AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0.138

Publisher's description of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

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AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.

Version 8.0.138 is a maintenance release.

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Editor's review of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

This antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Free provides the bare necessities, including a real-time shield to prevent infections, anti-virus and anti-malware wrapped up in one engine, and a link scanner for Web surfing with care.

By default, the application is set to search for new virus definitions daily, but you always can use the scheduling tool to change this. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn't tax your system when scanning or when running in the background and always proved effective in our tests. The new interface is much easier to navigate than in previous version, with tabbed navigation on the left assisting users in drilling down to the tools they need.

Though the free version of this program will suffice for average folks, those who demand more control should certainly consider AVG Anti-Virus Professional.

User reviews of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

• Average user rating: out of 15284 votes
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  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

  Uno de los mejores gratuitos

  by: jorge_amar on 07-Jul-2008 08:23:07 PM

  Pros: Realmente, es uno de los mejores antivir que he probado en los últimos tiempos. Ademas de ser una versión gratuita y tener actualización constante de por-vida sin costo alguno, detecta casi el 100% de los virus existentes y detecta spyware, adware y roba-identidades (identity-theft). También revisa los correos entrantes en Outlooks (de office y express) y protege de enlaces potencialmente peligrosos (phishing) indicando, en los buscadores, los links seguros y "peligrosos". Lo que más valoro del producto es que no consume muchos recursos de sistema haciendo pasar casi inadvertido los procesos en background del antivirus.

  Cons: No cuenta con soporte en línea y carece de otros tipos de protecciones que podrían ayudar a mejorar la protección del equipo. Por lo demás, la protección es más que suficiente para proteger cualquier equipo de casa y de oficina de uso medio.

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  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

  Set it, forget it, you won't regret it.

  by: ranman54 on 08-Jul-2008 04:49:58 AM

  Pros: Ease of use and AVG won't bog down your system with well over 100 MBs like other AV programs.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (1 of 2 users said yes)

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  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

  I have used this product for years...nothing better!

  by: mttahtinen on 07-Jul-2008 06:09:23 PM

  Pros: This is a no brainer

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  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

  AVG8 Some problems, better with tweaks

  by: zcarcharodon on 07-Jul-2008 08:40:27 PM

  Pros: Decent virus scanner, and added Adware detection

  Cons: I've had AVG 8 for 2-3 weeks now. Everything seemed okay at first, it took up between 10,000-40,000k in memory, most of the time closer to 40,000k. But still, it seemed okay. However, when I opened multiple browser windows (4 to be exact) of a content/media heavy page (ie ufc.com), it started to lag and become unresponsive. When I right clicked the context menus were very slow, and usually I'd have to ALT+CTRL+DEL, End Task, on the browser (didn't matter if it was Firefox or IE).

  I figured out that the Resident Shield was bogging me down, so I disabled it. Now it runs at a loss less memory (less than 10,000k) and I can run multiple browser windows no problem. For the record my PC is a Pentium 4, 1.6 GHZ. For me, I'll take my chances with doing a full scan every so often (which you have to do anyways), rather than 24-hour Resident Shield, which is basically as bad as having a virus, the way it lags me up. To get rid of the "Resident Shield Disabled" warnings: Tools > Advanced Settings > Ignore Faulty Conditions > Uncheck Resident Shield.

  I've also used other tweaks, one that got rid of that nagging Drop Down Notification box. Below is a quote from a website (between the asterisks).

  ********

  To get rid of the "Dropdown Notification" simply change 2 files in the C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8 subfolder:

  Rename the file "avgresf.dll" to something like "avgresf.dll.disabled"

  Rename the file "avgmwdef_us.mht" to something like "avgmwdef_us.mht.disabled"

  ********

  Most guides suggest renaming "avgresf.dll", however I kept this one as is, and it still works by just renaming the "mht" file. I'd rather not mess with the DLL just in case. Do whatever works for you.

  Another tweak that got rid of the link scanner upon installation:

  ********

  avgfree8.exe /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch

  ********

  I tried posting some AVG 8 tweak links, but CNET does not allow links, so do the following for the links:

  Google these strings and it should be the first result (NOTE: copy and paste everything to Google, the quote marks and + sign, that way Google searches exactly):

  1)

  "More Perspectives and Tips on AVG Free version 8" + "Grand Stream Dreams"

  2)

  "AVG 8 Free Better Than 7.5 After Tweaking" + "dslreports"

  3)

  "tweakguides forums" + "new AVG8.0 Antivirus Free Edition " + "avg 8.0"

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  AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

  Good

  by: Danielv1957 on 07-Jul-2008 09:07:22 AM

  Pros: Virus scan is good but the spyware part don't remove the spyware it just shows you what is in there.

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