Addendum to Virus Scanner Review

[Nathan Johanson]

Hello all,

I recently posted the results of a full-scale, commercial anti-virus
review. In that email, I said that F-Secure had a per-server licensing
model (based on their web site). However (while in the midst of my
testing phase), I went back to their site and noticed that they have
switched their licensing model to per user when used to scan email. 

At the time of my review a few weeks ago, F-Secure said this about
F-Secure AntiVirus for Linux.

==
The command line scanner provides a versatile and powerful tool that
works both as a user-invoken command and as a platform for automated
antivirus systems. Detailed reporting and return codes ensure easy
integration with third party mail scanners such as AMaViS (A Mail Virus
Scanner). 
==

Now, it says this:

==
In case the product is used to scan e-mail traffic, licensing is based
on the number of users who have access to the services provided by the
product. In that case, the customer needs to buy a license for F-Secure
Anti-Virus for Linux Gateways
==

This means that in the last month they have gone from per user, to per
server, to per user again. A follow up with the sales director I was
talking to earlier yielded no response and no explanations.

In short, it's clear that these guys are in transition and aren't really
sure how to sell their products. I've scratched them off my list. For
those of you that can afford this kind of license, F-Secure does appear
to be a viable product from a technical standpoint since it incorporate
three different engines into one scanner.

Nathan