AVG AntiVirus

AVG AntiVirus provides a free for personal use virus scanner under a business model of prevention being key to protection and selling more advanced features and services. This virus protection is basic under the free model, the Pro version adds high speed downloads and Multiple Languages; and the Internet Security version adds Anti-Spam, Spyware and firewall to its abilities. 

AVG AntiVirus Box
MSRP --
Release date --
Brand Grisoft
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Pros & Cons11
Reviews17
Details
Buy It
Competitors4
Comments3
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
16 reviews
65
negative
mixed
positive
10 positive
2 mixed
4 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
Free and works well
+13agreedisagree

•
works behind the scenes - never gets in the way of users until it is required, unlike other suites
+3agreedisagree

•
doesn't sap computer resources like other anti-virus suites
+2agreedisagree

•
Interfaces with E-Mail clients such as the OS default mail application, and 3rd party applications w/o the need for a plug in.
+1agreedisagree

•
When using services such as Yahoo Mail, it scans the e-mails.
+1agreedisagree

•
Interfaces with IE and Firefox very well.
0agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
A bit too paranoid, detects false viruses on certain files that don't have any Trojans or viruses
+4agreedisagree

•
Default behavior requires user interaction for clicking away update notification dialog
+4agreedisagree

•
Too many modules included it became confusing
+1agreedisagree

•
Heavy resource usage with many processes using a lot of RAM; not for older machines
+1agreedisagree

•
Annoying updates everyday
-7agreedisagree


18 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

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This report was started February 1, 2008 at 12:26 pm by Charon9
with the last edit occurring September 2, 2009 at 3:48 pm by bissap
This page has been viewed 3250 times, with 76 edits by 21 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

AVG AntiVirus is ranked 2nd among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Antivirus, Firewall, & Spyware »
BitDefender AntiVirus 2008

BitDefender AntiVirus 2008

MSRP  $24.99    Released  January, 2008
Pros
  • Takes up much less resources than most
  • Windows Vista 32/64 bit support
  • Small installation size
  • Free edition available
  • Gamer mode
ProSCORE
2 reviews
100
Vote! (1 vote)
vote AVG AntiVirus 0% vs. vote BitDefender AntiVirus 2008 100%
Windows Live OneCare

Windows Live OneCare

MSRP  --    Released  --
ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (2 votes)
vote AVG AntiVirus 50% vs. vote Windows Live OneCare 50%
Avast Anti-Virus Home (Free)

Avast Anti-Virus Home (Free)

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --
Pros
  • Free!
  • Realtime protection works well and detection rate is good with relatively few false positives
  • Conservative use of system resources
Cons
  • Works much better as prevention than cure (starting from clean install works better)
  • Slow
  • Some functionality gimped
ProSCORE
6 reviews
62
Vote! (3 votes)
vote AVG AntiVirus 67% vs. vote Avast Anti-Virus Home (Free) 33%
Avira Anti-Vir Personal Edition

Avira Anti-Vir Personal Edition

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --
Pros
  • Very high virus detection level
  • Simple and clean GUI
  • Fastest performance compared to other free antivirus
Cons
  • Free version can't scan network drives
  • Annoying Ads window pops up when live updating
  • Does not cooperate very well with other virus packages
ProSCORE
2 reviews
70
Vote! (1 vote)
vote AVG AntiVirus 100% vs. vote Avira Anti-Vir Personal Edition 0%

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
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Comments

1.  avatar dialupinternetuser said:

Auto updates can be disabled. I only update mine once a week and disabled the scheduled scans and updates. I just run the scan manually and have the Resident Shield on so all executable files are scanned when they open.
Feb 01, 2008 4:12pm
2.  avatar bytor said:

Although AVG used to make a great product freely available, sadly with the newest "free" update as of April 2008 they have chosen to turn AVG antivirus into a VIRUS itself with the addition of a "feature" which randomly fires up your PC's web browser WITHOUT WARNING AND WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION taking you to AVG's website to ADVERTISE for their version 8 product suite. THIS IS UNFORGIVEABLE BEHAVIOR FOR ANY REPUTABLE DATA SECURITY SOFTWARE. AVG ANTIVIRUS IS NOW NO BETTER THAN ANY VIRUS OR SPYWARE MALICIOUS CODE. GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE THIS PROGRAM COULD ALSO BE DOING TO YOUR PC. AVOID THIS MALWARE PROGRAM AT ALL COSTS!
Apr 16, 2008 5:21pm
3.  avatar vsaxena911 said:

I setup my AVG to scan everyday during the hours that I'm asleep. I haven't had any problems with AVG thus far...
Dec 05, 2008 4:25am
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

Dan (Shrek)

avatar
May 14, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
86
negative
mixed
positive
6 pros
1 con
love itlove it
have ithave it

Pros

  • Free and works well
  • works behind the scenes - never gets in the way of users until it is required, unlike other suites
  • doesn't sap computer resources like other anti-virus suites
  • Interfaces with E-Mail clients such as the OS default mail application, and 3rd party applications w/o the need for a plug in.
  • When using services such as Yahoo Mail, it scans the e-mails.
  • Interfaces with IE and Firefox very well.

Cons

  • Default behavior requires user interaction for clicking away update notification dialog

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

rickzmond

avatar
July 13, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
4 cons

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • A bit too paranoid, detects false viruses on certain files that don't have any Trojans or viruses
  • Default behavior requires user interaction for clicking away update notification dialog
  • Too many modules included it became confusing
  • Annoying updates everyday

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Yale

avatar
October 29, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Free and works well
  • works behind the scenes - never gets in the way of users until it is required, unlike other suites
  • doesn't sap computer resources like other anti-virus suites

Cons

  • A bit too paranoid, detects false viruses on certain files that don't have any Trojans or viruses

Competitors

Yale prefers AVG AntiVirus over Windows Live OneCare
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

bissap

avatar
September 2, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
33
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
2 cons

Pros

  • Free and works well

Cons

  • A bit too paranoid, detects false viruses on certain files that don't have any Trojans or viruses
  • Heavy resource usage with many processes using a lot of RAM; not for older machines

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

shadowtech

avatar
January 22, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
0 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Free and works well
  • works behind the scenes - never gets in the way of users until it is required, unlike other suites
  • doesn't sap computer resources like other anti-virus suites

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Competitors

shadowtech prefers AVG AntiVirus over Avast Anti-Virus Home (Free)
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Erik

avatar
February 1, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
1 con
have ithave it

Pros

  • Free and works well

Cons

  • Annoying updates everyday

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Amanie

avatar
February 1, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
1 con
have ithave it

Pros

  • Free and works well

Cons

  • Annoying updates everyday

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

pbb

avatar
October 29, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
1 con

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • Default behavior requires user interaction for clicking away update notification dialog

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Manzabar

avatar
May 19, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
1 pro
0 cons
have ithave it

Pros

  • Free and works well

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Midwinter

avatar
May 15, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
0
negative
mixed
positive
0 pros
1 con

Pros

Did not agree with any pros

Cons

  • A bit too paranoid, detects false viruses on certain files that don't have any Trojans or viruses

Competitors

Midwinter prefers Windows Live OneCare over AVG AntiVirus
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No
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