Serguei Alleko Blog

A couple of days ago Microsoft came with a new free Anti-Virus product – Microsoft Security Essentials

I will not comment on Microsoft ability to create security products, my opinion could be based of course. I’d like to write a bit about the whole idea of those Free Anti-Virus.

Currently it’s not just a GNU-like projects, made by open source enthusiasts to make world better. Big serious companies are making those product and distributing millions of copies. Here are the leaders:

• AVG
• Avast!
• Avira
• PCTools Anti-Virus

Their marketshare is huge (although it’s very hard to measure. Most market share measuring technologies measure products, something which is bought and sold). They’re very high in Organic google resutls for the best keywords, like “antivirus”. They’re also spending hundreds of thousands on paid google campaigns and download seeding via affiliate networks. Why all of those? Just to deliver you a nice present?

Of course not. Their business model is  - first get a huge portion of market, get very strong recognition from home users around the globe. And then sell them something.

You can visit their sites and see their business models. It’s mostly Online Sales, so everything is open, no hidden distribution agreement or union contracts. You’re told that “Just Anti-Virus is not enough” to protect your computer and then they ask you to buy “full Internet Security version” where normally you can find firewall, anti-spam and a lot of different components.

It was a great time before 9/11 and the whole “War against terror” thing. We all believed traveling will be easier and easier, Intra-European flights were almost the same as their Intra-American analogs – an expensive bus ride. Easy to check in, easy to fly.

Of course everything changed after we realized we live in a dangerous world with a number of hostile civilisations. Airport security was tightened to (sometimes) ridiculuis levels. You can not take water into the airport, you need to turn on your notebook (just to show that battery is a battery and not an explosive I guess) and so on. I remember once  I had to show my passport 3 times just to leave Switzerland.

Nowadays it looks like the security is starting to easy up:

• 8 years passed sins 9/11 and we didn’t have any new terrorist attacks
• Global Economic crisis dictates cost reduction, also on security personnel
• Technology is advancing

This Friday I’ve managed to get to the plane in Munich without even showing passport to any person. This is how it looked:

1. Automatic check in. It’s mandatory now for Lufthansa, they’re pushing to to use the devices instead of real persons. You can even check in your luggage. But this device I had to use my passport, because I didn’t have ticket or Lufthansa card. But not to an actual person
2. Security check, where I didn’t have to show my passport or boarding pass
3. At the plane there was still a girl, checking the boarding passes, but as an alternative to a machine. You can just swipe your pass and go forward

Nice and easy, plenty of time to enjoy Bavarian beer in the airport without standing in the queues.