Auto-Renewal subscriptions

[New World Explorer]

Friends, just be careful  with aromatic renewal subscriptions for your products.

 

For example I use Bitdefender Total security which costs around $50 Aussie dollars for a year.

Today I have received invoice for automatic renewal which states $150 for year. (Full price, no discount) 

I have requested refund. 

But see, for loyalty they tried to charge me heaps more in comparison to what they charge general public on their website, here is the link: https://www.bitdefender.com.au/media/html/consumer/new/2020/cl-offer1-opt/last-offer.html?pid=60off_updated&cid=ppc|c|google|60off&&s_kwcid=AL!6076!3!514336266166!e!!g!!bitdefender&gclid=CjwKCAjwrJ-hBhB7EiwAuyBVXXrlfVL72VEePXoOxk2W6QnOYk1f4jJB-SSc3jaWj1kvjvAst-tOWhoCjcAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Portsmouth]

According to the T&Cs, they should have sent a renewal email one month prior to the renewal date that includes pricing information.

 

First thing I do when purchasing software (sometimes you don't have the option to disable auto-renew at time of purchase) is to log straight back into my account and turn automatic renewal off.

 

Managing subscriptions can be tricky and takes vigilance, that's for sure. Bring back the perpetual licence 😊

 

[Tortuga]

5 hours ago, New World Explorer said:

Friends, just be careful  with aromatic renewal subscriptions for your products.

 

Yup, they stink....

[lovjahupepl]

After renewing my virus protection software I go back to my account a few days later and turn off auto renew.  I also find that near the time to renew I get deals by email offering me cheaper rates than if I allowed them to auto renew me.  If I don't get a cheaper renewal rate then I just buy a new subscription at the general public rates.  I never renew at the higher rate after when my protection expires.

 

FYI:  Always assume that if you are purchasing a subscription online that they have it automatically set to renew (at a higher rate) it is usually buried in the terms that not many read.  You have to go in and turn off auto renew or you will be billed (usually at a much higher rate).              

Edited April 2, 2023 by lovjahupepl

[Dages]

I don't use virus protection software.

Free tools are good enough and nowadays it's almost impossible to get a virus unless you go to illegal/immoral websites. 

[New World Explorer]

57 minutes ago, Dages said:

I don't use virus protection software.

Free tools are good enough and nowadays it's almost impossible to get a virus unless you go to illegal/immoral websites. 

I do not go to illegal or immoral sites, but when doing normal activities occasionally I get pop out that my antivirus blocked something suspicious. 
Also I run business on my computer dealing with many emails etc, so I need something proper monitoring my computer.

I find Bitdefender a very strong 💪 in those areas. 

[Dages]

I've never had a virus in like... 15 years...? 

Edited April 2, 2023 by Dages

[New World Explorer]

30 minutes ago, Dages said:

I've never had a virus in like... 15 years...? 

Not even flu? LOL 🤣

[Pabo]

18 hours ago, Dages said:

I don't use virus protection software.

Free tools are good enough and nowadays it's almost impossible to get a virus unless you go to illegal/immoral websites. 

 

Nothing is for free!

 

Most free tools usually monitor your internet habits, some even have keyloggers and collect other data, even when you are not using the internet. At times, they may be dragging your productivity on your device to a crawl due to the high use of the devices resources. AVG is well know for this.

 

Also too, even the most common used sites and search engines may have malicious software that may be embedded on their webpage (even though the website owner may not know) can collect data on your device. Mobile phones and tablets are the worst to use the internet, especially if you do anything with internet banking.

 

Even the big brand antivirus software can range differently in what resources it uses on your device, protection it offers, and integration with various apps and software on your device. I would not use Norton, Kaspersky, McAfee, TrendMicro or any other "free" AV.

 

At work, we had previously used TrendMicro for a time which was recommended by our IT guys as due to the level of the amount of devices we had, also using a onsite server. However, on my computer I went back to a different AV software which I had trusted for years (ESET) and we previously used when we first started, as I found that TrendMicro used to use a fair chunk of the CPU resources and really slowed down the server and the computers when it did it's scanning maintenance. Everyone would be slow as a wet week whereas I had no downtime unless I was on the server and TrendMicro was doing its thing. Also the cost of TrendMicro was very pricey, but it didn't perform as what they said it would. Staff would send me an email that looked suspicious with an attachment, and when I receive the email in my inbox on my device, my AV would pick it up as being dangerous sighting what virus/ransomware that was inside the attached documents or even the links, whereas TrendMicro would let it through the exchange server and then onto the staff's device! After our server got hit with a ransomware during the Xmas shutdown (luckily we had backups), it was found that the TrendMicro didn't pick up this from an unopened email. We then started migrating our software needs to be in the cloud, as the costs and liabilities on having our own server was getting too expensive. The from then on, our firm starting using ESET Endpoint Security as our AV system on our devices, as we deal with very sensitive data for our clients.for about 20 devices for 3 years costs about AU$1,700 or just under AU$30.00 per device.

 

However, for my personal devices I use ESET Smart Security, which is more better than their basic NOD32 software. Also, it is much cheaper than the others (other than the free ones), as I paid about AU$270 for 3 years subscription for 6 computers (plus a bonus 5 mobile devices), which equates to about $15 per year for each computer.

[Pabo]

On 4/2/2023 at 8:00 AM, New World Explorer said:

Friends, just be careful  with aromatic renewal subscriptions for your products.

 

For example I use Bitdefender Total security which costs around $50 Aussie dollars for a year.

Today I have received invoice for automatic renewal which states $150 for year. (Full price, no discount) 

I have requested refund. 

But see, for loyalty they tried to charge me heaps more in comparison to what they charge general public on their website, here is the link: https://www.bitdefender.com.au/media/html/consumer/new/2020/cl-offer1-opt/last-offer.html?pid=60off_updated&cid=ppc|c|google|60off&&s_kwcid=AL!6076!3!514336266166!e!!g!!bitdefender&gclid=CjwKCAjwrJ-hBhB7EiwAuyBVXXrlfVL72VEePXoOxk2W6QnOYk1f4jJB-SSc3jaWj1kvjvAst-tOWhoCjcAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

BitDefender (as do a few others) have a habit offering cheaper offers when you first sign up, but then slug you when it is time for renewal.

 

ESET is very good with its subscription services, as it gives you a renewal notice a month in advance, let alone the software itself gives you notices that your subscription is due for renewal when it about 30 days before expiry. At times, they may have discounted offers that you still can purchase even though you already have a subscription, or give you the current discounted rates when you are up for renewal. I have been using this software personally registered since 2009 when our firm moved to TrendMicro (after finding the chinks in their software - we started using this from 2008) from ESET that we originally started our firm back in 2004. The original person who set up our office IT was the son of one of the senior partners, and he said, "If you wanted to keep the Russians out of your computer system, always use a software that was formerly under Russian occupation, as they will always try to keep them out." ESET was originally designed in Slovokia.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Pabo

[Dages]

9 hours ago, Pabo said:

 

Nothing is for free!

 

Most free tools usually monitor your internet habits, some even have keyloggers and collect other data, even when you are not using the internet. At times, they may be dragging your productivity on your device to a crawl due to the high use of the devices resources. AVG is well know for this.

 

Also too, even the most common used sites and search engines may have malicious software that may be embedded on their webpage (even though the website owner may not know) can collect data on your device. Mobile phones and tablets are the worst to use the internet, especially if you do anything with internet banking.

 

Even the big brand antivirus software can range differently in what resources it uses on your device, protection it offers, and integration with various apps and software on your device. I would not use Norton, Kaspersky, McAfee, TrendMicro or any other "free" AV.

 

At work, we had previously used TrendMicro for a time which was recommended by our IT guys as due to the level of the amount of devices we had, also using a onsite server. However, on my computer I went back to a different AV software which I had trusted for years (ESET) and we previously used when we first started, as I found that TrendMicro used to use a fair chunk of the CPU resources and really slowed down the server and the computers when it did it's scanning maintenance. Everyone would be slow as a wet week whereas I had no downtime unless I was on the server and TrendMicro was doing its thing. Also the cost of TrendMicro was very pricey, but it didn't perform as what they said it would. Staff would send me an email that looked suspicious with an attachment, and when I receive the email in my inbox on my device, my AV would pick it up as being dangerous sighting what virus/ransomware that was inside the attached documents or even the links, whereas TrendMicro would let it through the exchange server and then onto the staff's device! After our server got hit with a ransomware during the Xmas shutdown (luckily we had backups), it was found that the TrendMicro didn't pick up this from an unopened email. We then started migrating our software needs to be in the cloud, as the costs and liabilities on having our own server was getting too expensive. The from then on, our firm starting using ESET Endpoint Security as our AV system on our devices, as we deal with very sensitive data for our clients.for about 20 devices for 3 years costs about AU$1,700 or just under AU$30.00 per device.

 

However, for my personal devices I use ESET Smart Security, which is more better than their basic NOD32 software. Also, it is much cheaper than the others (other than the free ones), as I paid about AU$270 for 3 years subscription for 6 computers (plus a bonus 5 mobile devices), which equates to about $15 per year for each computer.

By Free tool, I'm talking about Windows Defender  I don't use free antivirus  only the integrated defense in Windows.

[Pabo]

3 hours ago, Dages said:

Windows Defender

 

[Dages]

40 minutes ago, Pabo said:

 

No need for more  

[Witness1970]

I hate signing up for one-month-free deals.  They are hoping that you will forget to cancel the account before the renewal occurs.  It slipped by me on one account and I ended up paying for a month.

 

I used to use antivirusfree, and it worked well.  I also had malwarebytes and some other free ones.  I no longer use any antivirus program.  I was told by an IT professional that Windows Defender had been updated and would o an excellent job.  I haven't had any downloadable antivirus for years, free or otherwise.  You have to be careful about downloading "antivirus" software, because some of those have been fake and actually load a virus onto your computer.  A keylogging program can work in the background and log every keypress you make and steal all your passwords without you knowing it.

 

It isn't just illegal/immoral sites that are a problem.  My wife and I had gone to a local theater before the pandemic.  After the pandemic was over i went to searched for them on the internet.  (I found out later that the theater had closed permanently during the pandemic.) When I tried to open the webpage, I got a popup that said my computer was corrupted and had been locked to protect "their" system.  Nothing I tried to do in the browser worked.  It appeared to be locked.  It said, "do no turn off your computer" or my data would be corrupted.  They had a phone number for me to call to get my computer "unlocked."

 

I was pretty sure it was a fake.  It was really just a ransomware attack.  If I called the number, they would probably have me click on something that would give them access to my computer.  I did the very thing that the instructions said not to do.  I restarted the computer, and everything was fine.  I was now able to use my browser normally.  I guess someone else had started using the webpage of the now-closed theater to spread their fake ransomware attack.

 

Windows Defender has served me well for years.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Witness1970

[New World Explorer]

Update: I got reply from Bitdefender, and they offered me 3.5 years of protection for that price. 

$149 aussie dollars for 42 months, which equals roughly  3.5 dollars a month. 

I took the offer.  

[Pabo]

2 hours ago, New World Explorer said:

Update: I got reply from Bitdefender, and they offered me 3.5 years of protection for that price. 

$149 aussie dollars for 42 months, which equals roughly  3.5 dollars a month. 

I took the offer.  

 

And so they should.