We look at ways to save more than 66% when buying the new Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 suite (see our review of it here) – simply by utilizing the fact that it is free to upgrade to a new version.
For pricing comparisons we will look at the 3 user/1 year license version which is the most popular. The 2013 version of Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) is already available in the US, Canada, India, Germany and China – it will become available in other countries soon (e.g. in the UK from 28th August).
On Kaspersky’s US site, KIS 2013 is already available for download at $59.95 – a discount offer until 9/30. The usual price is $79.95 – and this is the current price at online sellers like Amazon and Newegg. Is there a cheaper way to get it right now? You bet there is.
All you need to do is buy the KIS 2012 retail CD version (available from Amazon for $19.49 at time of writing) to obtain the 3 user/1 year license key code but, instead of installing it, download and install the 30 day trial of KIS 2013 from Kaspersky’s website here instead.
You can use this 2013 trial version for up to 30 days – before it expires just activate it with the license key code from the retail CD version of 2012 that you bought and the trial will become the full version of KIS 2013 valid for 1 year. You would follow the same process on each computer you want to install KIS 2013 on. There are several benefits to doing it this way:
- You get the 2013 version right now for under $20
- You save over $40 compared to buying it direct from Kaspersky (and over $60 compared to elsewhere) – that’s 67% off!
- You get an extra month on top of the 1 year license.
- You do not have to install KIS 2012 first and then uninstall it before installing the 2013 version (uninstalling and upgrading antivirus software takes time and can lead to problems if the process does not work perfectly).
What About the UK And Other Countries? Kasperky’s UK site is a few days behind as it only offers the 2012 version (at a discounted rate of £39.99 for auto-renewal) – the 2013 version should be available later this week.
There is no pricing for the upcoming 2013 version but we would expect it to cost the same as the full price of the current version i.e. £49.99 Fortunately you can still benefit from huge savings by buying the 2012 version now – it is available from Amazon for around £12 (at time of writing) which could represent a whopping saving of £38 – that’s 76% off!
If you buy it now you can follow the same process as for the US above when the 2013 version is released – download and install the trial version of KIS 2013 from Kaspersky’s UK site (to use the free month) then, before it runs out, use the 2012 license code that you bought to activate it and the trial will become the full version of KIS 2013 valid for 1 year.
Disclaimer – Whilst we have utilized this simple method in previous years to buy new versions of antivirus software far more cheaply, we can’t give any guarantee that they will work or continue to be supported in every country in future years. However, Kaspersky’s US website still says that you can upgrade to the latest version of Internet Security as long as you have an active license – most antivirus companies also allow free upgrades to newer versions.
Conclusion
In our latest review of antivirus test results, KIS 2012 was one of the highest rated performers and we expect KIS 2013 to be even better.
Experience from previous years suggests that the current low prices of KIS 2012 may not be around for long as stocks are run down to make room for KIS 2013 – so be quick if you want to take advantage of a top performing security package on 3 computers for less than $20 a year.
Gosto do produto, mas em Moçambique-Inhambane onde moro nao sei aonde comprar, se ouvesse uma conta Vossa num dos Bancos de Moçambique seria ideal, eu depositaria os valores de compra em Maputo fica longe para mim.
Is this still work? planning to buy it.
@The Man – it should do as Kaspersky still offer free upgrades – http://www.kaspersky.com/upgrade
of course the point is that you don’t actually need to install 2012 first, just download 2013 trial and activate it with the new license
I can confirm this method does work. I ordered from Amazon and got it in 2 days (prime member) entered the code and 2013 is registered.
Thanks for the feedback – good for other readers to see it confirmed independently
Will this method work if I already have the 2012 version of KIS? I’m thinking of upgrading to the latest version…came across this article so was wondering if my old KIS 2012 key would work for upgrading a trial version of KIS 2013 to the full one? Any idea?
Haven’t tried that. If you uninstall 2012 and choose the option to save the license/activation, when you install 2013 it automatically activates itself with the same license – it knows you have e.g. 6 months left
If you uninstall 2012 completely and don’t save the license/activation then install 2013 trial I’m not certain if you could just use your license (from the original 2012 CD) afterwards – I would guess so (because upgrades are free). Worst case I guess you could uninstall the trial and then install 2013 from scratch, like a ‘normal’ upgrade?