So I have seen a lot of posts about Avast being offered for free for small businesses.
But is it Free for 30 days, or is it Free … until further notice? If you don’t upgrade after 30 days, what exactly will happen?
Just wondering about that since even in the Spiceworks thread, it wasn’t clear. Apparently there used to be a link that directly set your account as Free SMB account.
I did try that one before!
I get:
Are you sure that you have the right address?
Sorry, we can’t find the page you referenced.
Yes, I have the correct address and it is working fine for me.
Hi guys, that’s an old promo-link. The free version is history.
I see. So it’s not something available for SMBs anymore?
Sure, but not for free anymore.
Ok, so basically - when the trial runs out you get no free license, you either need a license or it basically stops being useful?
Correct Free licenses are no longer being issued. After 30 days you will need to purchase licenses for the clients you deploy
I just tested something.
Clicked on “Sign up now” while I was logged in here (aka avast account)
It took me to https://business.avast.com/ where I (ofcourse) automatically logged in.
I too got the “Are you sure that you have the right address? Sorry, we can’t find the page you referenced.” message.
But I was able to continue without a problem and after clicking “Add device”, I was able to download the client installer.
Both the online as well as the offline version.
It seems that if you signed up before avast withdraw the free version, you still can use it.
If I am not logged in and click on the sign-up link I am taken to a form where I can create a account. (see attachment)
I haven’t created a fake account to see what happens, but it should give you the option to use AFB for free as you get there through the page where it clearly says
Avast for Business is free to use for as long as you want and for an unlimited number of admins and devicesIf not, avast is for sure violating the Dutch laws (and likely laws in other countries as well).
Yes, if you had an existing free account it is still free, all new accounts are trial/paid only.
Confirmed.
I was unaware until this moment that Avast Business Free was no longer an option for new subscribers. I am “grandfathered” in since I started using it quite a while ago, just after it was first released. I do hope Avast intends to continue to allow previously subscribed users to continue free of charge. I assume I and many other early adopters were doing Avast an inportant (unpaid) service by “live-testing” their product… In hindsight, it was a good move by Avast to get early users - who certainly had no reason to complain about the price - and who were less aggravated about reporting issues or other feedback.
As far as I know, if you had the free access when it first started, you can continue to add free licenses. I don’t have another machine that I need to add at the moment, but last time I tried it was still free.