Grisoft's release of two new versions of its AVG security tools for open source operating systems Linux and FreeBSD recommend that there's nowhere secure to hide from computer viruses anymore.
Grisoft, which markets its AVG products through the relatively atypical tactic of offering free versions for customers, instead of raking in annual subscription fees from absolutely everybody, has announced that version 7.5 of AVG for use on servers has been launched for both Linux and FreeBSD enthusiasts.
While Linux has long been a supported platform, this is the first time that AVG has released a product specially tailored to the venerable FreeBSD OS.
Company officials dispute that such operating systems are increasingly being used by small businesses to reduce their IT costs, making it viable to launch paid-for security software on those platforms.
"AVG for Linux and FreeBSD editions go together with this strategy, while making sure the heterogeneous environment remains secure without impacting the system resources," AVG global security strategist Larry Bridwell declared in a statement announcing the new product.
While the operating systems may be free, the protection isn't, since AVG's free versions are limited to private consumer use (though there is a free version available for single Linux users).
AVG's shift from version 7.1 to 7.5 has not been without argument. While it is possible for users of the free version to upgrade directly to version 7.5, Grisoft's marketing insisted on getting customers to upgrade to the full paid version instead.
The one platform which AVG has so far ignored is the Mac. However, with a similar Unix-derived code base underpinning Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD, producing a ported version most probably wouldn't be too difficult once the inevitable widespread Mac virus appears.
