system resources.

It includes notable features such as extensive support for removable drives; support for 64-bit environments, including a 64-bit boot cleaner and 64-bit rootkit scanner; support for Mozilla Firefox Scan Extensions; and other capabilities to bolster the efficiency and performance of VIPRE.

Pricing and availability

GFI VIPRE Antivirus Lifetime is available now from the Amazon.co.uk website. VIPRE Antivirus Lifetime for a single PC has a recommended retail price of £59.95. Virus definition updates and protection continues for the life of the machine with no annual renewal fees or additional charges. All prices include VAT.

VIPRE is compatible with both 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

Amazon.co.uk link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0042ESPK2 About GFI

GFI Software provides web and mail security, archiving and fax, networking and security software and hosted IT solutions for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via an extensive global partner community. GFI products are available either as on-premise solutions, in the cloud or as a hybrid of both delivery models. With award-winning technology, a competitive pricing strategy, and a strong focus on the unique requirements of SMEs, GFI satisfies the IT needs of organisations on a global scale. The company has offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Austria, Australia, Malta, Hong Kong, Philippines and Romania, which together support hundreds of thousands of installations worldwide. GFI is a channel-focused company with thousands of partners throughout the world and is also a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.