smartdollars The Computer Savvy Weblog

AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011 Version (10.0.1390) – Freeware Review

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 02:32 PM PDT

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

0 – 0.5 – Abysmal
1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
3.0 – 3.5 – Average
4.0 – 4.5 – Great
5.0 – Killer

Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer

Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results

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A. Stability Of Program - 4.0 "Great" – We have received absolutely no e-mails about the lack of stability with AVG 2011 free and or paid (This time around).

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B. Has AVG Free Been Compromised By Hackers Or Virus – 5.0 "Killer" – No issues reported thus far

C. Speed of Scan – 5.0 "Killer" – Very quick on most computers. And now you have the option to choose how much Memory/Ram you want each scheduled scan to take up.

D. Does AVG Free Do Automatic Updates By Itself Without Any Issue – 5.0 "Killer" – Yes, and this time around there seems to be no stalling and or hanging. When we manually update AVG. As we have seen in older versions of AVG Free 2011.

E. Internet Browser Cookie Detection Rate And Removal Test – 2.5 "Average" - You are way better off with something like SUPERAntiSpyware or CCleaner that is more dedicated to removal of Internet cookies. AVG Internet cookie detection rate is terrible even with the option active and checked off.

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1. Anti-Virus Detection Rate Test:

1A. Windows XP – 3.5 "Average"

1B. Windows Vista – 3.5 "Average"

1C. Windows 7 - 3.5 "Average"

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2. Anti-Spyware - 2.0 "Average" – AVG still seems to miss very common and not so common spyware/adware. You are much better off with SUPERAntiSpyware or Spybot as your adware, spyware, malware protection.

3. One Click Fix – 4.0 "Great" – I really like this idea. But I am not a fan, of the idea. That if I want to de-activated a service/component. Such as the Link Scanner, that AVG should still show as not being fully protected. But that just might be me.

4. Link Scanner - 3.0 "Average" - Not a fan. But it can be very very useful to some.

5. Safe Search - 3.0 "Average" - I love this option and find it very very useful. Especially for all thous people that are unsure about certain websites (including myself).

6. Family Safety – 4.5 "Great" – Cost $19.99 CAD per year for 3 computers to activate this just added feature -But it covers unlimited profiles. So you can have just one kid or 11 kids and your good. Provided it is only used with up to 3 PC's

7. LiveKive – Not Tested – This feature has just been added to AVG Dashboard. But it cost money to activate. -See below for cost to activate feature-

*Cost $49.99 CAD for 25 GB of storage per year.

*Cost $79.99 CAD for Unlimited storage per year.

8. AVG ToolBar - 3.0 "Average" - This toolbar can cause crashes on a number of Internet browsers. And it is really hard to un-install. We also noticed it caused some strange behavior when dealing with WordPress.

9. AVG SideBar Gadget – 3.0 "Average" – I don't really see the point of it and it is super bulky. (Taking up way to much space) And + I already have my side bar full of way more useful widgets/gadgets.

10. Residential Shield Test - 3.0 "Average" – I still find AVIRA and AVAST seems to grab the virus way before AVG free does. But there is indeed some major overall improvements here yet again.

11. E-Mail Scanner - 2.5 "Poor" - I already have e-mail protection from another program. + I find it is way more difficult to set-up then it needs to be.

12. Update Manager - 5.0 "Killer" – No issues here at all. And it even updates faster then past AVG versions, such as 8.5 and 9.0.

13. Anti-RootKit – 4.0 "Great" – Very hit and miss. But can be very useful if there is a reason to believe you may have a deep rooted virus. Never hurts to run this every few weeks just to be on the safe side. And AVG has it as a completely separate dedicated scan option as well (Which makes it way quicker to run and it uses much less system resources.)

14. PC Analyzer – 0.5 "Abysmal" - If you don't mind that you only can fix your errors for free once then great. But if you are like me and you probably feel this options is both somewhat misleading and out right bait to buy this extremely expensive add-on. Then you are probably with me on my conclusion.

15. Identity Protection - 3.5 "Average" – A very useful feature that lets you know when you maybe at risk for identity theft and or other important information maybe at risk. Such as with Peer 2 Peer programs and certain add-ons and or toolbars

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My Overall Score: 73/110

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My Final Verdict: There has been very little improvement in this very minor update to AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011. But there is still some work that needs to be done. Overall only some very minor changes that most people won't even notice.

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Here are 2 links to download AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011:

1. http://free.avg.com/ww-en/download.prd-afh#tba1 (AVG Main Site)

2. http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition-2011/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=rb_content;main (Via download.com/Cnet)

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Till The Next Review,

Danny

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011 at 5:32 PM and is filed under Adware/Spyware Programs, Anti-Virus Programs, AVG Free, AVG Free 10, AVG Free 2011, AVG Free 2011, AVG Free News, Download.com, Freeware, FreeWare, General PC Care/Use, General PC Use, Malware Program, News, Other Software, Q + A, Reviews, Security News, Tech News, Technology, Tips & Tricks, Window's 7, Windows, Windows Vista, Windows XP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.