Farewell to Android
Klout is FarmVille for grown-ups
Does Flash matter on mobile?
What is Twitter?AVG Anti-Virus Free has been my antivirus of choice for the past five or six years. I like its ease of use, its moderation in system resources usage and the fact that it hardly shows any window or notification. I've installed and tried every single new version, including AVG Anti-Virus Free 9.0, which came out only yesterday and works really well – as usual.
But I have to say that this latest version includes also some annoying little features I didn't like at all, chiefly regarding my browser configuration. For me, browser settings are untouchable and no program should be allowed to mess with that – not even my dear old AVG Anti-Virus. I hope this is not the beginning of the end for our relationship... well, as long as I have a way to revert those changes, it won't be.
So, what does AVG change in your browser? First, the installer includes the AVG Security toolbar for the browser. There's nothing wrong with this toolbar; actually, it's actually a nice security addition for your browser. But if you don't pay attention, you'll also let AVG change your default search engine to Yahoo!.
Of course, if you did miss that option and let AVG change the search engine, you can always change it back to Google (or whichever you use) within the web browser. The funny thing is that AVG Anti-Virus will warn you as if it was some piece of malware trying to modify your browser settings!
All you have to do is click the icon on the system tray and confirm the change in the following dialog window.
Another thing AVG Anti-Virus changes – and this time, without letting you know – is the New tab page. Once the AVG Toolbar is installed, your New tab page will look like this:
If you prefer to use the standard blank page instead, click the small black arrow beside the AVG logo on the AVG Toolbar and select Options. Then click Advanced Options and untick "Show Yahoo! search box on new tabs in the browser". That should bring you back to the standard New tab page.
Like I said, the changes that AVG Anti-Virus 9 applies to your browser are not critical and won't affect the browser functionality or compromise your system's security. But it's the kind of detail that can make you immediately dislike a program, and even switch to another one if the long run. I just hope AVG Anti-Virus doesn't go any further in this direction, so I don't have to take any drastic action like changing antivirus provider!
First I must proclaim to be a typical guy that loves buttons. I am not exactly a computer genius, in fact self-taught. I installed AVG security outfit after my subscription to Windows live one care ran out. I started with the free version, and moved up to the $32.99 version. First I must state the changeover I did not find easy, it seemed confusing to me at the AVG site. If I had it over to do I would totally uninstall the free version and then down load the paid version. This left me feeling naked without a firewall, so I downloaded zone alarm free edition firewall. I also run webroot antiVirus with spy sweeper, it cost me about $20. I have been very happy with AVG and feel with the combination of all three I have a formidable security network. AVG and webroot are set to run at different times. I have no conflict between any of the programs.
I use to use AVG before 2 years but after that i found avast the best. So i am using this and is nice
Thank you for the information on AVG. I am currently using Avira's free anti-virus and have been very happy with it. I have tried them all and believe that Avira is the best. It updates daily so I am always current on the latest attack potentials. I am also using Comodo as a firewall, but it gives too many false positives. I am planning to switch back to AVG free for malware protection, but I shall keep Avira.
please note; Windows has a firewall built in the OS. keep it on always. in XP you will find in CONTROL PANEL page.
Can you not click to not install the avg toolbar?
Hey Jim! Yes, of course: you can choose not to install the AVG toolbar if you don't want to.
The problem with security software these days is that it's all becoming geared towards the noob user, who doesn't have any knowledge on how to mix and match security products for the best experience. I find they can only see one button when installing software, "NEXT", so they miss the "Do you want to install this toolbar that annoys the hell out of you every 5 minutes?". Instead all the developers are producing all in one-stop packages that in some cases turn out to be a "Jack of all trades - master of none", because they cause conflicts with other security software that may be installed. I use Avira Antivir and Windows firewall. The only gripe I have is that Avira's servers are so slow when it comes to updates, so I do a manual update. Security software manufacturers need to keep the advanced users in mind when producing software too.
I have used avg free for years, and found it to work well. I have tried a couple of times to upgrade to avg9 but the installation does not work.....and this after waiting 2hrs or so for the download to complete is not amusing.There also seems to be a security threat associated with the download site so maybe it is time to change, at least till avg get their house in order.
I found the AVG site difficult to navigate and then when I had finally downloaded the program it failed to install. Unfortunately I then downloaded it again and this time it worked. After loading AVG 9 my broadband internet ceased to work. A reinstall was done and my internet worked again. Attempts to reload AVG 8.5 failed. It acted as if some parts of AVG 9 still remained and AVG 8.5 couldn't get rid of it. My advice, don't load AVG 9. After years of using AVG I will be looking for another virus checker.
XP-AVG 9.0 - Has anyone noticed routine unsolicited Exits from Full Screen (eg Media Player, Adobe Flashplayer)since install AVG 9? Only download apart from Windows Updates on this syatem, so booted up on backup drive (XP-AVG 8.5), Windows Updates up to date, no problem; no unwanted Exits from FullScreen. All comments welcome...
Found this on the AVG free forum http://forums.avg.com/gb-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=40443
Hey, AVira is great but doesn't have Anti-Spyware, now, I'm infected by Malware Defense, Avira didn't block it !! Si I'm looking for another AV, maybe AVG or MSE
Someone told me that AVG is not compatable with McAfee. Is that true? Thanks
@Sam - many antivirus apps refuse to work together. It seems that on the whole, you need to choose one and not attempt to install any others.
I've used AVG for years, and 9 definitely bugs me. I installed AVG 9 on my newest computer a few weeks ago and I very specifically chose at install time to not switch to Yahoo search. Just tonight, after several weeks since the original install and using Google, I noticed that my default search had been changed to Yahoo and AVG blocked my efforts to set it back to Google which is what led me to your article. Simple fix, but this really irks me -- I get kinda antsy when security software that's supposed to protect me FROM malware starts acting LIKE malware. I reckon this probably happened as the result of an automatic update that got a little big in it's britches and wasn't scripted quite right to inherit my initial settings. I've used AVG for years though, and you're right, this kinda thing definitely makes one think about switching. Yes, I realize it's free, but taking excessive liberty with a customer's system is not a good way to convince them to PAY to have their liberty violated. If AVG was my girlfriend I'd be pullin' her aside to talk about needing space and being polyamorous.
I have just uninstalled AVG 9. I downloaded Avast and it looks like a very good anti-virus. It has many features that AVG is missing. AVG is free no more.
Thanks for the info - yes I have been an AVG fan for some time and installed on many friends PC over the years. I am too bugged by avg version 9. If you miss the yahoo toolbar install option, it is not straight forward to remove. I also find that version 9 seems more resource hungry and have had problems with the updating that I have never experienced with other versions. One more criticism is when you go to get the install file on the AVG site, you select avg free and pages after that try to lead you to buy the paid version (that has a free trial) this happens a few times. Previous versions, once you have selected avg free, then you get to that download file.
Just updated to AVG 9 yesterday. I've had nothing but slow internet, having to reload pages ect. Going to try Avast. Nice work AVG (atleast upto 9 )
please let this work
AVG toolbar is nothing new to version 9; it's offered to install itself for the past couple of versions. Just say no. As for AVG pro, I'm a computer technician and have a few clients who 'upgraded' from the free version and they all regretted it. If you're going to pay for an antivirus, try getting an actually high rated one like Kaspersky or NOD32.
I've been using an older computer while my other is in the shop, and in the course of updating other software I updated to AVG 9. Big MISTAKE! It's a resource PIG (might not have been so noticeable on my other computer). Today I got yet another pop-up trying to sell me the paid product. Needless to say, I'll not install it again and will be looking for an alternative.
After my AVG subscription runs out can you get by with using old program without renewing?
AVG is the best
I'm happy with AVG Free 2011, in that it seems to use very little in system resources.i had some problems and hasve just reinstalled it.I found the AVG Free forum was very good in addressing various problems , which mostly occur when the installation is less than perfect.For instance , being unable to uninstall AVG 9(an older version) or for the 2011 version , annoying pop-ups.For the latter problem i have just uninstalled then reinstalled the program. However , I'm concerned that it doesn't detect every instance of malware, because i recently installed Trustdefender and it regularly tells me I've got malware.Any ideas anyone ?
My fifa 11 is running slowly as i activated AVG free 2011-9.Before that Fifa 11 was working great.Please help !!! Do i have to do some changes in settings?
I'd recommend ditching AVG and switching to Avast - I've used it for years and never had any problems with it slowing down anything: http://avast.en.softonic.com/
@ echo off echo off turn off the active virus taskkill / F / IM virusname1.exe / IM virusname2.exe echo Deleting all of viruses based on size for / RC: \%% a in (*. exe) do if%% ~ za 157,184 equ del / A: HSRA "%% a" echo deleting hidden virus echo for drive c and subfolders for / R C: \%% a in (*. doc.exe) do del "%% a" echo for drive d and subfolders for / R D: \%% a in (*. doc.exe) do del "%% a" echo Unhide Document cd / d c: \ echo for drive C and subfolders *. doc attrib-H-S-A / S cd / d d: \ echo for drive D and subfolders *. doc attrib-H-S-A / S exit put this in notepad save it as .bat sample Antivirus.bat run it as administrater itle scan your computer fast for small viruses not major virus problems but still a handy trick
I am running AVG free version 10.0.1416, and it has installed the tool bar but recently I'm getting this pop-up box wanting do download the file rc.aspx at toobar.avg.com. This file will download into a folder but it continues to keep popping up and wanting it downloaded. Where should the file be placed at to keep this thing from constantly popping up. I have no idea what the thing is used for or if it is needed. When I update the AVG software it does not go away.
I have not renewed my subscription to AVG, which was wasting so much of my time and slowing my machine to an intolerable extent.I am now back with Avira Free, so far without any problems. Getting rid of AVG, however, has not been easy. A directory C:\AVG9\Toolbar\Firefox\avg@igeared\ still refuses to allow me to delete it although I can find nothing else which could be using it, to deny me access.
will this version work against trojen