We believe you should know exactly how this site makes money and what that does — and does not — mean for what you read. This page explains it in full. The short version appears on our homepage and beside every paid link; this is the complete account.
The three things you should know
The links are paid. Some of the links on this site, including links to TotalAV, are affiliate links. If you click one and then sign up with the vendor, we may be paid a commission by that vendor.
The vendor pays, not you. The commission comes from the vendor out of what it already charges. It does not add anything to the price you pay, and you pay no more for using our link than you would by going to the vendor directly.
It does not buy our opinion. Being in an affiliate programme is why a product appears on this site, but it does not determine how we describe that product, nor the order in which we cover topics.
How the arrangement works
An affiliate programme is a common way for informational websites to fund themselves. The vendor gives us a special link; when a reader follows it and later becomes a customer, the vendor’s system attributes that sign-up to us and pays a commission. It is a referral fee, paid by the business, for sending an interested reader its way. No part of it is charged to you.
What the commission does not influence
- It does not change the price you pay the vendor.
- It does not decide whether we describe a product favourably. We limit ourselves to what we can state responsibly and point you to independent sources and the vendor’s own site for the details.
- It does not buy a higher ranking or extra prominence. The learning path is ordered to help you understand the topic, not by any commercial arrangement.
- It does not add invented praise, star ratings, or testimonials — we publish none of those anywhere on the site.
What actually determines our coverage
Two things shape what you see. First, scope: we cover the consumer security category and a small number of products within it, including those we have an affiliate relationship with — we are candid on our About page that this is a deliberately narrow, honestly stated scope rather than a claim of sweeping independence. Second, usefulness: within that scope, we order and write the material to help a reader understand the subject and reach their own decision, which is why we lean so heavily on Australian government resources and independent testing laboratories that you can verify for yourself.
Why we disclose it in three places
You will find this disclosure in the upper part of the homepage, on a short line beside every affiliate link across the site, and here in full. That repetition is deliberate: being paid to refer readers is only fair if the reader knows about it clearly and cannot miss it. We would rather over-disclose than have you feel misled.
Australian consumer law
Disclosing commercial relationships plainly is also consistent with Australian Consumer Law, under which misleading or deceptive conduct is prohibited and is enforced against the publisher. We take that seriously, which is another reason we are so explicit about how the site is funded. For more on your rights as a consumer, see the ACCC.
Trademarks
TotalAV and all other product names, logos and brands mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners. Aries Portal is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you want to know whether a particular link is an affiliate link, email us at info@ariesportal.online and we will tell you.