An Associated Press (AP) report recently stated that security products still sell despite the widespread availability of free software. Falling under the category of security would be anti virus software, anti spyware software, email spam blockers, firewalls and the like. The article points out that many internet service providers give out some form of free versions of these computer security products but still, security vendors are moving forward with the release of their latest line of products.

Consumer behavior can sometimes be an extremely complicated puzzle to analyze. But clearly, this news article actually reflects a seriousness among consumers in protecting their personal computers. A few years ago, the concept of computer security was not even in most consumers' radar screen which could have probably contributed to the proliferation of viruses, worms, trojans and other forms of malicious software.

Free computer security products actually have been available to the consumer for a number of years. It all starts when the consumer buys a computer system. The computer system vendor usually bundles a CD-ROM that contains the usual necessities such as browsers, pdf readers, system monitor tools and an OEM version of an anti virus program. OEM version (as against retail version) stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, and these products can be described in simple terms as bare bones programs. OEM products are sold by the manufacturer (for example, the anti virus company) to the computer system vendor at greatly reduced cost and that is why the vendor can afford to pass it on to the consumer for free. But to reduce the cost may necessarily mean reducing functionality, meaning less features or no operating manual, etc.

Perhaps learning from bad experiences in the past with computer viruses, it is evident from the AP report that consumers simply do not want to place their computers, which may contain sensitive personal information, at risk. That is indeed a good sign because it simply cannot be emphasized enough that the threats to computer security are a reality. If you own one of those fancy firewall programs that provide real-time reports on the IP addresses of computers sniffing at your computer, you will surely agree that every other minute some rogue on the internet is trying to poke into your computer.

Almost all of these anti virus vendors now provide an entire suite of computer security programs. This means that aside from the anti virus program itself, you also get a firewall, email spam blocker or filter, and anti spyware all integrated into it. All these programs have a built-in scheduler that will download updates without regular user intervention, a feature that the free software may not have. This reflects an attitude among consumers that they do not mind spending a few dollars more for the convenience. After all, a computer is supposed to enhance productivity and spending time tinkering on each security software certainly takes away from it.

For those still deciding on which vendor to purchase from, the decision could not be any simpler. All the security vendors offer free downloads of trial versions of their products. The trial versions usually offer you an entire month to use their products before some of the key functions are disabled. Some vendors are also given bragging rights by reputable consumer groups through the form of awards of excellence in their industry.

Similar to test driving an automobile before buying, go ahead and test drive a security product before deciding on the one that is right for you. In today's wired world, you certainly should put your foot down on those nosey enough to pry into the privacy of your personal computer.