AVG claims the scans in the new version of AVG Free are three times faster than last year's, and its system performance impact turned out to be about average, once the computer had finished booting. CNET Labs' benchmarks found that AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 had the greatest impact on computer boot time of any security suite we've looked at so far this year, slowing our test computer's start-up by more than 13 seconds. However, it also had the smallest impact on computer shutdown time, adding barely one-third of a second. AVG Free has one of the fastest scan times we've seen yet for 2011 suites, completing its first scan in 548 seconds.
*All tests measures in seconds, except for Cinebench. On the Cinebench test, the higher number is better.
In our other tests, it was a bit slower than the median. MS Office performance, Cinebench, and media multitasking were slightly below average, whereas iTunes decoding was right at the average speed. Overall, you're looking at a much slower start-up, fast scans, a minimal impact on shutdown, and a midrange hit to general system performance with AVG Free.
It's harder to judge the efficacy of AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 because independent tests are only available for the previous years' editions, and the security engine has substantially changed to pull it in line with the engine in the paid upgrades, according to the company. Looking at benchmarks only for the 2010 versions of AVG's paid suites, we can see that they scored higher depending on the test.
In the AV-Test.org test on Windows 7 from the second quarter of 2010, AVG Internet Security 9 (version 2010) scored 14.5 out of 18 overall. Other competitors scored higher, although AVG did earn a 5.5 rating out of 6 in Protection. (It scored a 4 in Repair and a 5 in Usability.) Norton, G-Data Internet Security 2010, and Panda Internet Security 2010 were the only suites to score that high in the Protection category.
With AVG Anti-Virus 9 (version 2010), AV-Comparatives.org found that it could have performed better. In the August 2010 On-demand Detection of Malicious Software test, AVG only earned the rank of Advanced, not Advanced+, with many false positives found, an average scanning speed, and a detection rate of 98.3 percent. The same test from February 2010 saw AVG earn the same rank, with few false positives, an average scanning speed, and a detection rate of 94.2 percent.
For what it's worth, Dennis Technology Labs, a member of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organisation (AMTSO), found in August 2010 that AVG Anti-Virus Free 9 (version 2010) earned an overall protection score of 45 (PDF), below average.
It is AVG's hope that changes to the detection engine in AVG Free will improve its scores, but for right now it's hard to give it the highest rating possible. Still, the efficacy scores are similar to AVG Free's benchmarks: strong in some tests, weaker in others, but with indications that there have been big gains made this year.
Conclusion
Besides the feature limitations of AVG Anti-Virus Free when compared with AVG's paid upgrades, the suite continues to offer an excellent if not perfect level of security as it faces more intense competition from other free and paid security suite makers. Fans of AVG will definitely want to upgrade, and new users should consider it if they're looking for an effective freeware solution with solid link-evaluating features.
Watch the CNET video review of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011:
Cons: Link scanner is a pain. It works but it's annoying. Dropped support for win2000. They just wont let you install it. I don't get it.
Summary: I used this for many years and had no problems. It started getting bloated past year or so. Started getting buggy and had to remove it. Could not get the new version cause of my old OS. I moved over to AVAST. That works great and much less intrusive.
Summary: first thing i would like to say is, in this day of terabyte hdd,s the programme planners know this and just keep adding and adding to the size of thier programmes, But to what avail?. The ordinary day to day user of a computer that wants to enjoy just using and enjoying a P,C, but finds that thier hard drive is now more filled with the size of the programs than room left for what they want to fill it up with?, Surely, there must be ones out there like myself who feel disappointed in AVG, look at the increase in the download size now?, where will it end?.. I know the viruses need controlled, but is this the future of using a P.C?. being forced to fill up a hard drive with mostly additions of progs that we feel we will never need?. . If I ever noticed a suspicious virus problem. I just re-installed the O.S, (making sure all needed data was saved on another hard drive long beforehand)..Doesnt take long nowadays to re-install. and it makes P,C run as it did at new,...Ohh, just changed to Free Avast, when latest Avg appeared. and so far, am very happy with it, .Thats my pennysworth, for what its worth, R,I,P avg
Pros: AVG has always protected my computer. I am thinking about buying the software for the upgraded version. It always detects problems when it scans and gives me the options I have to fix them. I would highly recommend this product to everyone.
Cons: None at all
Summary: I work in IT and one of my coworkers told me about it. He knows a lot more about computers than I do. Definitely thankful for his suggestion to try out AVG. Very satisfied customer.
Report offensive content
If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the CNET's Site Terms of Use, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported, our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.
Select type of offense:
Offensive: Sexually explicit or offensive language
Spam: Advertisements or commercial links
Disruptive posting: Flaming or offending other users
Illegal activities: Promote cracked software, or other illegal content
Comments (optional):
Reportcancel
CNET TechTracker will now automatically install software without requiring further action by you. (Note: This feature automatically accepts associated EULAs and third party applications on your behalf.)
You have selected the following software to Smart Install:
CNET TechTracker will attempt to install this software without interrupting you again. If an application requires manual installation, CNET TechTracker will download the installer and prompt you to take further action.
Proceed with Smart Install?
Confirm Standard Install Cancel
versiontracker.com is now officially integrated with CNET Downloads - the largest catalog of software in the world.
The team who brought you VersionTracker is part of the team that now brings you CNET Downloads; we are the same people who have been with you for years. We know how important the information on the VersionTracker website is, which is why we wanted to preserve it, enhance it, and make it part of the CNET experience.
Importantly, your VersionTracker user name and password will continue to work to log in to CNET.
We hope that moving this information to CNET makes finding and getting software updates even easier than what you are used to. Also, you now have more direct access to CNET content, such as:
* Objective & expert technology reviews, videos, podcasts, and more
* User ratings and reviews
* Downloadable software, mobile apps, and games
Click here to learn more about the VersionTracker integration with CNET or to get access to information you used to find on VersionTracker.
Thank you for staying with us during these changes. We appreciate your business and look forward to a continuing relationship. It is our hope that you enjoy the easier access to content that comes with tighter CNET integration. We continue to be focused on creating the best experience possible for our customers.
The year 2001 was the year of the enterprise virus attack. Code Red and Code Red II, Nimda, SirCam, Badtrans and Magistr all spread widely and all affected enterprises adversely. E-mail servers were stressed and in some cases shut down under the load of viral messages. Vulnerable web servers were compromised and were taken offline to be rebuilt from backups. Sensitive corporate documents were e-mailed around the world. Trojan horses were planted on corporate computers and passwords and keystrokes of corporate users were e-mailed off to various accounts where the data could be sorted and used later for further compromise. After this onslaught, IT professionals worldwide took a deep breath over the holidays and wondered what would happen in 2002.
If it wasn’t apparent at the beginning of 2001, it was certainly clear by the end of the year: enterprises worldwide must take a holistic approach to virus protection if they are going to get the threats under control. Rolling out desktop protection and expecting the end users to keep it up to date is obviously not going to work. (It never really did, but many seemed to believe that that was all they needed to do until 2001 came along and proved them wrong.)
This article will explore some strategies that can be used to help keep your enterprise relatively virus-free. The list is by no means exhaustive or definitive. Every IT group must decide what strategies best fit their organization’s mission and provide the level of security they need without unnecessarily restricting the core activities of the business.
Develop Sound Policies
Any discussion of protective strategies would be incomplete without first mentioning policies. Sound, well-constructed policies are the bedrock of any successful security approach and should be considered very early in the process and implemented consistently throughout an organization. If no one has taken the time to decide what the appropriate policies to defend against virus infections are, then any implementation of technologies to deal with the problem will be less successful than it otherwise could be.
Sound policies should address the following; requirements for anti-virus protection including any proactive measures the organization will take to protect itself, appropriate responses to viral incidents and the consequences for violation of the policies. Many of the details must be left to the individual organization, for each company’s requirements will necessarily be tailored to their IT environment and the needs of their business. However, some general concepts can provide a framework upon which to build a solid policy structure.
Up to date desktop protection should be required for every Windows computer that is connected to the corporate network. There should be no exceptions to this policy, for any reason. It should be a violation of the policy to disable or remove that protection under any circumstances. Many organizations may need to address the issue of remote Windows users as well. They may well want to require that every remote user have up to date protection in order to connect to the network. Other operating systems such as Macintosh and the various Unix platforms should also be addressed. Although they are not yet as prone to virus attack, each of them has had dangerous viruses written for them. Finally, policies for required virus protection for guest users, such as vendors and consultants, should be carefully considered as well.
In addition, consideration must be given to policies that address software patching. Every software program has weaknesses that are routinely discovered and exploited. A sound anti-virus policy must address how and when patching will be done and what the consequences will be when a failure occurs. In the case of serious incidents, such as Code Red, Nimda or the Adore worm, it may be appropriate to take the computer off line until its “owner” has repaired the breach and restored the system to sound operating condition, including installing the patches that might have prevented the problem to begin with. Repeated infections should result in an escalation of the disciplinary process up to and including termination in extreme cases.
Any proactive measures that affect corporate users should be clearly explained as well, including both the reasons for the measures and the consequences for attempting to bypass the protections. Some companies, reacting to the threat of webmail, have taken to blocking all the popular webmail sites such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Excite, etc. While at first glance this may appear attractive, the end result is unhappy users who will switch to webmail providers who are not yet on the blocking list. If any blocking measures are to be implemented, they should be part of a sound overall policy, they should be carefully planned and they should be clearly explained to the end user. Whenever possible, viable alternatives should be spelled out in the policy so there can be no arguments later that “this was the only way I could get it done”.
Protect The Desktop
In the final analysis, if the servers, workstations and desktop computers in your company are not protected against viruses, your corporation is exposed to serious risk. No amount of gateway protection, however well planned, can guarantee to keep viruses away from the desktop. There are so many infection vectors bringing viruses in to the enterprise that it simply isn’t feasible to stop them all at the gateway. In addition to the tried and true floppy disk, viruses can arrive in any removable media, from zip disks to CD ROMs, to DVDs, to removable hard disks. Viruses can travel through e-mail; through web traffic; through instant messenger services, Internet Chat (IRC), FTP, handheld devices, cell phones, and file sharing programs like Morpheus, Napster and KaZaA; through any imaginable means that files can be transferred to a computer, some of which haven’t even been invented yet.
Therefore desktop protection is absolutely crucial to any successful protection strategy. It is vital to have an enterprise license for anti-virus software and to find ways to automate its installation and updating. The desktop is too important to leave to chance. Any time an unprotected machine attaches to your network, it should be possible to detect its connection and force either the installation or update of anti-virus software or force the computer to disconnect. “Unprotected” should be defined as “not up to date”, not “missing anti-virus software”. Today viruses sometimes spread worldwide in twelve hours or less. Just having anti-virus software installed isn’t good enough. You have to be able to update every computer in the enterprise within minutes of the release of an updated definition file. However, updating from the vendor's site during an outbreak can be problematic and in some cases impossible due to heavy traffic loads. Therefore enterprises should give serious consideration to creating a local site for updating. The anti-virus administrators can download once from the vendor site, and the entire network can be updated locally, without any of the problems associated with update distribution during a virus outbreak.
In addition to virus protection, methods must be found to keep servers, desktops and workstations properly patched. If the viruses of 2001 taught us anything, it is that keeping computers up to date on software patches will avoid many problems. Many viruses are written to take advantage of weaknesses in the OS or application software (such as e-mail clients or web browsers). Frequently, vendors have released patches months in advance of the first viral exploitation of a weakness. Yet the viruses are still successful because the number of unpatched machines is significant. If enterprises are going to get control of viruses, patching will have to become routine.