Alternative to AVG 8.0 (Free) ?

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seaweedsl · #31 Post by **seaweedsl** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:22 pm

I'm happy with AVG 8 on my machines. Installed without linkscanner.

Antivir sounds good, and I was considering switching over, but I also like how AVG8 has antispy and . That way I can run it and Malware bytes and feel like I'm covered with the requisite two (or more) antispywares.

Also running WinPatrol and Spyware Blaster.

Tim M · #32 Post by **Tim M** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:36 am

Ken Fox wrote:I am back to AVG 8.0

It scans for spyware which is a plus, and Avira does not. In addition, Avira has a very annoying screen hawking their paid version, which shows up on each reboot and which must be manually closed. There is no configuration option that I could find to turn it off.

I uninstalled it and am back to AVG Free. Having replaced the defective hard drive which prompted my initial post on this thread, I have no real issues with AVG that I can't put up with.

Here is how to disable the Avira nag screen. Worked like a charm for me.

Ken Fox · #33 Post by **Ken Fox** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:31 pm

Tim M wrote:
Ken Fox wrote:I am back to AVG 8.0

Here is how to disable the Avira nag screen. Worked like a charm for me.

COOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!

But I've already uninstalled Avira and I'm satisfied with AVG Free. For one thing, I like being able to do occasional scans and when I do so I find all the tracking cookies on the machine, which allows me to then deny those domains the opportunity to leave cookies on my machine (in Firefox) for the future, plus delete those that are found. I don't know of other free software that gives me that information and capability.

I have disabled the scheduled daily scan and instead do that periodically when it is convenient and when I'm not using my machines. Perhaps that is why I still find AVG Free to be tolerable.

YeOldeStonecat · #34 Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:39 pm

AntiVir (Avira) has a free edition that is top notch in detection rates. www.av-comparatives.org ...hard to navigate website to read the comparisons, but it's best of the antivirus testing...very "real world" testing is done, not typical lab tests backed by advertising.

It's also very light in resource usage...much lighter than Avast or AVG.

BTW, if you really want to stick with AVG and its "so so" detection rates...in the new 8, uncheck that web browser filter plugin..that's the biggest part of the slowdown you feel.

denisky · #35 Post by **denisky** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 3:35 am

I was also looking for a free antivirus that wouldn't eat CPU resource. Then I tried AVG8 Free, but my system became dog slow, making it less usable for daily use. After reading this thread, I immediately remove the AVG8, and installed Avira Personal. I got annoying ads at first, but again I read the replies in this thread that give the tips on how to prevent the ads. I recommend Avira Personal for those who want a good antivirus without slowing down the computer.

Tim M · #36 Post by **Tim M** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:02 pm

I've been using Avira for the past few months and have an odd bug to report. I just added a 3.5" floppy drive to the Ultrabay of my Dock II and notice that the Avira Guard will attempt to access the drive repeatedly every minute or so. In at least one instance, this prevented undocking the machine without a full shut-down.

I've done some Google research and the excessive floppy drive access is a known "feature" of AntiVir (not just for ThinkPads) that the developers are unable to reproduce in their tests, so no bug fix has been done. Has anyone else experienced this fault and perhaps found a TP-appropriate solution? If not, I may need to replace AntiVir with something else.

seaweedsl · #37 Post by **seaweedsl** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:30 pm

Update: Although I was happy enough with AVG after getting the install right, I finally found a post by somebody about a problem I had thought was unrelated.

I have been trying for over a year to figure out why my start menu>programs (or others) was loading, really, really slow. I mean like I had a really old computer or 128 of RAM. I had googled it and never found any reference to this. Only stuff about changing the load speed or whatever in the registry, but no, it's much worse than that, maybe 30-100 seconds to load a menu.

Finally I saw a post somewhere (probably here !) that it's AVG running some process everytime the Start menu is clicked. That was it ! I uninstalled AVG 8 and it suddenly returned to normal.

So, I'm now using Avira. It's eliminated the menu problem and feels light enough, but seems to have frequent problems updating. It also does not find recurring infections on my USBs that AVG did find.

At this point, I'm not as happy with either Avira or AVG 8 as I was with AVG 7.5.

Steve

Marin85 · #38 Post by **Marin85** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:34 pm

seaweedsl wrote:At this point, I'm not as happy with either Avira or AVG 8 as I was with AVG 7.5.

For a similar reason I´m still using AVG 7.5... , but it simply works, reliably and without any issues even under Win 7 x64 beta

#39 Post by **archer6** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:59 pm

AVAST ! ... It makes avast difference....ooh such bad humor eh? ...

AIX · #40 Post by **AIX** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:50 am

After using BitDefender Antivirus for two years, I decided not to renew my license and I jumped into the free antivir waggon; all I can say now it's that my laptop it's a lot snappier with AVG8 free than it was with BitDefender - it's almost like a new machine.

I tried Avast and Avira (the free versions) too - but I didn't like that annoying pop-up window of Avira nor the poor integration with Windows Security Center of Avast.

Probably BitDefender Antivirus is a better product than AVG8 free, but it seems AVG8 free suits my needs better.

beGi · #41 Post by **beGi** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:25 pm

AIX wrote:I tried Avast and Avira (the free versions) too - but I didn't like that annoying pop-up window of Avira...

IMO Avira is much better than AVG, in terms of speed and detection...

As for pop-up, follow instructions here (works):

http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disabl ... ir_nag.htm

bdwaq · #42 Post by **bdwaq** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:49 pm

Huge Avira fan

Marin85 · #43 Post by **Marin85** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:56 pm

Does anyone have any experience with AVG 8.5 now. My AVG 7.5 is still updating even though there is a pop-up with the message that AVG 7.5 will no more update after 12. April...

#44 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:47 am

I would recommend going for the free Avira, and suppress it's popup messages.
I have it on several laptops, that only run occasionally, and it always updates correctly as soon as it "smells an internet connection".

Alternative to AVG 8.0 (Free) ?

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