Anyone need help with their VCR? Thought not.

News that AVG has launched free antivirus software aimed at the small business market this week caused me to think. 

It’s is a bit like someone saying ‘I’ve just worked out how to make your VCR run better’! The world has moved on! We know that small business users want to protect their investment in their IT system and the data that resides on it, and a simple AV solution just isn’t the way to do that, no matter how free it is. 

Traditional point solutions won’t cut it any more. Small business users want complete security in a single suite against today’s complex malware, data loss and spam threats, and they want fast data recovery as part of the package. With almost 100 pieces of new malware discovered each day, all businesses need complete protection against all online threats, not just against viruses.

 A free AV product is a partial answer to yesterday’s problem. The simple truth today is that you get what you pay for.

 - Andrew Douglas, head of small business at Symantec, EMEA