TalkSerotek: Re: some information on avg free which might be interesting
- From: "Don" <n5gbi@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <talk-serotek@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 09:25:00 -0600
Outstanding, thanks for clearing some things up.
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Farina" <farinaj@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <talk-serotek@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 5:51 AM
Subject: TalkSerotek: some information on avg free which might be
interesting
Hi folks,
Below is a message that came to the bits list through acb. I think it
might clear up some of the questions that have shown up on this list.
MessageSent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 9:02 PM
Subject: Avg 7.5 free being discontinued.
3.3 AVG Version 8 Free Released - Gizmo's Recommendations In late February
AVG Technologies announced AVG V8, the latest incarnation of their popular
anti-virus scanner. Version 8 includes fully integrated spyware
protection, rootkit protection and web link checking of search engine
results. It is yet another example of a former anti-virus scanner
transforming into an anti-malware scanner, a trend I noted in last month's
editorial column.
On April 24 the free version of AVG V8 was released, and was promptly met
with howls of derision. The free version excluded the rootkit scanner,
active protection against hostile websites and a number of the other
goodies added to the commercial V8 product. It also was proving to be very
buggy.
Worse still, AVG announced that they would discontinue (at the end of May)
the virus updates for the current V7.5 free version as well as their free
anti-spyware and rootkit detection products.
I can fully understand user's disappointment with these announcements, but
this is a perfectly normal commercial decision. AVG is, after all, a
commercial organization, not a charity.
Their move does, however, present users of AVG's free software with a
problem. Before the release of the V8, many AVG users employed an
excellent security setup that combined the free version of AVG AV 7.5 with
AVG's free anti-spyware scanner. With both these products being phased
out, users are faced with a dilemma.
There are a couple of options:
Based on the evidence available as of today, I think the best route for
free software users who want maximum protection is to switch to the free
Avira AV [3] scanner and optionally, bolster this with the free Spyware
Terminator program [4] or, less desirably, Windows Defender [5].
I say this because the free Avira product includes rootkit protection,
while the free AVG does not. It is also more stable. Furthermore, Avira
has better overall protection than AVG. Check out the AV Comparatives
results [6] and you will see what I mean.
On the downside, Avira has limited active email protection, will nag you
more than AVG free and the interface is somewhat more crude. But the
overall level of protection is excellent.
Another option which offers a tad less protection but greater convenience
is to switch to the free Avast! scanner. The latest version of Avast! is a
major improvement on what was already an impressive product. And the free
version includes anti-spyware, anti-rootkit and email protection, so you
don't need to use it in concert with another product.
On the downside Avast! is resource hungry. Subscriber Basil Irwin pointed
out that "not counting pseudo-drivers, Avast! consumes around 70MB of
memory compared to 8MB for AntiVir. I didn't do any formal testing of CPU
consumption or timing of various common operations, but there was no doubt
in my mind that Avast! noticeably slowed several common operations, like
program loading and file copying."
For average users with modern PCs I suggest the low hassle Avast! Option,
while higher risk users may be better off going with Avira.
You could, of course, just stick with AVG 8 Free, and bolster your
defenses with other products. However, there have been too many V8 "bug"
reports to suggest this is an attractive option at this point in time.
[1] http://www.grisoft.com/ww.90627
[2] http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download-avg-anti-spyware-and-anti-rootkit
[3]
http://www.free-av.com/en/products/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html
[4 http://www.spywareterminator.com
[5] http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
[6] http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2008_02.php
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.16/1448 - Release Date:
5/16/2008 7:42 PM
--
John Farina
Albany NY
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