CYBERMinute - What is Freeware

This episode, we’re talking about freeware. Freeware is software that is available free of charge. This might seem like a fantastic deal, especially for a smaller business with a limited budget to spend on information technology needs. Doesn’t everybody love FREE? When it comes to your cybersecurity, though, it pays to be careful about using freeware. Many times these applications are the work of well-intentioned developers who want to share their expertise with the larger online community. Sometimes, though, freeware can introduce security vulnerabilities. Unpaid developers may not be proactive about updating their software to resist current cybersecurity threats. Freeware can actually be the method for smuggling malicious code into your information system. Even if the code itself is legitimate, you need to be careful about the site you download the freeware from. It’s not uncommon for people to re-post freeware to less-than-reputable sites. Downloading an application from such s