[JMT74]

Hi, I have been using AVG free for about 5 years now. I have never had any problems with it. However I have been hearing alot of people think AVG is useless and they don't catch the latest viruses. Is this true and should I really think about getting another free antivirus such as AVAST? I know I am about to hear alot of AVG bashing so go for it. lol

[DotHQ]

I'm in that same boat with ya buddy! I've been running AVG for a few years now. I'm very happy with it. But I've also heard good things about avast.
The fact that I've never gotten a virus while running AVG stands for a lot with me. It' must be doing the job .....or I've been darn lucky.

[DarqueMist]

People fell in love with AVG because it ran so lean. With v8 thats no longer true (although it is still no where near the bloatware that Norton is). It had some rough goes at release because of incompatibilities with some popular antimalware software (which has been fixed) but mostly people complain it uses to much of their system resources.

Search out some reviews and base your opinion on those (not on any single one but on them all as a group). Be careful of the "personal" opinions you read as right now I find a lot of the bashing going on is similar to the ATI vs. nVidia wars ... fanboys latching on to 1 or 2 specefics instead of forming well rounded opinions.

[tomdkat]

I've used AVG 7 and AVG 8, avast! 4, and now AntiVir. AVG has served me well, in the past, and I continue to stand by AVG 8. I didn't care for the UI of Avast! and it detected what I believe to be a "false positive". AntiVir seems like a great product thus far even though it hasn't detected anything on my test system yet. I do look forward to scanning an infected drive with it to see how it fares.

I have no real beef with Avast! and wouldn't recommend that an Avast! user stop using it in favor of AVG or AntiVir.

Peace...

[smeegle]

I use Avast with my WINME now because I can't use AVG on it anymore. Tomdkat mentioned false positives. I don't know how to identify a false positive but since I've started using Avast with my WINME it has detected a lot of Restore viri whereas AVG never did. Perhaps that's a discussion for a different thread.

[hewee]

I heard AVG 8 with the link scanner is what slows thing down. So if your going to keep it disable that part.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by smeegle

I use Avast with my WINME now because I can't use AVG on it anymore. Tomdkat mentioned false positives. I don't know how to identify a false positive but since I've started using Avast with my WINME it has detected a lot of Restore viri whereas AVG never did.

Of course, I don't consider my experience to be definitive of conclusive but something I experienced. When I first installed Avast! 4, it detected a worm in a data file used by the game "BookWorm Deluxe". I used the Jotti service to scan the file to confirm an actual infection to see if it was something AVG had missed. During the Jotti scan, just about every anti-virus app you can think of (all of the ones discussed frequently on this forum) was used to scan the "infected" file I uploaded. Only Avast! and Panda reported the infection. The other 12 or so apps didn't detect anything. Kaspersky, AntiVir, and NOD32 were among the apps that didn't detect anything, just like AVG didn't. Therefore, I considered the Avast! detection as a false positive since so many other reputable scanners didn't detect anything.

Peace...

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by hewee

I heard AVG 8 with the link scanner is what slows thing down. So if your going to keep it disable that part.

People have also been complaining about unusually long scan times (at least from an AVG 7 scan time reference point). AVG 8 scans far MORE than AVG 7 did and on each system I monitor with AVG 8 installed, AVG typically reports scanning beteen 750,000-1,000,000+ objects. AVG 7 on those same systems would report scanning 250,000-300,000 objects.

Peace...

[Blackmirror]

I keep AVG8 as real time protection and it works

I don't use the scanner only once a month

I use Malwarebytes daily however AVG email scanner has removed viruses from email attachments and stopped me from downloading dodgy programs

for a free program its ok

[hewee]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

People have also been complaining about unusually long scan times (at least from an AVG 7 scan time reference point). AVG 8 scans far MORE than AVG 7 did and on each system I monitor with AVG 8 installed, AVG typically reports scanning beteen 750,000-1,000,000+ objects. AVG 7 on those same systems would report scanning 250,000-300,000 objects.

Peace...

Maybe the setting on each version scans other file types so if the setting are the same you think AVG 8 would scan the same objects. Like are they both scanning compress file etc.

[ferrija1]

Ferrija1's Canned Malware Removal Applications Post:

There are so many good antivirus applications on the internet, there is no "absolute best, hands-down, golden standard" application for virus or spyware removal. They are like cars. They all get you places (remove viruses), it's just that some look different and have certain features that others don't. The exact appliations you choose comes down to personal preference. You may find a certain lightweight anti-virus application to work well on your less powerful computer, or you may like the layout of an anti-spyware enough that you choose to use it. The detection difference between the below applications is for the most part insignificant.

Nomatter what anti-virus application you use, you can still be infected if you do not follow the following points:

1. You behavior while online is your first and best defense against malware. While antivirus software is complex, malicious programs (malware) are created every day before antivirus applications have time to update to block that vulnerability, leaving the antivirus software useless. There are few security tips to follow while online; if these are followed, coupled with an antivirus application, your chances of being infected are next to none.

Adapted from Leo Laporte's Five Things To Do To Protect Yourself:

1. Don't Open E-mail Attachments Even if an attachment looks like it's from a friend, don't open it, it could have been sent from a hacker and have a virus in it. Ask the sender if they really sent the attachment before opening it.
2. Don't Click Links In E-mail Never click links in e-mail, type the address into your browser by hand. Since you can name links different than what they actually are (like this: http://www.google.com) and since links may look like they go somewhere they don't (like http://www.google.com@members.example.com/ may look like it goes to Google, but it truly goes to example.com).
3. Don't Download Files From Places You Don't Know Are Safe / Don't Use BitTorrent or P2P Apps When you are downloading files, especially applications and .exe files, stick to the big sites. CNET, SourceForge, Microsoft, Apple, etc. Chances are, you can find that application on a large site. If you must download files from a smaller or less reputable site, scan it with your antivirus software right after you download it. BitTorrent and other P2P (person to person, a way of transmitting data) application may look great, but it can take only minutes using one to be infected. They often entice you with free music or software, but along with them are viruses.
4. Update, Update, Update! Microsoft, Apple, and Linux development teams are always finding new holes in their operating systems then creating fixes, or patches, for them. To receive these patches, you should have the automatic update feature on and manually check every few days.
5. Get a Firewall It is critical to have a firewall of some sort running while online, they block attacks on your computer. Routers are great hardware firewalls, since they block attacks before they reach your computer, cannot be disabled by viruses, and apply to any computer connected to that router -- it blocks attacks for more than just one machine. You should also run the simple built-in firewall on your operating system.

2. Only use one anti-virus application at a time. Running more than one anti-virus application with real-time protection at the same time can cause conflicts and make you vulnerable. It is, however, safe and a very good idea to scan with more than one anti-virus application.

3. Only use well known applications, like the ones on this list, because of the prevalence of rogue anti-malware applications.

4. If you believe you are infected, do not attempt to remove it with an anti-virus application, go to the Malware Removal forum and post an HJT log, noting any strange behavior you have seen.

5. Ensure your anti-virus application is set to update constantly, and once-in-a-while check to make sure it does update. Additionally, do not ignore warnings that are given to you by your security and anti-malware applications.



Below is a list of recommended anti-malware applications in no particular order.

Anti-virus Applications

Free
Most free antivirus applications have the same virus engine (virus detecting and removal component) as their paid counterparts, but lack features like real-time protection, e-mail scanning, and scheduling.

• AVG Free
• Avast Home Edition
• AntVir Personal
• BitDefender Free Edition
• ClamWin

Paid
The price is for a one year subscription.

• AVG Internet Security -- $54.99
• Avira AntiVir Premium -- 19.95 € / $30
• BitDefender Antivirus 2009 -- $30
• Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 -- $59.95
• McAfee Internet Security Suite 2008 -- $49.99
• Norton AntiVirus 2008 -- $39.99
• ESET NOD32® Antivirus 3.0 -- $89.99

Anti-spyware Applications

• Spyware Doctor
• SpywareBlaster
• Malewarebytes Anti-Malware
• Spysweeper
• SUPERAntiSpyware

PM me if you want to add something.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by hewee

Maybe the setting on each version scans other file types so if the setting are the same you think AVG 8 would scan the same objects. Like are they both scanning compress file etc.

Actually, the fact that AVG 8 "scans more" is pitched as an improvement over version 7.5. On the AVG free forum, several people complain about scans running longer than they used to and the response is usually and generally "because it's scanning more". Of course, this doesn't solely account for the increase in scan times but it is a factor.

I've run AVG 7.5 and 8 with the default scan settings and have noticed a significant increase in the number of objects version 8 now scans, as I mentioned above. I would imagine AVG 8 scans the same objects AVG 7 did but version 8 scans additional things version 7 didn't. Plus, version 8 does some spyware scanning that version 7 didn't.

Peace...

[hewee]

Yea newer version also scan more things. Just like Ad-Aware SE scan less the Ad-Aware 2008.

One thing you can do with Avast is have it scan when you not using you computer.

Screen-Saver

avast! makes it possible to perform the file scanning even during the time your computer is not working and a screen-saver is running. It displays a small window inside your favorite screen-saver that informs you about the scanning progress, i.e. about the number of scanned files etc. If avast! finds a virus during the scanning, the test is interrupted and the well-known alert window is shown.

If you want to use the Screen-Saver task, you have to select "avast! antivirus" in your Screen control panel - screen-saver setting.

The settings for the Screen-Saver task are the same as for all the other tasks, only the page Screen saver is added:

Screen saver. From the list of installed screen-savers, select the one that will be run.
Settings. These is not avast! settings, but ordinary Windows screen-saver settings corresponding to the screen-saver selected. In case of problems, consult the Windows OS help.
Scan for viruses. This option enables scanning for viruses in the screen-saver. If not checked, the avast! screen-saver will behave just like the ordinary one.
Loop scanning. After the screen-saver scans all the areas defined, it will start from the beginning again.
Window movement speed. Specifies how often the scanner progress window changes its position on the screen.

[jsparky77]

If you see any test, they will agree with me when i say that avg can only pickup old viruses and that avast would be much better.

AVG has dismal detection rates to say the least, the new version is a resource hog and still has many bugs, even after it has been released for months, has a bad UI and also, as stated above, has an extremely slow link scanner.

Avast, on the other hand, has a lot better detection rate, lighter background applications, mostly bug free and a faster link scanner. The only bad things I could say about avast is it has a bad UI which could easily be improved but it also lets in a lot of riskware, but if you are careful in what you install, this shouldn't be a problem.

If You still think you should stick with AVG, try looking at some of the tests online.