AVG Anti Virus–AVG Free
AVG Antivirus is one of the best Anti Virus and Malware removal tools on the internet today. Whether it’s the free version or the retail version, AVG is ranked high against the competition online today. Now don’t take this advice and go buy AVG thinking you can do anything you want online. That is not what I mean at all. When compared to others, AVG comes out near the top, however that is not a very tough position to attain. In the following, I will discuss the reasons that I and many others feel AVG is one of the best free virus removal tools online today and why the retail version is even better.
Detection Rate: 93%
System Requirements:
CPU Intel Pentium, 300 MHz
30 MB free hard drive space
256 MB RAM
To begin with, AVG is less resource intensive than many other anti virus software. What I mean by resource intensive is that it takes a lot of computer processor memory in order to run many of the AntiVirus programs. For example, McAfee takes 5 times more hard drive space to install than AVG. It states that it requires the same amount of RAM however I feel that it actually uses far more. I was not able to find any information on how much CPU McAfee requires but AVG requires a Pentium with 300MHz so it’s not much and would be very hard to beat. Norton requires: 300 MHz or faster processor, 256 MB of RAM (**512 MB RAM recommended and required if you use the recovery tool), and 150 MB of available hard disk space. When running AVG, it is very difficult to tell any difference in performance of your computer even if you happen to be playing a game, which requires many of your computers resources. This is one reason I recommend it to anyone.
Secondly, AVG has an awesome detection rate. When it comes to viruses AVG has a 93% detection rate. I’m sure the Free version has a little less and the retail version of AVG has more but even so it’s pretty good at finding basically anything. Even things that Norton and McAfee will miss.
Third and probably most important, IT’S FREE! AVG Free is an excellent product and will out perform most antivirus’ that you would buy in a store. That is why the retail version of AVG is AMAZING. If you know what you are doing with computers and feel pretty safe using one you will be okay using AVG Free with Spybot or some other Spyware remover, however if you are not so comfortable with using a computer and worried about not being safe; I would recommend buying the retail version and keeping it updated. This is just to make sure you are safe. Always remember, It’s cheaper to pay for an antivirus than to lose all your cash to a hacker!
Finally, there are a number of programs that AVG is not compatible with. I just want to list those out here so if you have these on your computer you either need to not install AVG or remove the other program in order for it to work correctly. Webroot Spysweeper, ICQ toolbar, Session Manager 0.6.1.13 add-on, StumbleUpon Toolbar, System Protect, Dell Network Assistant, and Contafiscal 2000 are not compatible with various parts of AVG and having both on the same machine should be avoided.
In conclusion, AVG is an excellent software that I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a free solution to antivirus. It’s requires and uses fewer resources than many other antivirus programs, it detects approximately 93% of viruses and other malware, it has a FREE version, and there are only a few programs that it is not compatible with. So, if you are looking for an excellent addition to your computer security collection consider AVG Free. If you aren’t too good with computers and would like to keep the money currently in your bank account out of the hands of hackers, I would recommend paying for the retail edition.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave comments and I will help you out with any questions you may have. Participate in discussions, make friends, you know the drill!
