Why does software ask for a 'sales number'?

Q I recently bought AVG Antivirus, but the program has started to ask for a ‘sales number’ and I am not sure what this is. The program says that this number must be provided within 13 days or my PC will no longer be protected against malicious programs. What should I do?
Nigel Tilley

A According to the AVG support centre, a ‘licence or sales number’ is required when AVG Antivirus is purchased from an authorised reseller of AVG Antivirus. So, it sounds like you bought the software from a company other than AVG.

The required number should have been sent to the email address provided during the purchase process. If you cannot find this email, check the spam folder – it may have been wrongly identified as junk mail.

Otherwise, the reseller should be able to send out reminder details – assuming that they are really an authorised reseller of the software, of course.

Where possible, we always recommend buying and downloading software directly from the manufacturer rather than third parties. We have seen scams where the free version of AVG Antivirus is offered for sale, and commercial software sold without the necessary licence or registration code.

Spyware masquerading as anti-virus software also exists, hence the recommendation to only download software from reputable and trusted sites.

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