Has anyone tried both AVG and Avira Antivir FREE?

As much as I hate to let my NOD32 license expire, I might do so. I have been toying with the idea of using nothing but free security applications.

Having looked at numerous websites for free antivirus, I decided not to try AVAST because it uses much more resources than avg and antivir. I decided against the Free version offered by AOL as well. I read somewhere about potential checkdisk problems (whatever that means). And I am not sure how much resources it would use. My machine is starting to get old. So I am now choosing between AVG and Avira free versions. have not yet tried either.

Has anyone used both? Can you compare and contrast? Or even share your experience with either product?

From what I have read:

AVIRA has better detection rates. But it supposedly has a daily nag screen. I also read that it doesn't scan email. Isn't that a big risk? I think someone else pointed out in a post that the auto updates were quirky. And on checking the most recent VB100, the premium product had been passing them, but failed the latest.

AVG on the other hand supposedly does not quite have as good as detection rates, but does scan email, doesn't have a nag screen, and the updates go smoothly. That is at least, what I have read from various posts in various forums.

Both products are supposed to be very light on resources. I could care less about GUI. It can be great or it can be spartan. I just want a product that works well, is easy to use, and light on resources.

So can anyone compare and contrast these products or even share your experience with either product?

Thank you in advance!

 

With Avira free I haven't had any trouble with updates.
The mail is handled by the monitor.Not risky.
The nag screen is over-blown for a free program.It never bothers me.
I don't put much stock in VB100.For a number of months Kaspersky failed on a false positive or so.

I use Avira and I prefer it.
But I think that it's best for you to compare and choose for yourself.
You have only two that you are looking at.Why not trial the two one at a time?

 

I like to try products separately, just in case they have any resident protections or active protections that could conflict. Not to mention, if I only change one program at a time it is easier to identify conflicts with other programs running on my machine.

On top of that, there is a chance that if I really like the first product that I install, I won't bother trying the other.

I will consider your post one vote for Avira. Thank you.

Could you possibly elaborate a little more? Do you like Avira because of it's detection? Ease of use? Look and feel? Scan speed?

Also, when you say that email is handled by the monitor. So it does scan email? Maybe it just doesn't scan pop 3? I remember reading that somewhere. Maybe I was misinformed.

Again, thanks for your insights!

 

I would try both separately, of course. I have used both for a short while. I had too many minor issues with Avira Classic, but liked it otherwise.
AVG caused no problems, but I preferred Avast.

Avira Classic does not scan POP 3 mail, but would prevent a malicious program from executing, so it is as safe.

Don't worry about the security with any of the three freebies. Just be a safe user, and use your head.

I have heard of less problems with AVG, but if Avira Classic runs well I would use it.

Best,
Jerry

 

Thank you Jerry. Do you mind sharing what your minor issues with Avira Antivir were?

 

Hello JerryM,

Why not give Avast! Home a go? The only way youll know if it runs on your older pc well is to install it. It covers basically what you need and it has generally better detection rates than AVG, but not as good as Avira, so its middle of the road. I used it with no problems on an old Pentium 3 450 Mhz machine with very little slowdown. I have used Avast! for years and I am very happy with it. Its certainly worth a consideration here.

Richie

 

I have also heard good things abot AVAST, particularly the WEB filter. I will probably try the 2 lighter products first, but would certainly consider avast too. Of course, whichever product I try first will probably remain on my machine if I like it.

 

Hi ejr,

Apologies my answer was directed towards you and not JerryM, im at work and shouldnt be on here during my working hours!!! Too much of a rush

The answer as to what is best really depends on what one suits your needs and how you like it. So give each one a few days demo and choose the one you are most comfortable in using. The best test is to use them yourself.

I did use Avira for years before using Avast! and I personally found that Avira was harder running on my old P3 machine - thats why I changed to Avast!. Everyone's machine is different though. Its the best of the bunch for detection, but, like yourself, I wanted a more all-rounded free AV. I liked the Avast! so much I then went and bought the pro version.

Richie

 

Hi ejr,
I had two issues.
1. Sometimes at start-up the icon did not appear in the tray, and I did not know the guard was active or not until I checked it with Task Manager. As it turns out it was always active, but I was not comfortable with not seeing it in the tray.

2. Other times at start-up the icon, umbrella, was closed indicating that the guard was not active. Placing the cursor over the icon indicated the guard was not active. When I opened the program it showed as active, and when I right clicked the icon the dropdown showed an active guard. To open the umbrella I had to deactivate the guard and then activate it.

If necessary I could live with those minor problems, but I just do not want to fool with it. I found the same problems with the beta suite, Premium, and Classic. I wish all would have been well, as I liked the program otherwise.

You might check the Avira forums and see what is going on.
http://forum.antivir-pe.de/index.php

Avast Home is my 'fall back" AV, and I have never has a single issue with it.

Hope this helps. If Avira runs well it would be my choice.

Regards,
Jerry

 

i think you already said it how it is, believe in your own comments

"AVIRA has better detection rates. But it supposedly has a daily nag screen. I also read that it doesn't scan email. Isn't that a big risk? I think someone else pointed out in a post that the auto updates were quirky. And on checking the most recent VB100, the premium product had been passing them, but failed the latest.

AVG on the other hand supposedly does not quite have as good as detection rates, but does scan email, doesn't have a nag screen, and the updates go smoothly. That is at least, what I have read from various posts in various forums."

thats pretty accurate id say, but in the defence of avg... it was 91% in the last test (i think) and they have made big improvments to 7.5 with better heuristics and ntfs data stream scanning.

 

i havent had much experience with AVG but id choose Antivir. I like its high detection rates and good heuristics. its gui is nice and it scans quite fast too.

as for teh nag screen, there are workarounds depending on your OS.

and one other thing: avast is quite light with only resident shield and web-shield. you could maybe add one or two other shields and itll still be light.

 

I used NOD32 for about 2 years then I tried some AVs and I sticked with AVG for a few months.
AVG is instal & forget product, the only disadvantage is the lowest detection from the free AVs.

About Avira, I used version 6 for some time, then I left it due to problems with updates, if it was willing to update, then the update took a few minutes in comparision to AVG's few sec.
When I tried Avira 7, it worked mostly fine, however its three processes took about 55 MB.

About AVS, when I tried it, it took about 15-25 MB and I read, that it causes HDD activity.

I allways recommend Avira followed by AVS. AVG and Avast only based on the situation.

 

Both are very good programs. It will come down to your personal preferences.

 

I have used both av's recently, AVG I have used off and on for several years. I am currently trying the AVG Internet Security Suite, it's awesome! Avira's lack of email scanning, erratic updates and the active guard icon disappearing, that other people have mentioned also, were issues for me. I think you will find that AVG meets most, if not, all of your requirements. It scans email, program runs and updates flawlessly, low system resources and it's a truly "set it" and "forget it" antivirus solution. In all the years I've run the different versions of AVG, I have never had compatability issues, or been infected, it has always protected me well and exceeded my expectations for a free av program. Even though, you are not entitled to support for the free version, I have never needed support running the free versions. It just works. The newest version (7.5) is really nice, with each new release, it seems to get better and better, detection rates and development are improving steadily and the price is right...$0. Good luck, with your choice.

 

Sure.
I like Avira's detection rate.It's easy to use but it can be configured to some extent.Heuristics can be set on low,medium,or high.(I prefer an av that has heuristics)
The GUI is easily navigated and scan speed is acceptable.

 

I did not know that AVG is free as mentioned below.

 

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Jerry

 

ejr,
You are where I was...

While I have never used NOD32. I have used other pay AVs. You can see by my current sig. that I use both AVG and Avira on seperate machines.

They both are good. I prefer Avira over AVG. For the reasons others have said better detections and scores. Avira is simpler and cleaner with fewer places to go and get the status of the product. As others have said the "nag screen" issue is WAY over blown.

Both are light or memory useage but on my system Aviria is the least. Like you "my pc" is old.

I have no update issues on Avira it has failed me twice in 90 to 120 days of use. Over busy servers I think. Not bad for an always on system.

I also use AVS for a while and think it is good too, but it was as one has said very active on the hard drive...noisey...for lack of a better word.

In the end I guess it is just preference and for me it is Avira.