Thoughts about AVG

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by wildman, Sep 29, 2005.

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  1. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :) After a long time hassle with another's "free" virus protection program, I have once again come to AVG, and I think I will stay. I just took a survey from Grisoft (the company behind AVG), and it appears as if they are truly interested in their product and the individuals who utilize it. It also appears as if they are willing to try and accommodate changes to their product. Oh by the way I am using their "free" product, and I still received the survey. It is companies like this that I will champion. Some say that AVG lacks in the detection department, this may or may not be the case, I do not have the expertise to argue this point, but I do think that this company will make strides in this area. This folks is the "free" product, if they take this much effort for the "free" one, I would think their pay version may be worth investigating as well, and would not hesitate to pass that along to any one looking for protection for their systems as well as home computer.

    Thanks
    Wildman
    :) ;)
     
  2. kalpik

    kalpik Registered Member

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    Good to hear that. But id like to recommend Avast here. Free, easy to use, frequent updates, better detection, excellent support (via forum). Do check it out if u have the time and inclination!

    Cheers!
     
  3. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    I think he mentioned sometime ago that avast! slowed down his PC to a crawl... (IIRC). Well if he likes it, why not? Hope you'll have better luck than with AntiVir hehe :)
     
  4. Ned Slider

    Ned Slider Registered Member

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    I run AVG extensively on a number of machines. I've had no problems with it other than failing to keep it up to date whan new versions are released. In my opinion it's easy to use and does the job it's designed to do (more on that later). I've not noticed any slow down even on some older spec machines (Duron 700MHz, 128MB RAM, WinXP Professional).

    Obviously it's detection rates aren't brilliant on sites like AV Comparatives, but I think it's probably good enough for it's target audience - namely home users who aren't partaking in particularly dodgy surfing practices. This, I think, is the key to it's success (or failure) for a given user. I have found plenty of stuff that's slipped past it (mostly trojans) when running a second backup scanner, but these have obviously come from visiting undesirable web sites.

    Email integration with Outlook is good and it automatically catches and quarintines e-mail worms such as Begal, NetSky and Sober variants. Overall, when used with a decent hardware firewall, fully patched Windows machine and in an otherwise low risk setting, it does a pretty good job. If you can back it up with something like BitDefender Free Edition for weekly on demand scans, even better :)

    Ned
     
  5. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    I use AVG Free for years and I don't need another AV scanner.
    Pretty good service for a freeware too.
    - Full automatic updating, every day.
    - Full automatic scanning, every day.
    - Full automatic scanning of emails, when I open Thunderbird.

    If AVG didn't disturb me with unnecessary popup-windows, I wouldn't even know I had it on my computer.
    AVG never detects anything, like the rest of the AV scanners.
     
  6. Paranoid2000

    Paranoid2000 Registered Member

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    Hmmm...damning with faint praise here? ;)
     
  7. abhi_mittal

    abhi_mittal Registered Member

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    I used to use AVG long back, loved it. One fine day, decided to try Avast because of the praise it gets. Avast detected a bunch of nasties residing in my system, though I browse safe.
    I dont know why so many people still like AVG.
     
  8. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    Since version 7 came out, it's gotten painfully slow in scanning, and I've noticed it misses a lot of stuff compared to other AV programs these days. I used to always use it as a "second opinion" when working on some peoples computers...but no longer do, as I find it's missing too much these days..specifically more spyware/trojan stuff, I've not seen it miss an actual "virus" though.

    Avast seems to slow down PCs a bit more than AVG, but I've noticed it catches quite a bit more.
     
  9. abhi_mittal

    abhi_mittal Registered Member

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    Ya, some people face this problem. In such cases, I would say Antivir PE is a great solution. (Though its update function is shoddy!) But the detections are great, it has heuristics and its DAMN Light!
     
  10. toploader

    toploader Registered Member

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    AVG is OK - and it's even detected some trojans in my box.

    most of the time i'm just happy to find a program that runs without conflicts, slowdowns and crashing - it does a job and it's free.

    periodically i back it up with a kaspersky online scan. just to make sure AVG hasn't missed anything.
     
  11. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :) O.k., I do have the new computer with 521MB memory and 100GB hard drive, so after hearing all of you keep saying AVAST, guess what. I now have once again installed AVAST on my machine. I would not recommend either AVG or AVAST to individuals with older machines and limited memory capacity however. I found it a little harder to install than with AVG and the options were a slight bit cumbersome, and I don't understand why the registration thing, but I admit that is personal preference. Time will tell, but AntiVir is gone!, if individuals want to put up with the hassle of keeping that one updated, I say good luck.

    Thanks
    Wildman
    :D :eek: :p
     
  12. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    Just telling facts Paranoid2000, nothing but facts and a fact is more respectable, than the Lord Mayor of London, as my English teacher always said.
    I guess my VERY BORING discipline on the internet has something to do with it.
    High time for me to buy ShadowUser and get my freedom back.
     
  13. maddawgz

    maddawgz Registered Member

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    Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition

    or AVG PROo_Oo_O? which would u go with? MD :rolleyes:
     
  14. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    Easy choice. I still would spend my money on ShadowUser.
    Any software that is based on what the bad guys do, will explode in the future and your lovely Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition is one of them, including AVG Pro/Free and any other existing/new AV/AS/AT/AK/... scanner.
    You don't have to believe me, we all have our own opinion.
     
  15. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :eek: O.k., what about us individuals who do to very limited income must utilize freeware where ever possible, what advice would you give us?

    Thanks
    Wildman
     
  16. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    There is a big difference, when you talk about NOW or the FUTURE.
    At this moment, I follow the advices and use the actual softwares, like anybody else.
    If money is a problem, there are enough freewares to protect your Computer : firewalls, scanners and even some ProActive softwares have a free version. There are also sandbox softwares.
    Wilders has enough good advices and softwares (free or paid) for everybody.

    Besides that, I practise iron discipline on the internet/computer and I can assure you, that my fun on the internet is over.
    In my newbie time, unaware of any threat, I had a very good time on the internet, because I could do anything without any limits. My computer was of course one big collection of malwares and nothing worked properly anymore in the very end. I guess there must be alot of newbies like me world-wide.

    But my discipline works and all my scanners, don't find anything anymore, even the trial versions of the best scanners, which I run sometimes, when I have the opportunity.
    Does that mean my computer is 100% clean ? NO and again NO, that's why I re-install my computer every six months, even when my computer seems to be OK.
    I don't trust my firewall ZoneAlarm Free and I certainly don't trust my free AV/AS/AT/AK and any trial version scanners, even when they report nothing.
    Each time a scanner congrats me with being malware-free, I think "And what about the malwares, you didn't find ?"
    They just make me feel my computer is clean and that' is a false feeling.

    You might think, I like my own discipline. On the contrary, I hate my discipline, because I don't like to be prudent on the internet. I'm too curious like anybody else, I like to try everything on the net, even when it's "dangerous".
    I'm an application analyst and I like to learn from other applications, even the bad ones, because they teach me not to do it this way and each application has pros and contras and I like to collect the pros in order to improve my own applications in the future.
    In other words I steal good ideas from the net. Why not ? It's there and re-inventing the wheel is a waste of time.
    Don't think I find alot of good ideas on the net, not after 20 years experience, but sometimes I find something that really surprises me.
    But my own discipline doesn't allow me to try any freeware on the net, because alot of freewares are infected with malware.
    So I want my freedom back and the only softwares that allow me to do this are sandbox-based softwares and I already made my choice : ShadowUser ($70).
    Once, I'm really sick and tired of my own discipline, I will buy ShadowUser(SU)
    The day I buy SU, I will get familiar with SU first and then I re-install my harddisk and use SU and a good firewall to protect my computer, without any AV/AS/AT/AK scanner.

    Scanners are the only group of security softwares, I really don't like for several reasons :

    1. Scanners are based on what the bad guys did, which is the most unexpected, inexhaustible, unknown and totally uncontrollable source.
    The bad guys and most of them aren't talented, but the brilliant ones are the most dangerous ones. Being bad isn't the same as being stupid, so I don't underestimate the bad guys.
    Disadvantage #1 : the source is wrong and it's an endless/hopeless task to collect the stuff of the bad guys.
    If you want to win the software WAR, fight back with smarter weapons in stead of stepping in the footprints and picking up the crumbs of the bad guys.

    2. Scanners collect definitions of malwares, but you have to find these malwares first and when you don't find them, your only hope is that heuristics will find them. If not your computer is infected.
    Disadvantage #2 : incompleteness.

    3. Due to the competition all scanners have differences in quantity and identity and although most popular scanners detect/remove grosso modo the SAME malwares, those differences make them special and are the only reason,
    why users need more than one AV/AS/AT/AK scanner, because one isn't enough.
    Disadvantage #3 : you need more than one scanner of each type, which causes at least 8 scanners on your computer and that's is the absolute minimum. Too many scanners for working less-knowledgeable users.
    In our computer department, we call this redundancy and that's a big sin in computer science.
    You scan for the same malware only one time and not several times.

    4. The bad guys won't stop creating new malwares, which means more definitions/updatings every day.
    Some scanners already count more than 200,000 definitions and they increase every day.
    What will it be next year : 300,000 and the next years 500,000 ?
    I'm a member of SWI since 2004.06.25, my very first forum and in those days A2's definition database was very small.
    After 14 months they collected more than 177,000 definitions and this is just one example.
    Disadvantage #4 : the larger these definition-databases become, the longer the total scan-time will be.
    Do you really think that working users will be happy with this ?
    At work, our computer department is already joking about the working time of employees in the future : 4 hours scanning and 4 hours work or 8 hours work and 4 hours of overtime for scanning.
    You just can't do this forever and users will lose their patience.

    5. Heuristics aren't perfect, they cause false positives sometimes and I learned recently that even definitions cause false positives, which makes it even worse.
    Disadvantage #5 : false positives and less-knowledgeable users will delete them, because they trust their scanners and although knowledgeable users consider this as normal, they are a serious problem for the ones, who don't know.

    6. I have a few minor problems with scanners, like bad interfaces, missing features, useless features, but those are details and can be fixed in every scanner.

    The first 5 major disadvantages however are still there and won't be solved in the future, unless the security companies will work together and that will never happen, because it's all about competition and money.
    There is only one victim of these disadvantages : the less-knowledgeable user, the majority, the one that really needs to be saved;

    Scanners are at this moment THE solution for most users, because there is nothing else, except sandbox softwares and pro-active softwares.
    I don't work with softwares, I work with philosophies behind softwares and only sandbox softwares are closest to my vision how security should be.
    I don't consider sandbox softwares as THE solution. That's why I'm waiting for people, who really know how to fight against the bad guys and develop softwares with a total different philosophy as a replacement for any existing software.
    So I keep on dreaming ...
     
  17. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    o_O The technical requirements could be a never ending cycle, because as long as the "bad guys think they can get away with it, they will try to show how they are one step ahead of any technology". The only solution that I see is for the entire world to come up with laws that will place these credent in a world of hurt, and to vigorously pursue and prosecute these scum bags. Development of technology to identify and find whom ever is responsible for the maladies should be at the very top of the priority list. In fact I would take it to the point that all computer security software companies be by law mandated to develop and disseminate such technology and software.

    Thanks
    Wildman
     
  18. mercurie

    mercurie A Friendly Creature

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    Fellow Creature Wildman,
    Post back with how Avast works for you after some more time passes. It is the one freebie that I have not tried and I value your opinion. ;)

    AVG worked fine for me as a stop gap AV while thinking on a new pay version had it for 6 months. Pay AV turned up a clean machine when I finally got one.

    AntiViri Updates. Yep u got it a real pain. Good except for that too.

    Thanks. ;)
     
  19. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    o_O That's more a hopeless dream than a solution.
    Crime has always been a part of life, since the beginning of mankind and it still exists, more than ever.
    You can't eliminate crime in life or computers. You have to fight against crime and the laws are just there to divide people in two groups : the good guys and the bad guys.

    Malware and anti-malware are in reality good business and the good/bad guys need eachother to make lots of money. Without malware, no anti-malware, no profit, no Wilders and both give jobs to many people.
    The internet users are just there to pay for it or to be robbed and to complain without results. Meet the real world. :)
     
  20. Chuck57

    Chuck57 Registered Member

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    "The only solution that I see is for the entire world to come up with laws that will place these credent in a world of hurt, and to vigorously pursue and prosecute these scum bags."

    Vigorous pursuit is difficult when there are some countries that have no interest in pursuing them. I'm not sure that some nations don't encourage the creatures.

    If they don't encourage them, they certainly take no interest in stopping them, which is at the least passive approval. Thus, laws enacted against such Internet activity border on the irrelevant, unless the evil doer is in the country that enacted the law or others with similar laws.
     
  21. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :rolleyes: There is an old saying "Money talks and you know what walks". We need to make it costly for those countries who do not see the need to seriously crack down on the spreaders of programs that disrupt the harmony of the computing world. If they start to loose money, they will soon get with the program of that you can have no doubt.

    Thanks
    Wildman
     
  22. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :rolleyes: ErickAlbert: There are some countries that have high crime rates and then there are others with rather low rates. Why could be a matter of serious debate, but I like to think that if the deterrents are sufficient it just might have a few individuals thinking if they really want to take the chance. You are right in saying that there will always be those who will try and commit crime, that is why police forces are necessary. I could envision security software companies making software to find and detect these credent rather than just a clean up operation after the fact so to speak. Wouldn't it be something if your machine were to tell you for example " you have been infected by the *(^%.exe virus, which was sent from XXX.credent.com at 10:58A.M. (PST) 10/02/2005, law enforcement agency has been notified?

    Thanks
    Wildman
     
  23. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

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    :D Thus far I have been very satisfied with my experience of AVAST. I do not have the expertise to discuss the technical aspects, so will not even attempt to do so. I have found that doing updates has been very easy and very quick. Remember I do manual updates and am utilizing dial-up, from access to the server to completion of the update has averaged in the seconds. To bad this product has a rather large footprint, because if it were not for that point this could easily claim to be the best "free" virus protection program available, and I think it would be hard to argue against that. I hope they take this into consideration when they release their next version. I sort of think they may do just that, at least they appear to be willing to listen to the users of their "free" product.

    Thanks
    Wildman
     
  24. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    avast! certanly doesn't have a big footprint. Remember, i'm using WinXP SP2 and only 512MB and it worked just fine with average Task Manager memory usage of 12MB.
     
  25. AshG

    AshG Registered Member

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    I have used AVG and Avast extensively on clients' computers, and the best experiences I've had have been with Avast. In my experience, AVG takes much longer to scan and is far more visually intrusive. Many of the people I do work for like the smaller interface and more silent running. I've also found that it's easier to teach people how to effectively configure Avast for themselves as their needs change.

    The important thing is to decide which is better for you, as each user has different needs. It's like asking which is better of a truck or a sports car, without first mentioning whether you need towing capacity or speed.

    And if it helps, be watchful of corporate stability. Intel has recently purchsed GriSoft, which could mean big changes down the road. I'm sticking with Avast for my repair clients until I see how the purchase affects GriSoft as a company over time.
     
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