BigFix stops supporting free patch advisory service

The service, which dates back to the early 1990s, is one of the longest-running of its type, relied on by tens of thousands of PC users worldwide. Geoff Sweeney, CTO with behavioural analysis IT security firm Tier-3, says that the effective closure of the free consumer version is a sign of the changing times in the IT security world. “IT security threats are becoming increasingly complex, and the number of general Windows applications in common usage is also increasing. Clearly, these factors have taken their toll at BigFix, and added to the company’s cost of offering a free service. “As IT security issues become even more complex, I predict the withdrawal of more free security applications of this type. It’s a shame, but the bottom line is that computer users will eventually have to start paying realistic prices for their protection. “I also suspect there are a lot of business PC users who have the free edition of the BigFix client installed on their computers. Whilst they review their ongoing IT security needs, I strongly advise them to also to look at installing behavioural analysis software on their machines … to cope with the rising flood of malware and security attacks.”