Next year's anti-virus at bargain-bin prices

BitDefender is running a 'stock clearance' promotion, selling off its 2012 products at half price.

However, what this really means is that you can buy next year's software for a fraction of the full price. Here's how...

Most anti-virus vendors will allow you to upgrade from one version to another similar version for free.

Back in March I reported that buying anti-virus software really means buying a license to use the services of a security company for a certain time period - usually a year. If you buy a copy of Norton Internet Security 2012, for example, and Symantec releases Norton Internet Security 2013 version weeks or even months later, then you can upgrade for free.

BitDefender's clearance sale is not selling off old boxes of nearly-obsolete software. It's really selling a year's license to its current software, which is labelled as 2012 now and will be upgraded to 2013 soon.

So effectively this is a chance to get a license for BitDefender Internet Security 2013 for £19.99, instead of £39.99, which is what it will almost certainly cost in the next few weeks.

When we last tested BitDefender Internet Security 2012 it performed very well and Expert Reviews gave it their Best Buy award.