Home
>
Software
>
Pros and Cons of Using FREE Software in Your Business

Pros and Cons of Using FREE Software in Your Business

It???s easy to understand why you might be drawn to the allure of free software. After all, it is free and free is always a good price to pay. But before you plunk down your hard-earned no money and possibly put your business at risk, consider the following.

Most of the free software that you will find is not supported. There will be no one at the other end of the software. What does this mean to you and your business? It means that if you have a technical support issue and you need help fast, that help will be hard to find, if you are able to find help at all.

Some of the more popular free software does have available user supported help groups. These are groups of users who congregate out there in Cyberspace and are sporadically available to provide assistance to others. You can always try to send an email message to the developer if you can find the developer. But because of its very nature as a FREE item, no one is under any obligation to help you with your issue, quickly or otherwise.

It???s also important that you understand the motivation behind developing free software. First, there are some programmers who just have too much time on their hands. These individuals will just create free software to give them something to do. Programmers are notorious problem-solvers, and creating software is a great way to accomplish this.

Some developers create software and offer it for free out of the goodness of their heart. Hard to believe in this day and age, but it happens. And there are other programmers who get a feeling of altruism when they create software. They offer it for free with the hopes that the masses will marvel at their creation.

Other software developers, notably in the Linux world, write and distribute free software under GNU or Open Source licenses. And some of these packages are popular, mainstream and 100% free. The workhorse, Apache Server software program, is a good example of this.

However in the case of most windows-based free software, (except for the good-hearted programmers mentioned above), there most often is an ulterior motive for giving software away for free.

Some free software packages have advertising engines which rotate banner or text ads while you are using the program and, while some of them are quite forthright and honest about this, others deliver their advertising bomb through Trojan horse back doors which sneak onto your computer without your knowledge. In most cases, this simply results in unwanted advertising that you have no idea where it came from, but in other cases you could very well end up with software that???s designed to steal your passwords, financial info or worse.

Some of the more popular free software for your business, including Open Office which, unbelievable as it may seem, is an almost complete free replacement for the MS-Office package, including a spread sheet and a word processor, has no strings attached. It???s just free.

FreeCRM.com, a web-based customer relationship management program, offers absolutely free fully-enabled accounts for small businesses. Larger businesses, with multiple employees requiring access to the system, pay just a nominal fee.

So to sum this up -- here???s some free advice. If you are thinking about using a free software program for your small business, fire up your Internet, go to Google and look up the name of the free software. You will find everything you need to know, both the good points as well as the bad points, about that particular package. Then decide whether it???s right for your needs.

Copyright © 2005 Cavyl Stewart. Get more software tips, strategies and recommendations by signing up for my Exclusive 100% free, 100% original content ecourses. Visit: http://www.find-small-business-software.com/free-ecourses.php

eco-friendly cleaning service Arlington Heights ...

In The News:

A Minnesota murder suspect's notebook listed 11 people search websites, raising urgent questions about data broker opt-out and online privacy risks.

Google Universal Cart tracks price drops, surfaces promo codes and uses Google Wallet to match your best credit card rewards before checkout.

Safari's Notify Me feature and Google's price-tracking tools can monitor products and send alerts when prices drop on your iPhone or Android.

George Weiner built PACspam.org to trace who sends nonstop political fundraising texts after blocking numbers repeatedly failed to stop the messages.

A dedicated VPN IP address may reduce frustrating CAPTCHAs and bank login security checks by giving websites a consistent connection to recognize.

Apple Wallet in iOS 27 lets you create digital passes from physical cards using a photo or screenshot, but not every card in your wallet qualifies.

Anthropic's Claude AI submitted a fabricated eyewitness tip about an unsolved murder to a Philadelphia police website during automated testing.

P7 DarkSword iPhone spyware can steal saved passwords, photos, Apple Notes and cryptocurrency wallet data by checking for commands every 15 seconds.

Cybersecurity experts told Fox News Digital that a cyberattack on French supermarket freezers should warn the U.S. about critical infrastructure gaps.

The Oracle Health breach exposed medical records, Social Security numbers and diagnoses of nearly 20 million patients across multiple states.

The new Tesla Roadster drove upside down and launched into the air at SpaceX's Texas facility, but a 2028 production target remains unconfirmed.

Apple's iOS 27 lets you add keywords to iPhone photos, while Samsung Gallery tags and Google Photos search offer similar organization tools.

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads, and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.