Looking Back: Top 10 Security Stories of 2009
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The Great Security Giveaway of 2009
In a year with an economic climate that has demanded IT departments perform more miracles with fewer resources, many vendors have been scrambling to provide ways for customers to do more with less. On the security front, 2009 has been the year of the "F-word": free.
In September, Microsoft rolled out its free Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus offering. Sophos and HP partnered to give away free server antivirus to HP Integrity customers. Sophos also offered free DLP with its network-based antivirus.
Meanwhile, Panda Security continued to give away free basic antivirus applications and services in order to develop leads for its partners and inside sales teams. And Astaro decided to take the same tack in November by offering up its Astaro Security Gateway Essential Firewall for free.
All of these perks, products and feature offered gratis have provided partners with a quick and easy way to offer their security customers greater value on more deals--even if some of the giveaways were more gimmicky than others.
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