Get Free Security Software From Your Bank


Nearly every major Australian bank now offers free security software subscriptions to its customers. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s on offer.

Why do banks do this? It reduces the risk of customers having bank details being stolen by trojans or phishing sites, and it creates a good PR opportunity. Many Lifehacker readers favour Microsoft Security Essentials as their main security software system, and that’s a free option anyway. However, if you want an alternative, getting one for free is an appealing choice.

Note that it’s usually only a one-year freebie at best, and can be as brief as 90 days. If you want to keep using the product after that, you’ll need to pay for ongoing updates.

Note that in most cases you don’t get the most fully-featured version available from that provider, but in practice it should still be a useful addition. You’ll generally need a transactional account with the bank in question to qualify for the free software, and you can usually access the offer from within online banking.

The big name missing from this list? NAB. There’s also inconsistencies with bank subsidiaries (BankWest doesn’t offer as good a deal as its owner Commonwealth.)

ANZ: AVG or Symantec (90 days)

Bank Of Melbourne: BitDefender 2012 (12 months)

BankWest: 20% off McAfee

Commonwealth Bank: McAfee Internet Security (6 months)

St George: BitDefender 2012 (12 months)

Westpac: BitDefender 2012 (12 months)

Know of a deal we’ve missed here? Tell us in the comments.


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