AVG Anti-Virus V8.5 – 2 Year Subscription

I have been through the lot! THIS IS THE BEST ANTI-VIRUS I HAVE EVER HAD – and it comes with THE MOST EFFECTIVE ANTI-SPYWARE today!

For years I sweared by NORTON – until two years ago it got so heavy and demanding it slowed my computer to a crawl. Then I gave McAFEE a try which, although lighter, pestered me with pop-up messages. When that license expired I gave KASPERSKY Internet Security a try: real secure feeling and detailed settings control; however, a number of internet applications, although given full internet access, were slowed to a trickle.

A couple of months ago I downloaded the AVG AV & ANTI-SPYWARE as a 30-day trial. I liked it so much, I gave their INTERNET SECURITY a try too!
Yes, THIS IS THE ONE!

Light, heuristically effective (it even found a malware that KASPESKY failed to locate – and KASPERSKY has the best reputation on cleaning out everything!), no conflicts, email integration (although not with ThunderBird yet, a minor glitch), excellent AI and quiet.
This is legendary AntiVirus that blew the whistle on BIOSHOCK’s RootKit!

It may seem a bit pricey, yet keep in mind that it comes with a 2 YEAR license, not the usual 12 months that most other Security applications come with.

If you already have a Firewall solution (no, I don’t mean the one Windows comes with, that is a joke – the best free one is ZONE ALARM) THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED. If, however, you want a comprehensive Security solution, try AVG INTERNET SECURITY instead.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

UPDATE [April 26, 2008]: AVG offered the FREE option to upgrade to v8.0 for the remainder of the license to every customer that had bought v7.5. Now, THIS is a company that knows how to built customer loyalty!

Something happened to the folks at Grisoft. They were the poster child for respectful software development, rational performance, and customer awareness. I guess they hired someone who decided they would become a “security software company”. The result is that AVG 8 is by far the most disastrous product they have put out EVER.

It consumes more system resources than even the terrible McAfee and Symantec. I’ve been a paid subscriber of the family package to AVG for years, and when the AVG 8 “upgrade” appeared, I enthusiastically loaded and then the trouble started. AVG now requires almost the entire computer just to run itself. Internet download speeds dropped (I have verizon Fios) from 20Mbps to 5 and upload speeds from 4 Mbps to 200Kbps (yes, you read that right). Web pages take minutes to load, file copy operations are amazingly SLOW (I thought it was Vista, but its NOT!!)

Basically, I have written AVG off as another clueless group who wants to add value, but with no awareness of the damage they do in the process.

This has become what one person referred to as “elephantware”, and I agree. I’ve been through many of these products, and they each become more important than the actual computer it seems. Now AVG has gone the way of the dodo

On the pro side, it has the best update and scheduler that I’ve seen, and it does indeed deal with most viruses. It also has a new pretty icon…. but thats all thats positive I can say.

I’ve rolled my whole family back to AVG 7.5, and am now evaluating a bunch of other products. Back to the drawing board

5.0 out of 5 stars
Great product!
I used to use Norton but had so much trouble with it, I switched to AVG. I love the AVG. It is fast, and up to date.

5.0 out of 5 stars
AVG 7.5
I had used Norton SystemWorks for several year until it became too burdensome for both the computer and renew/update process.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Don’t want viruses or spyware on your machine. AVG is the answer!
AVG software is the best antivirus/ antispyware available. We use it at our office after Norton didn’t catch 9 or 10 viruses on our computers…..

1.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely the worst anti-virus I’ve used
AVG is the most obtrusive piece of software I have on my computer–I know that most anti-virus systems do need a lot of latitude to work, but this one is ridiculous!