Symantec opt-out trialware is a bad idea

Norton AntiVirus 2011 is now available and it looks interesting. For example, it now scans your Facebook page for bad links to dodgy websites that might infect your computer with malware. That could be a useful new feature and there are more. It sounds like it might be worth trying Norton AntiVirus and seeing if it's useful. When you go to download the free trial version though, there is a subtle difference that might put you off trying it and it could make you head for a rival product. Instead of a free trial that you can download and run for 30 days without paying, Symantec now provides the software as 30-day Opt-Out Trialware. What's this?

What it means is that you have to add the product to a shopping cart, go to the checkout and enter your credit card details before you can download the software. After 30 days you will be charged for the software and a one-year subscription to updates... unless you go online to the Symantec website and cancel.

No doubt the company is hoping that you will forget to cancel or that you will leave it too late and miss the deadline. I can see why Symantec would prefer this to the standard download-it-and-use-it-without-paying model, because it might reduce the number of downloads and increase the revenue.

However, it is a risky strategy and having to provide credit card details in order to try some software might put potential purchasers off. Imagine what it would be like if everyone did this. You'd have to supply every man and his dog on the web with your credit card details. I don't know about you, but I try a lot of software and I don't want to be giving out credit card details to all and sundry just to try the software. The more people that capture your credit card details, the more likely it is that the details will get into the wrong hands. What's more, if you try lots of programs you're bound to forget to cancel some on the right date and you'll end up out of pocket.

No, I don't like opt-out trialware. I much prefer the standard 30-day trial and don't mind giving my email address. In fact, registering your free trail often leads to special offers in your inbox giving you special discount offers when the trial has expired. They can be very tempting!