Computer Associates eTrust EZ Armor - does retail version stop working after 1 year?

[Jason]

I've never used a retail version of anti-virus software before.
Previously I had only used free trials, such as the 1 year trial
Computer Associates offers on their Antivirus software. After 1 year
the software stops working.

When Staples had the Pest Patrol/EZ Armor antivirus/firewall for free
after rebates, I decided to buy the retail package (haven't opened it
yet). Someone at the store told me I have to renew this software every
year for $30 or the program will stop working entirely! Correct me if
I'm wrong, but if this is true then what is the difference between the
free 1-year trial and the retail version except for limited customer
support which I probably won't need?

Is it true that the retail version of Computer Associates' EZ Armor
and Pest Patrol software will stop working after 1 year, or do they
simply not allow any more virus updates after 1 year?

I could live with the latter, but not the former. For instance, the
firewall doesn't need constant updates, so in my opinion it should
keep working indefinitely even if I choose not to renew in 1 year.

I have never bought retail software before that stops working after a
certain date. Normally I buy it and I expect it to work whenever I
need it. Is this the way all retail anti-virus software packages work
(such as Symantec/Norton and McAffee), or is this 1-year-only behavior
specific to Computer Associates?

 

[DaVinci]

I've never used a retail version of anti-virus software before.
Previously I had only used free trials, such as the 1 year trial
Computer Associates offers on their Antivirus software. After 1 year
the software stops working.

When Staples had the Pest Patrol/EZ Armor antivirus/firewall for free
after rebates, I decided to buy the retail package (haven't opened it
yet). Someone at the store told me I have to renew this software every
year for $30 or the program will stop working entirely! Correct me if
I'm wrong, but if this is true then what is the difference between the
free 1-year trial and the retail version except for limited customer
support which I probably won't need?

Is it true that the retail version of Computer Associates' EZ Armor
and Pest Patrol software will stop working after 1 year, or do they
simply not allow any more virus updates after 1 year?

I could live with the latter, but not the former. For instance, the
firewall doesn't need constant updates, so in my opinion it should
keep working indefinitely even if I choose not to renew in 1 year.

I have never bought retail software before that stops working after a
certain date. Normally I buy it and I expect it to work whenever I
need it. Is this the way all retail anti-virus software packages work
(such as Symantec/Norton and McAffee), or is this 1-year-only behavior
specific to Computer Associates?

What you're purchasing is the license not the software per se. As a
general rule, the license expires after 12 months, and you then purchase
a license renewal to continue using the product with full functionality
and access to updates. This is typical of most retail AV and
anti-spyware products. There is no difference between the retail and
free versions of EZAV except as you indicate possibly some limited
customer support. Generally, after the license expires, it's not
possible to obtain signature updates, thus rendering the usefulness of
the product obsolete. With the firewall product, certain functionality
is most likely disabled. The EZ Armour firewall is a rebranded ZA Pro
software firewall, and in the past the functionality has reverted to
what's available in the comparable ZA free version.

 

[Vanguard]

The 1-year free *license* you get through the partner program between CA and
Microsoft
(http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/wsc/en-us/default.mspx or
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft) *is* the retail version (sans support).
So there would be no difference in functionality. You are not getting a
trial version of EzAntivirus. You are getting the full version to use for
free for 1 year afterwhich you need to buy the subscriptions (or go with
another anti-virus product).

You might also want to hunt around your ISP's home site as they may offer
free anti-virus software to their customers. For example, Comcast gives
their customers (for free) the McAfee Security Suite which includes
anti-virus, firewall, and a privacy program. I don't care for McAfee (I
tried it but it impacted performance not from CPU usage but from continual
disk access) and slowed down loading applications and files a bit whereas I
saw not penalty when using EzAntivirus.

Just be aware that CA may issue you e-mails which pretend to be from someone
else (i.e., they are fraudulent e-mails because CA spoofs the From header).
They try to get you, for example, to buy their PestPatrol through
TigerDirect by pretending their e-mail came from TigerDirect instead of from
CA. So use an e-mail alias or disposable webmail account that you kill
after "registering" to get the 1-year free license to EzAntivirus. I
wouldn't bother with their EzArmor which is simply a rebranded copy of
ZoneAlarm Pro's trial (which expires after a month and degrades into the
ZoneAlarm Free version). I use Sygate's free firewall instead
(http://smb.sygate.com).