[dalke]

Those who prefer the MIT license (and BSD or Apache) like it because it places the fewest restrictions on programmers.

Those who prefer the GPL license like it because it places the fewest restrictions on users down the line, by restricting developers from doing things that are against user freedoms.

If your view is on the first link of the chain then GPL is certainly restrictive. Though I suggest you look at the AGPL to see something which is more restrictive under that viewpoint.

That said, you are certainly correct that the three major approaches are MIT, or Apache for bigger projects where patents may be an issue, or GPL. These are also the main three listed at http://choosealicense.com/ .

It comes down to what why the OP wants to "protect" the software. What shouldn't people be able to do with the software?