I'm kind of annoyed that after buying my AntiVirus software, the company is hitting me up for a "subscription renewal"? What in blue blazes is that, and do I really need to do it?

Yes, you need to keep renewing your subscription. It's one of the most painful expenses you'll face each year--not because it costs so much (all things considered, it really isn't so bad) but because it's a fee you have to pay for the malice and moral bankruptcy of the virus creators.

See, that yearly fee you pay helps to pay the costs of all the teams of computer geeks who are working to circumvent the viruses that are being cranked out on a daily basis. You may say "But it's not fair that I have to pay for someone else's deviant behavior." And you would be exactly right in saying that. It isn't fair.

But it also isn't fair to ask a software company to protect your computer from new viruses every day for free either. You see, every time a new virus is invented, some software developer has do design a way of capturing and removing that virus. And guess what! Software developers don't work for free, and we shouldn't expect them to! So, grin and bear it, and keep reminding yourself, not a penny of that money goes to the guy who invented the virus.