AVG Antivirus Review - Good or bad?

[laurentio]

I believe that AVG should change their logo from "though on threats, easy on you to though on you, easy on threats"
Serious now. They should!

AVG is complete rubbish; the latest version just eats up RAM until the computer becomes unbearable. It is a resource hog. I'm not that kind of person to throw a stone knowing that I might have a sin too. But this time they've gone too far. The beginning free versions were quite good targeting the viruses and not the traffic data as the latest one does. It turns itself into a traffic monitoring software once installed. In less than a year they know even what type of soap you like. Red or Green, liquid or bar...they have the data. Data about you. Your surfing pages, what you see, where you go. What you buy, when you buy. What do they do with this data? Hey...this is the question. Anyway, it is not looking for viruses and trojans anymore. It is looking for YOU.

Even worse, the latest version of AVG is spamming the internet with deceptive traffic pretending to be Internet Explorer! Essentially, users of the software automatically pre-crawl search results, which is bad, but they do so with an intentionally generic user agent. This is flooding websites with meaningless traffic (on Bicester Computers, we're seeing them as like 8% of our page traffic now).

Looking for a better free antivirus solution? Then try this post:
Click here to download free antivirus software for you computer (http://support.bicester-computers.com/showthread.php?t=23)

[deklevreux]

I had this one installed on my computer after i've got rid of the norton crapware. the computer was slightly faster just that this one couldn't remove any of the existing threats from my computer. it kept telling me that there were 23 threats detected but it couldn't remove a single one.
decided to uninstall it and it didn't uninstall. had to call their customer support line and after 45 min on the phone and several attempts the beast was out of my computer. another never again software.

i have nod32 now thanks to your recommandations and i must say that i love it!

[laurentio]

"Free" doesn't mean better. Glad you have learned from your mistakes.
Good luck.

[Kobrax]

Theres a ton of hype out there about products that don't deliver.

AVG Internet Security 8.0 for example, has a core following of people scrutining the internet non stop, ready to launch into a tirade any time any review shows it with less than stellar detections - even AVG themselves go ballistic and rant and rave about bad reviews - the truth hurts. My personal tests with AVG (and thousands of malware samples), shows it scores only in the 78% range overall, and less than that in terms of Trojans. Hardly what I would call a "Stellar" product, and in fact, its well below average in terms of antivirus capabilities.

Bullguard is another example, the guys that handle that are pretty arrogant , especially when their product scores bad on your tests. Bullguard scored something like only 30% trojan detection on my trojan samples. Yet another product, called Ewido, scored well over twice what Bullguard did. Of course, Bullguard folk were quick to try and discredit the test, when that didn't happen, they launched personal attacks on me. <yawn> Ewido and Pest Patrol are the two best for pure trojan work - but pest patrol is primarily antispyware/adware - but does great nonethless.

Kaspersky is widely hyped, and it deserves only some of that hype. Note I said "Some"... Kaspersky has robust definitions that are updated rapidly. But my tests show it has no measurable heuristics - and this is a massive flaw in the product. Many people claim Kaspersky scores 99-100%, but I can prove this claim is bogus, i've run into hundreds of samples Kaspersky misses. I remember a friend of mine was bragging that Kaspersky was scoring 99% on his site which isn't an opinion, its real scores based on real submissions.. Well I told him to watch the scores over the next 10 minutes, and I proceeded to upload enough samples to drop Kaspersky to around 70% in about 10 minutes. This is what happens when your product has no proper heuristics...

NOD32 is the one to watch, I was one of the earliest US based person to find out about NOD32, and with Heuristics set to max, this product EASILY outscores any other antivirus on the planet - and this is critical if you ask me. NOD32 has around 245,000 definititions at this point - at least as much or even more than Kaspersky. But it backs up those definitions with the deepest and most advanced heuristics i've ever seen. They really are code emulation in operation, and unlike Norman, they work. biggrin.gif Symantec - Norton, McAffe and other companies talk about Heuristics, but NOD simply delivers them..

The only other AV product I can recommend is NOD32. It outclass both Kaspersky and BIT Defender's engines in one single product, and scores exceptionally well..

I personally use and recommend NOD32 at this point.

[1DriedCranberry]

You know what I like about these guys?? (Bicester Computers and Laurentio especially)

Bicester Computers is a member of Brigantia.
Brigantia has special deals and discounts for their members especially on Antivirus software.

AVG and Bullguard in particular are very very cheap for Brigantia members and they can make loads of money just by acting as resellers only. I'm a Brigantia member myself and I know what I am talking about.
God Bless them, these guys simply ignore the offers. Did you see the reviews they have written about Bullguard and AVG? Clean, correct, straight to the object. Well done, I am impressed. Really impressed to see good guys out there ignoring the market, the trends, the desire of making more and more money no matter how or what they leave behind (unprotected computers, etc)

To these guys the consumers and their computers are everything....No Comment...

Just see for yourself: How many Brigantia members are in Oxfordshire? 5? Yes, just 5. How many of them are resellers of AVG or Bullguard?? 4 out of 5. Why? Well...see above...Money...money and money again. ...shame on you as you know yourself by now.

[laurentio]

What can I say? Thanks for the nice words, they're much appreciated.

Guess what, the other day, we have received a phone call from AVG UK. Phone number: 0844 894 1000.
A guy that has presented himself as "Jardine the mean machine" (this is how he called himself is not us taking the micky out of him) asked for the Administrator of Bicester Computers Support Forum urgently. As I was not there my colleague asked if there's anything that he can help him with. The answer was quite rude culminating with loads of threatening words if we do not remove the bad posts about AVG from our forum?!!!!
My colleague explained that the reviews and the posts are simply people's opinions and we won't remove them just because AVG is asking us to do so. Jardine has put the phone down on him not before saying: "So you want a war? Then you'll have one"
I didn't know what to do when I've been told the whole story. I was like...shall I call them back? I didn't have the chance as the very next day we have received another call and guess where from this time?? Yes, you're right, it was AVG UK again.
This time was Eril Brick on the same number 0844 894 1000. Again, same request (remove the bad posts about AVG) just that he had a completely different strategy. Special offers, prices, discounts, reseller, partner, but please remove the bad reviews. I had to decline the offer...I've promised him that I'll keep an eye on AVG and if they get better I won't hesitate to post the review here.
Good luck!

Below are more AVG independent reviews from reputable online magazines or end consumers:
ZDNET (http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/security/soa/AVG-Internet-Security-8-0/0,139023452,339286590,00.htm)
CNET (http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/internet-security-and-firewall/avg-antivirus-8/4505-3667_7-32887573.html)
LOISROAD (http://loisroad.multiply.com/journal/item/126/AVG_Is_Not_Giving_Me_Technical_Support)
JJMELO (http://www.jjmelo.com/blog/2008/02/29/avoid-avg-8.0-at-all-costs)