AVG Review - Comments Page 2

I regard AVG as excellent, too. It's very good at keeping itself up to date with new virus patterns and runs its regular scans of the computer in the background with minimal impact on its speed. (2.2GHz AMD 64 with 2GB RAM, running XP)

AVG were a little naughty recently when changing from v7.5 to v8, as they were telling people that v7.5 was coming to the end of its life and at the time v8 was not available on a free licence. One or two people I know were panicked into buying a copy of AVG v8.

Regarding an earlier comment here, I find that XP needs at least 1GB of RAM to run well if you have security software loaded (Free editions of AVG and ZoneAlarm in my case).

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ever since version 2 of AVG, people have been spreading the story that "AVG is not free anymore." I don't know where it comes from, but it never has been true.

I was happily using AVG 7.5 which found numerous attacks on my system, then in May it decided I needed to pay to upgrade to AVG 8.0 and when the final date came it ground to a halt. I was actually quite fond of AVG, but since my wife had messed up all my credit cards, I was unable to purchase.
So, I too went for Avast and noticed the improved speed. Perhaps TOURBUS could visit Avast and give us some tips.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'll give Avast a twirl sometime and report back here.

I've been using AVG since NAV 5.0 soured me on Norton, so its been a while. I'm the 'tech support' guy for my family and friends, and I take their security seriously and typically install AVG, Adaware, Spybot, Spywareblaster, Threatfire, RogueRemover, and Hostsman. When I upgraded everyone to AVG 8, the problems started with serious slowing issues, including boot and shut down problems. I even noticed the difference on my own system! (AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 6000+ (3GHz), and 3GB RAM.) We all have the Avast installed now, and the calls have stopped. To be fair, apparently some people are finding no problems with AVG 8, so I have to suspect there may be a conflict issue with one of the other security apps I use. So my advice is to try it, put your system through its paces, and if you do encounter a problem, switch to the Avast.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sounds like you're using SIX anti-spyware programs! That's enough to slow any machine down. I've always recommended using just one, and Windows Defender has worked beautifully for me (on multiple computers) for several years.

It's vital to follow the AVG 8 free installation instructions at-

http://freeforum.avg.com/read.php?13,121635,backpage=,sv=

since some people have had problems with installation. Note that AVG 'always recommend temporarily disabling' other protection programs 'before installing....& restart[ing] the computer twice before re-enabling'.

I also recommend using Firefox and its excellent Flashblock extension as part of your security profile.

EDITOR'S NOTE: What's the security issue with Flash? In general, I don't recommend tools that block useful content, and require extra user actions to view a page.

I agree with Kelly. I have used AVG for years and thought it was the best thing since Peanut Butter :-) but 8.0 is lousy. Everytime it updates it says I have to reboot my computer. It didn't do that on 7.5. I switched to Avast and it works like a charm and takes up less space. AVG screwed up with 8.0.

I've used AVG for quite a few years on a number of XP machines, and have been a happy camper. So when 8.0 came out, I didn't hesitate to install it on my main machine. Bad mistake! It trashed my machine!!! I immediately lost all internet access. In addition, my machine tended to freeze, requiring multiple reboots -- something that ordinarily never happens to me on rock-solid XP.

A quick google of "avg 8.0 problems" (from one of my other machines that wasn't dead yet) revealed that many other folks found themselves in the same boat. With some difficulty, I was able to revert my main machine to AVG 7.5, restoring it to immediate health. I'm surprised that you recommend AVG 8.0 without qualification, and without mentioning the major disasters that many people have experienced.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Is there a common denominator, such as the presence of other security software on the machine? I'm wondering if the rollup of the anti-spyware into the AVG 8 base is conflicting with other anti-spyware tools. I'll add a caveat to the article.

I used to use AVG but after I installed version 8 I started having problems. I seems they turned it into bloatware, not as bad as Norton but bad enough that I don't want to use it. All I wanted is anti-virus protection, I don't want it doing all those other functions.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You can disable the optional components. Click on the AVG icon in your taskbar.

I've been using Avast for over a year and love it. It was easy to install, updates every day and I've had no problems. I couldn't find the free version of AVG. They didn't make it easy at all.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ummm, there are FIVE links to the free version on the Grisoft home page. There's also http://free.avg.com if you want to get there faster.

Long time user of AVG also, but I'm ready to dump 8. Every time I boot up, AVG takes 100% of my CPU for up to two and a half minutes. The link scanner checks every link in every page you try to open before it opens. I shut that function off. Finally, at odd times it scans and takes all my CPU cycles again.

I think this is their way to stop providing the free version but I'm afraid it's going to backfire as most people will get another free version, not the paid AVG. Remember, you get what you paid for.