Security | News

Avast Offers Freebie Endpoint Protection to Schools

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 01/24/13

To gain traction in the enterprise cyber security market, an endpoint security company has begun granting free licenses for its software to education organizations. In the first seven weeks of the offer, "Free for Education," Avast reported that it has granted over a million licenses for use on student and faculty computers.

Under the arrangement, any public school in the United States may use Avast's Endpoint Protection Suite at no cost. The license includes two central management control options to let IT administrators remotely manage antivirus programs on mobile devices, laptops, desktops, and servers. The free set of security tools doesn't include email, firewall, or anti-spam protection; those components are part of the company's "Plus" offering.

"It's a win-win situation," said CEO Vincent Steckler, "because the school gets something valuable for free and we increase our user base, which helps us to increase our brand visibility and word-of-mouth advertising for our products."

The software is currently being used by individuals or made available on recommended free anti-virus solution lists at Central Michigan University, the State University of New York at Potsdam, and the University of Florida.