Jeff said:
I can get virus protection, automatic backup and if needed, a free PC
tuneup from the server for $8.99 a month. Should I do it or is Avast
good enough? I know it doesn't have backup but do I need it I've got
system restore and Avast is free.
No one here would know if this was a good deal since you never
identified WHICH "virus protection" product the "server" will give you.
Considering paid anti-virus programs (which have yearly subscriptions)
are cheaper than the $108 you're going to spend with the unidentified
"server", why would their offer ever be a better deal? Is the "server"
is your ISP (Internet Service Provider), they should provide a free
commercial-grade anti-virus program for free as it reduces their tech
support calls. What costs retail $80 to you is only $5 to them and the
ROI on that cost over several customers is lost with but just a single
phone call to their tech support.
"Automatic backup". And what is that supposed to mean? That they give
you a backup program that you already have in Windows or can get for
free from Macrium, Paragon, or even Acronis (there are free crippled
versions available for Seagate and Western Digital HDD users)? Or that
they include cloud backup (i.e., you upload your backup to their file
server)? If you meant cloud storage, just what is your upload
bandwidth? You might be getting 20 Mbps downstream bandwidth but only
2-3 Mbps upstream bandwidth. If your backup file's size was 50 GB then
it'll take over 37+ hours (50 GB x 1000 MB/GB x 8 bits/byte / 3 Mbps /
3600 secs/hour - and then the upload will probably be throttled by CPU
and bandwidth to reduce impact to your host so it remains usable) to get
just that ONE backup file uploaded to their server. Then consider that
a single backup only has value to get you back to some baseline state
and not the protection afforded by daily backups to recover your data
files. Even if they upload every day or every 5 minutes to do
incremental backups, they may be updating only one image so you can only
restore your host to the last compiled image which means your old files
may not be available when you realize the new one isn't the version you
want.
No one here knows what utilities or functions are included in an
unidentified "PC tuneup" program. Most are snakeoil. They produce no
effect or such insignificant effect as to be inconsequential, duplicate
functions already available via Windows utilities or other free 3rd
party programs. Tweakers and cleaners are often hazardous, especially
in the hands of noobs that haven't a clue what actions the utility will
perform. Oh, yes, some provide backups so you can undo their changes
but you may not find out the bad consequences of those changes for days
or months, plus just how are you going to use those backups if your OS
is no longer bootable?
No one can guess if the offer is a good deal because your description is
vague to the extreme. Remember that you'll be paying $108 for this
protection, assuming it has any value regarding effectiveness. They
might be dumping CA's anti-virus or ClamAV on you for all we know. No
specifics were given regarding the "automatic backup". The cleanup
utilities are free. Why would you pay for any of this when you can get
it for free elsewhere?
