This Antivirus Plugin Makes You LESS Secure

Just wanted to say thanks, looking at using the best in the future. Love the blogs they really spell it out!

I was a long time AVG free user but have recently switched to Avast for the following reasons.
1. I got fed up with AVG trying to foist unwanted add-ins on me.
2. I had several failed system backup attempts using Macrium Reflect (unable to read source disk error messages.) As a last ditch attempt, I uninstalled AVG and lo and behold...successful backup!

I installed Avast in its place. Your article makes me feel better about leaving AVG in the dust.

I bounced around between several free antivirus programs for a long time, but finally settled on Norton 360 Premier. It has protected me very well for several years, at a cost of about $90 per year for multiple computers. Plus, it includes many other useful utilities. Money well spent. It does take a fair amount of resources, but with today's fast processors, it has a negligible impact on performance. Plus, no nag screens.

AVG hijacked my browser--appeared to happen during the uninstall process. I was uninstalling because I was tired of their pop-ups and aggressive behavior. Bypassing security rules and leaving users vulnerable to a host of new attacks is terrible. I won't be back. But I wonder if there are remnants of their bad programming left in my system that I now need to uninstall manually? Would hate to leave AVG's vulnerabilities in my system even after uninstall.

I had AVG change my search engine from google to Yahoo. Lots of trouble and I ended up re-installing windows to get rid of it.

I had a similar problem with Avast which blocked Internet Explorer. Good thing I mostly use Firefox but that anti-virus was a no go as well.

So far I haven't had any problems with Bitdefender with no unwanted PUPs. It just sits there and seems to do it's job.

I have used Microsoft anti virus products for many year nows both on windows 7 and 10 and have yet to have a virus on my computer. Am I just luckey or is defender better than we think it is.

This is not a first for AVG. About a year ago they destroyed my IE browser by hijacking the home page and search engine. In an attempt to remove it, IE was damaged.

AVG does not protect you from malware. AVG IS malware

Anything to make that last $ appears to be today's philosophy. AVG used to be good back in the year dot, but has deteriorated to the low end over the time. If they made decent programs this sort of thing would not need to be resorted to. Sell on merit.

Everyone should read lab test reports on security software. Top scorers are more than competitive on price, and are not known for sneaky tactics.

This, unfortunately, is a trend. From Microsoft using malware tactics to force the "gift" of Windows 10 on you, to Avast scaring you with misleading alerts about your PC needing to be "optimised" and "better protected", to most download sites being awash in PUPs, more and more, the software is the malware.

As a computer technician I tried to get my clients the best security software. Everything I told my clients that I recommend removing AVG if I thought installed not just a tune up but the entire antivirus suite . I've noticed that it's not very effective, that is it is harsh on resources, and it has a tendency to completely slow down a person's computer or disable their Internet. Recently I've started installing panda free antivirus for my home clients and avast Free business antivirus for my business clients who don't need more features.

I agree with you totally. My one question is why is an ad for AVG download on this page? Seems a bit contradictory.

I used PC Pitstop Optimize 1.0 then 2.0 and was very happy with it. But, when I upgraded to Optimize 3.0 it would no longer work. The rep at PC Pitstop told me to upgrade to PC Matic. This would not work due to satellite internet’s ping time with Hughesnet being 700 to 900ms. For this reason I have to use AVG or another sub-standard program.
I wish PC Pitstop would allow a longer ping time on PC Matic! Then I would gladly use PC Matic made in the U.S.A.!

Removed it shortly after I installed their anti-virus product. I instantly saw what was happening and removed it in disgust. Greed, it's that simple.

I bought an AVG antivirus program via Amazon, downloaded on my laptop. Couple of days later it was downgraded to Free Version. I talked to AVG's US sales people, they said there was a problem from windows 10 and asked for 119 Dollars to clean it up. I bught an ESET program and cleaned up my laptop from this AVG for good. No AVG anymore.

AVG has always been the Hog of everything on the PC, and it is so hard to uninstall everything that it gives you. Have never liked it.

It's always about the cash. My son had AVG on his pc, nothing but trouble. It would find things that weren't malware and miss things that were. I uninstalled it and replaced it with a different antivirus.Used several malware and PUP removers to get rid of any traces of AVG and all the other malware that it had missed.

Used AVG - initially the free version then the purchased version - for a number of years until an update would not install and both my computers were left without any protection. AVG support were unable to help so I switched to Norton 360 which works well and has superb support when needed.

Thanks for the update, Bob! Once again, your newsletter has proven more valuable than gold. I have used AVG free off and on and recommended it to clients that did not have ample funds for Anti-virus protection. When it was time for a new security suite, I purchased AVG, on sale at Micro Center. I noticed the hijacking right away, but had no idea it was part of a nefarious plot by AVG. I disabled web tuneup because I found the high jacking troublesome, but had no idea it was intentional. Thanks again for filling in the blanks.

AVG... CNET... CISCO/JAVA,

I'm weary of good guys becoming bad guys. The internet age seems like its devolving into the extreme Caveat Emptor days of yore. And we wonder why our parents/grandparents want nothing to do with it?