Kingsoft Sinks AV Pirates

Posted on September 1, 2008
Filed Under China Business, China Internet, Security, Software Piracy |

Kingsoft has released its Q2 financial report and interim report, which say that the company’s revenue increased by 42% to CNY346.8 billion in the first half of 2008 with online games and software contributing 66% and 34% of the total revenue, respectively.

…In the first half of 2008, Kingsoft’s software business made revenue of CNY116.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 87%. The main reason for the rapid growth is because of the increase of the user number of its anti-virus product. So far, about 8.7 million users use its anti-virus product daily, which increased 63% compared with the same period last year.

Kingsoft uses a subscription model for its anti-virus software. The software is free, but the virus pattern updates cost RMB10/month (just under US$1.50). It’s even cheaper through deals for customers of some banks.

For the anti-virus business at least, this is the easiest way to stick it to the software pirates. Giving away the software and charging a market-friendly fee for the updates pretty much blows any incentive for piracy out of the water.

Making a marketing deal with Bank of China and China Construction Bank is even smarter. The most serious malware out there is designed to target accounts for online banking and gaming. It’s a no-brainer at RMB7.5/month (a little over a buck).