Why do software developers give freewares?

Nowadays, lot software developers/companies are releasing freeware / shareware and allows to download them to use. Like free anti virus, spywares, desktop utilities, etc. I believe they are not running charities?

Then why? What will be the profit for them?

Why do software developers give freewares?antivirus download

There are lots of different reasons for developers to offer their product for free.

1. Some are in beta testing, and they need people to use the software and offer feedback.

2. Tool bars and such can encourage you to use certain search engines or visit sites which they can make money off of.

3. Some are just sample versions to entice you to buy the full version of the software.

4. There are a number of open source developers, who believe that software should be offered for free so it can be built on as a community. You can read more about this category at the link below.

Why do software developers give freewares?bmw

for user to try out and give input about the software .. and they could make better n better .. then they sold it.
As a PC repair tech, I urge to be wary of free downloads. There are a lot of good free utilities out there, however a lot of these "free" programs can be bundled with spyware. This is often true of file-sharing programs and anti-spyware utilities. Before you download, search for reviews on the program.

I have found file hippo to be one of my favorite freeware download sites. Download.com is also good.

As far as free anti-spyware goes, I recommend Ad-Aware and Spybot. HijackThis, Rootkit Revealer, CWShreddrer are also great tools. A lot of people like MS AntiSpyware but I haven't used it.

Most of the big anti-virus companys offer a free online scan these days, including Symantec (Norton) %26 McAfee. PC PitStop also has a good one from Panda.