Awesome. Just awesome!

Pros: What's not to like? This antivirus is free!

I've been a user of this for a long time now. And I love it! It updates fast, and easily, plus for those people with a leash on their computer, you can choose to download just priority updates (new virus definitions) or you can allow optional updates (UI updates etc.)

It's always on, but doesn't waste any RAM, and never slows your computer down.

It's apparent that Grisoft really does care about your safety and protection. Onve you download this, you can rest assured that you're getting the highest quality security and protection- FREE! Take THAT Norton!

Cons: If you don't update it, it will shut down until you do update it. Not the best security feature, but it forces you to update it!

Sometimes, scans will not stop, you must force shutdown with task manager.

GUI is kind of confusing.

But, regardless of its flaws, AVG Anti-virus is a 5 star product! I can't reccomend it enough!!

Posted: 16-Jun-2006 04:05:14 PM

Wow...

Pros: I don't know what some of these people are talking about. I think some people just want to dog on the leader of the pack...

AVG Free is great! I love it, and the new 8.0 version only adds to an already great product!

First off, the biggest change: AVG drops that ugly Windows 95 interface for a slick blue Windows XP/Vista style GUI. It's pleasing to the eye, and organizes everything a lot better. Users of 7.5 will certainly be pleased to see it.

The next biggest change that I noticed is AVG's process use in Task Manager. The process it added in version 7.5 was often 80,000 K of Mem Usage in Task Manager, now its down to around 27,000 K. Now my computer is a lot faster, and I notice is most while booting up.

And not just my computer, the overall system scan is a lot faster now too, its still slow compared to other products, but I think that a virus scanner that finishes in 10 minutes isn't really scanning my computer fully... AVG does take its time, but its still not too long, I have a pretty full hard drive and it scanned it all in about 45 minutes.

Another new feature is the added spy ware capabilities. I still keep my Ad-aware 2007 on my machine, but AVG picked up a bunch of Active X stuff that Ad-aware missed. (I have yet to find out if they were actually malicious or not...)

The new browsing/searching security is another nice touch. For those users who aren't internet savvy, the feature will alert you with a box before entering what AVG considers a malicious website but for those who don't fall for poor phishing attempts like "pay.pal.com" you might just want to turn this off.

Overall, AVG Free is the perfect anti-virus, and a well needed upgrade for users of 7.5. I don't know why anyone would pay hundreds of dollars for McAfee or Norton! With daily updates to its virus definition, it's most certainly a top class secure app, for a top class price: free.

Cons: While it's true the "email scanner" is now only in the paid version, what people don't really realize is ANTI-VIRUS EMAIL SCANNERS ARE USELESS and any professional will tell you the same. Since most people connect to a server like their Yahoo! or AOL email accounts, they are ALREADY virus scanned before you open them!

Posted: 30-Apr-2008 07:28:13 PM

AOL could be back on top!

Pros: AOL was once the best software out there! Everyone who was anyone used America Online! However, recently, AOL had become very obsessed it seems, with destroying itself, with shoddy re-hashes of software and poor uninstallation programs once you had the software.

In fact, I was certain that I would never use another AOL program besides AIM.

Enter, AOL Desktop.

What AOL first did for the web, it does it again. Everything is here. For the first time, AOL has upgraded to the current century of web enhancements. And it was well worth the wait. You can access your AOL Mail, and you can also access your other accounts such as Verizon, MSN, and Google. (That's a first for AOL!)

AIM is integrated within the software, allowing you to see all your online buddies while you are browsing the web, but if you opt not to be bothered for a while, you can simply appear "invisible" online with the click of a button.

It's fast, its free, its visually appealing, and its purely nostalgic; the familiar "You've got Mail!" and "Welcome!" throw back to the old days of browsing the web.

If you're a die hard fan of IE or FireFox, you're unlikely to switch for the reasons below, but for me, it's the first time AOL has shown such promise in a long while. And it stands as a wonderful piece of software. The best AOL has offered in years, and hopefully a sign of the good things to come.

+Extremely lightweight considering the features and programs in it

+Faster startup than firefox, and comparable browsing speed

+Asthetically appealing, everything is within reach, IM, Mail, Web

+Finally step into this generation of web technology (tabs, etc)

+CUSTOM install lets you opt out of "AOL Toolbar" and other unappealing add-ons

+COMPLETELY uninstalls itself unlike other AOL softwares. *tested*

Cons: -Little customization: you cannot move anything other than the "favorites toolbar"

-No easy option to "Remove History/Cookies/Cache"

-Always installs, "TopSpeed" and "AOL Connectivity Service" programs.

-You have to use AOL Search in this program, ("AOL Search" is just an AOL shell over Google anyway...)

Posted: 19-Dec-2007 03:55:00 PM