Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Is FREE too good to be true?

Not always. Retails and developers show appreciation for to their clientele by offering some very good free products. These products may be less-advanced trial versions or stand alone bonus products. As long as they are being offered by a reputable company that you trust, free products are always worth considering.

Of course, in order to get the most from these free offers you must understand what you are getting and why the product is free. Often products become “too good to be true” when the consumer believes that they are getting more than they actually are. This is particularly true when the free product is similar to a commonly purchased one.

Often the consumer will think, “If company A is giving it away for free, then why would I buy it from Company B?” Often, the reality is that the two products, although they may appear similar in some ways, are actually quite different and this can leave the consumer feeling let down when the free product does not perform as expected.

You can see a lot of “freebie letdown syndrome” in the computer and software markets. Because many software products have very little hard cost – they don’t require materials to manufacture them – companies can replicate and distribute them almost without limit. If a toy store gave away a free toy, each freebie would carry a particular manufacturing cost for the store and they likely wouldn’t be able to give away one to everyone in the country. A software company, on the other hand, can distribute 5 or 50,000 free software products, with very little difference in the total cost. This makes free software a common marketing tool for software companies and a favourite product for bargain hunters.

Freebie letdown syndrome occurs when the consumer expects their free piece of software to behave the same as a purchased software product would. For example, it can be frustrating to play a computer game only to find that the free version stops at a lower level than the full price one, or that it contains tedious advertisements that play at key moments.

Avoiding freebie letdown syndrome and still enjoying free giveaways is easy, once you adjust your expectations and understand the role of the free product. There is an old adage that says “Nothing is free”. This may not always be true in life, but it is usually true in business. Nothing is free, and the giver must be getting something in return somewhere. Here are the most common returns that software developers expect when they create a free product:

Advertising money. Many free products contain advertisements, either overtly or cleverly disguised. Advertisers pay the software developers to use their product as a vehicle to deliver the advertisement to you. You get to use the software for free, but in exchange you must view the advertisements as well.

Malware. Unfortunately some free software (and some purchased products, too) can contain malware products that are designed to steal valuable information and aid in other illegal online activity. This is why you should only download products from companies that you trust.

Loyalty. This is one of the most common reasons that big companies, like McAfee, develop free software products. They are gifts of appreciation from the company to its clients. For large software developers, free products are part of the relationship that they build with their loyal consumer base – part of the mutual appreciation and respect.

Future purchases. Many free software products are trial-versions of a full-price product. These freebies contain only some of the features that the official version offers and the company hopes that after trying the freebie, you will purchase the full-version.

Next time that you contemplate downloading or signing up for a freebie, ask yourself “what is the company’s motivation for giving this freebie away?” It will likely be one of the four listed above, and this will help you to evaluate whether the product is worth your time and energy. It will also help you avoid feeling let down.

A free product that creates a return through advertising money can be a great option, provided you don’t mind wasting time on the advertisements and you like all of the other features of the product. Unfortunately, in the current economy, as the value of advertising space continues to decline, so too will the quality of products that peddle advertisements.

Free products that carry malware are never something that you want to touch. Unfortunately, these products can be difficult to identify, but here are two characteristics that should make you think twice:

1. The product does seem too good to be true and you can’t see where the return lies. AND

2. The product is being offered by a source that you do not know and that does not have a strong reputation.

You should always be suspicious of things that seem too good to be true, but sometimes large companies are actually in a position to offer very good free products, simply as a gift to their customers. This is why it is important to only download products from names that you trust, like McAfee.

Free products that are designed to fuel purchases later on are a great way to try new products in a risk free way. These products are not meant to be used long term and most consumers will not be satisfied with the pared-down options. Consumers that download trial versions of a product without understanding the limitations of it can end up disappointed. To avoid this, always read the details, understand what you are looking for, and understand what the limitations of the trial version are.

Looking for a great Freebie?

McAfee SiteAdvisor provides safety ratings next to your search results, directing you toward secure pages and away from dangerous ones. This product is completely free and is a great example of a high-quality, high-value freebie, offered as gift from a successful company to its loyal customers.

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