Gartner warns of anti-spyware rip-off

Gartner has warned of companies trying to charge extra for anti-spyware software

Gartner is warning companies not to be ripped off by vendors seeking to sell anti-spyware software as a standalone product.

Most security software products include anti-spyware utilities, but Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald reports in a recent blog posting that he is still hearing about companies trying to charge customers extra for anti-spyware software.

"Most of the vendors in the anti-malware space understand the market dynamics and have moved to comprehensive endpoint protection platforms where the vendors provide a platform for multiple styles of protection to pick and choose from – firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, host-based intrusion prevention, application control, device control and so on," he said.

"There is no sustainable market for standalone anti-spyware, and no reason you should be paying separately for it."

MacDonald explained that the market for such software used to exist, but the idea of a standalone package is unnecessary given that spyware protections are built into most security code. He suggests changing supplier if a company tries to charge extra.

Microsoft's free anti-spyware tool is also a good reason not to pay, he said, adding that companies can install it themselves or use the code as a bargaining tool with their suppliers.