Using free security software can prove to be a false economy, industry experts have warned.

Kaspersky Labs UK’s consumer sales director Simon Geach told PCR that while many users might turn to free products in the tough economic climate, the end result is often not worth it.

“There’s only a certain amount of protection those types of products will afford you and people need to be more aware that they have to pay to get that better level of protection, in order to ensure they are protected 99 per cent of the time,” he said.

Con Mallon, EMEA product marketing director for Symantec, added that most free security software does not offer the “professional and free support” that paid-for packages provide.

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