Sheep to the slaughter.. Bellsouth’s $10/month no-no…
It’s called the “Bellsouth Premium Internet Security Suite” and it’s touted as a guiding light in a world filled with evil (spyware) and more evil (viruses), but for almost $10.00 per month, this snake oil is digital.
What is it:
This suite contains a hat trick of protection.
- Anti-Virus
- Anti-Spyware
- Firewall
Do I need to install this suite and give a review on each piece? No… what’s the point right? Look, Bellsouth is a phone company not a software shop. Would you trust Midas to do your taxes? So why not use trusted software from companies in the computer security business. Even if Bellsouth is just re-selling brand name vendors software, you can still come out cheaper buying it from the vendor (ie: Norton and Mcafee). Quality aside why would I need to pay for things that I can get for free (and work just as good if not better)
Free Alternatives:
Anti-Virus
There are two main players in the Free Anti-Virus market.
Anti-Spyware
The big one here is from Microsoft.
Microsoft Defender (link)
Firewall
These are plentiful
Microsoft built in firewall (included in XP Service Pack 2)
Kerio Personal Firewall (link)
Zone Alarm (link)
All in ones:
Now if you don’t want to fool with installing 3 different things you can try a suite from these shops. These are not free but they would still be cheaper than $10 per month.
Bottom Line:
You would be better off upgrading your DSL speed package rather than paying for this “service”.