Free antivirus software (AVG AntiVirus Free Edition)

Member Name: sparksteroid

Product:	AVG AntiVirus Free Edition
Date:	31/10/08 (211 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's free! It's better than nothing!

Disadvantages: 85% detection rate, displays upgrade advert

At one time, Grisoft's AVG Antivirus used to have a very cheap and tacky look with nasty looking alien-like creatures displayed on the user interface. I'm also pretty sure that at the time it was one of the only antivirus software programs available for free, though has always been upgradable. I have had bad experiences in the past with older versions of AVG but I'm glad to say that Grisoft have sorted their act out and have improved the program a lot aswell as giving it a more professional looking makeover.

Though according to the most recent reports that I've read, AVG only has a detection rate of 85%, it still manages to find and filter out more of the rare viruses which tend to be unknown by other common antivirus programs. The side effect of this, is that the program misses out on some of the more common viruses which are picked up much easier by other programs. Though in my opinion there are better antivirus programs available for free, AVG Free Edition is still the number one choice for being downloaded.

The program now has a much cleaner and much more professional look, although there is now a small advert displayed at the bottom of the user interface asking you to upgrade. It does give you the option of hiding this notification though, so that's not too bad. AVG gives you the option of doing a quick scan, an automatic scan or a full scan, obviously the full scan taking the longest but being more thorough. AVG also uses heuristic scanning to detect unknown malicious programs.

As a free antivirus, I would recommend AVG to beginners and people just looking for a quick simple solution without the cost. However, for the more advanced user looking for something more configurable with more stable security features, then I would recommend something else.

Summary: A simple solution for basic internet users

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