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Some will wonder why I bothered to write this blog entry. Well, I guess it’s my sometimes obtuse sense of fairness.

Earthlink is swapping out WebRoot’s spyware protection with Aluria’s.

Earthlink says the Aluria technology is superior.

David Moll’s WebRoot disputes this, saying that Earthlink was “trying to buy a Porsche on a budget.”

Guess what? WebRoot’s right. WebRoot’s technology is some of the best in the business. Why give away quality in exchange for virtually nothing? These ISP deals are awful economically, but some would argue the good PR of partnering with an ISP. But WebRoot (and many other antispyware companies) are flourishing just fine without the PR.

The math is pretty grim on these deals. Most ISP deals are pennies per user per month, but you generaly only get paid for the users who actually sign up, which is about about 20% (of the total user base).

We’ve seen that time and time again. ISPs go for the cheapest possible solution. However, it gives them a great marketing pitch that they can blast out on mass media.

Alex Eckelberry