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Vodafone users pay more for security?

Vodafone has partnered with McAfee to provide its customers with better security options; however, customers could be paying more if all they want is a yearly subscription.
Written by Michael Lee, Contributor

Vodafone has partnered with McAfee to provide its customers with better security options; however, customers could be paying more if all they want is a yearly subscription.

Under the partnership announced today, Vodafone customers will be able to download McAfee's Mobile Security product for their Android phone, and have the first month's subscription fee waived. After the first month, Vodafone's customers will be charged $3 per month directly to their Vodafone account.

"It is a simple download, and then for just $3 per month, with the first month free, the Mobile Security app created by McAfee is really easy to use, and gives peace of mind," said Vodafone head of applications James Dampney.

However, purchasing the product directly from McAfee includes a one-year subscription, and costs US$29.95, or about AU$28, and allows the user to lock in the advantage of the high Australian dollar for the duration of that subscription. In comparison, under the Vodafone-McAfee partnership, customers will pay a total of AU$33 for the first 12 months of their subscription, but they do have the advantage of being able to cancel this service at any time.

Under the partnership, Vodafone will not count data used by the application, such as back-ups and anti-virus updates, as part of its customers' data usage. However, Vodafone customers signing up for the product through McAfee will have this data counted towards their usage.

The difference between purchasing through the partnership and from McAfee directly also affects how customers are supported. Customers who purchased the application through the partnership will be supported by Vodafone's existing call centre, while direct customers will need to contact McAfee.

Vodafone also appears to only be offering the partnership for Android devices, despite McAfee having compatible versions of its product for BlackBerry and Symbian S60.

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