Why I Switched from AVG to Avast Antivirus - Comments Page 4

Here comes the warning voice!! After your remarks re Microsoft Security Essentials I got rid of it and downloaded Avast (free version). Then my PC began to play up especially Internet Explorer and Google - simply took forever to load a webpage and sometimes failed altogether. Huge Google searches and remedies followed (using my wife's PC) but nothing worked. Eventually I came to the conclusion that it might just be the new AV program. Uninstalled Avast and the problems all vanished. Now trying out Avira although not impressed at the time it took to scan my machine (over seven hours for a half full 6.5 GB of storage). New readers start here!

Hi Bob, thanks for the stunning article. And on-going advice - always appreciate your wisdom and clarity.
I agree with your assessment of Avast! wholeheartedly, as a loyal user of Avast! for many years.
Timing for your change to Avast! however, is not great. Currently, Avast! is experiencing a huge problem (I know, I'm trying to sort it out & have seen a huge amount of other folk with the same problem) with freezing up IE (& also, to a lesser extent, Firefox / Chrome).
At first Avast! were in total denial in their forums, only changing their tune when an also-loyal user cut to the chase and laid out Avast!'s un-appreciated denial stance in no uncertain terms.
Essentially, the latest rendition of Avast! renders, especially IE, inoperable. It freezes IE.
If one disconnects / disables Avast! via the "Manage Add-on's" in IE, the problem immediately goes away.
A temporary measure, for your immediate benefit, is to open IE in "In-private Browsing" mode, which then takes away the problem completely without disabling Avast! so one has web-scanning functioning from Avast!. But, this is a temporary measure, of course.
Apparently, re-setting winsock with XP is a possible "fix" of sorts, I see from the forums. I tried this potential fix with my Win7 64-bit system and it definitely improved matters, to the extent that IE actually then worked, but, too slow to be acceptable. Not a proper fix, then. The re-setting of winsock, probably, would have improved matters anyway.
So, I'm continuing to use "In-private" mode until Avast! sort out this issue.
Apart from this (hopefully temporary) glitch, Avast! is a really super choice. If ... if ... they get this current problem fixed, as my browser-of-choice is IE & I'm not looking to change this (with me, specifically, Firefox / Chrome is not experiencing the above freezing problems due to Avast! But, some other folk are not so lucky, see the Avast! forums).
Any suggestions you have to try to sort out this problem will be hugely appreciated.
Warm regards,
Dorian Glass

I reinstalled Avast on my pc and my son's pc very recently and the package installed Google Chrome without my permission and even designated it as our default browser. This is impolite to say the least.

Otherwise we are quite satisfied with AVAST.

same here, switched to avast a year ago

Wake up people. NOD32 is the only way to go man.

This is interesting:
http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/security-software/317280-why-microsoft-doesn-t-need-independent-antivirus-lab-tests

Hello Bob,
I'm glad to know that you and I are finally on the same page when it comes to what's protecting our system. avast! has been protecting my computers for the past 10 years and has done an excellent job.
I also use the avast! Mobile Security product to protect my Android smart phone and tablet. It's another great product an also totally free.

HI.BOB..Been using Avast for years with no problems and they didnt sneak Google Chrome on me..it offered to install but I unclicked it.Have never had a virus using Avast and love them for it!I love the software updater but noticed they excluded Mozilla and Firefox as part of the software up dates that they used to include.Disappointing but I can deal with it!Glad you installed it and hope it keeps you as safe as it has for me!
Great article..kee up the good work!

Bob, thanks for the information, but I am sorry to disagree on using AVAST Antivirus. I have had that antivirus for 4 years on one of my computers and it always posted several problems. Just the updates alone took anywhere from an hour to 1 1/2 to load, as it was always disconnecting from the main server. But the last incident occurred when I downloaded the latest version. It asked me to reboot my computer, and after the fact, the program opened a dialog box saying: "avsastUI.exe had a problem and has to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." The problem with this error box was it never closed, no matter how many times you hit the close button. I had to get a tool to remove the hole program from my computer, because the antivirus program didn't work anyway. I think that all these programs like to entice you with the word "free", but their ultimate goal is for you to take the paid version. The bottom line, it's all about money. If you have been with them for a while for free, and haven't signed up for the paid version, they want to get rid of you. I am planning to change my operation system to PCBSD latest version. I read it's an open based system that's easy to use and needs no antivirus program, as it doesn't get infected like Windows.

Tried Avast a few yeas ago and I found that it really slowed down my computer. I switched back to AVG. I had no issues upgrading to AVG 2014.

I've been using Avast almost since they came out. Even when AVG started being touted as better I stuck with Avast. Never had any problems...or virus attacks at all. Good article as always.

If you have a Costco membership, every three months or so they offer Kaspersky A/V for 15.99 for a one year 3 computer subscription. My computer is fully backed up in 2 locations. I am not afraid of getting a virus. Kaspersky has caught everything so far.

Enjoyed this article as I do most of yours.
Switched to Avast many years ago as AVG slooowed my
system down to a crawl.

Avast scans at start up with no apparent way to stop it when I have to restart (cold or hot).

Thanks Bob again for your research & providing it for free. I have used AVG free for 20+ years & yes they irritate me occasionally with the sneaky check boxes. Installer beware! is true for most programs.
I recently had a computer rebuilt & the tech put Avast on it so I thought I would let it run & try it. It seemed to work better than AVG but I see from others comments that my IE problems & false positives are Avast. So I'm going back to AVG!
Additionally I just tried to put Avast on a friends laptop running 64bit Win 7. It gave a BSOD twice & refused to install so I put AVG on with no problem.
P.S. I've tried Privazer on all my machines. So far I'm Impressed!!

Bob, I very rarely comment on any articles as the comments are so often truncated to the point of stupidity (people didn't read the original or totally misinterpreted it. But I very much enjoy your news and look forward to it. Thank You.

Perhaps you missed my FAVORITE features of Avast. Many of us simply download "english" but go to the languages options, download "pirate talk" switch the language to pirate talk and it gives you a whole new computing experience. I LOVE IT. It has cemented me to Avast simply due to their happy attitude to supply this feature. After ten years I simply obey when Avast finds the rare find - if an Avast warning pops up - I'm outta there! Never had a problem.

Thank you Bob for this excellent article and the many others you publish. I have learned a lot via your newsletters.

I have used free Avast for years. I was put on to it by a close friend who is a computer "guru." He is 80 years old, builds and fixes computers and has been responsible for launching more seniors of our town into cyberspace than anyone else I know. He loads free Avast on all the computers he builds.

I have had no problems or infections. Also, on my friend's advice I have Malwarebytes and Advanced System Care - free editions too.

Keep your good newsletters coming; I look forward to them.

I downloaded Avast, but I cannot uninstall AVG. My computer locks up. When run the uninstall and try to restart, my computer won't restart. This is worse than a virus.

Removed Microsoft Security Essentials and installed Avast 2014 (free version). As soon as I opened Microsoft Outlook (2000), Avast quarantined it and made it inoperable. Every time I restored the file from the virus chest, Avast immediately quarantined it whenever I tried to open Outlook. I had to disable Avast for 10 minutes to use Outlook once I restored the file again from the virus chest. Problem is now Outlook only displays all email in text and there is no way to restore it to display HTML emails, most of which now are blank. Even uninstalling Avast 2014 and repairing Outlook did not restore its ability to display HTML emails. Until Avast is fixed, I will not install it again.

Hello Mr. Rankin and all the other Rankinites!

I GAVE up on AVG years ago when I found it to be a Resource Hog and NOT very effective in getting detecting and removing malware!
I then tried Avast which was simply Fantastic [especially it's unique BOOT SCAN] - - until it became TOO bloated and had a busy-looking interface - - that was just TOO overwhelming for me.
(The above notwithstanding I have to admit to using AVAST'S stand-alone Anti-Rootkit utility to do a spot check on my computer system every now and then).
The Program appears comprehensive as it can load up to 85-90 MB of Updates!

So generally speaking I continue to use Microsoft's MSE (despite advice to the contrary) and Malwarebytes in tandem (along with Microsoft's MRT when it comes out every month).

RA

Yep...everytime I select download I am redirected to this site...and a few years ago I had problems with "stuff" from cnet!!...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Just found this page with direct download links for Avast! http://www.avast.com/download-software