Thank you, graylox.
Your psychic abilities are impressive indeed, seeing as you appear to be the only individual who knew -- definitively -- that the software being offered came with a 12-month license only. That fact was not stated anywhere in the GAOTD giveaway description. Nor was it stated by Iobit.
Question after question after question went entirely unanswered on the comment thread as to the license period's implications, a situation which you might, perhaps, take as an indicator that the offer was couched in terms absent the usual, and necessary, clarity.
As to the 'business model' to which you refer, I'm well aware of what it is, having been familiar with GAOTD from its launch, and so need no reminder of the fact that fully functioning commercial software is made available by developers via GAOTD for 24 hours only, this software being in no way different from the product if it was bought and paid for on that day other than that it is not capable of being reinstalled.
Obviously, the iObit offer of May 12 2011 varied markedly from that, because what was offered was a 1 Year Licence of Protected Folder. Not Protected Folder in its then commercial guise, where the purchase price, quoted on the GAOTD page, was for license without-limit-of-time.
Thank you then for reminding me of GAOTD's business model. I hope you won't mind me reminding you that when that business model is at variance to such extent that a commercial product is offered on restricted terms, then that fact should be plainly and unambiguously stated by GAOTD, or the developer, or both.
(On which basis, your use of the iobit quote is curious: if 'the version for giveawayoftheday has no function limitation' then why is that function then limited to 365 days?)
As for me, I've no intention of buying the product -- but thanks for taking so much trouble to remind me of an option that must, somehow, have eluded me completely.