AVG Anti Virus

[jordanmcclements]

I had said in a previous post (a long time ago - which I can no longer find).. That we had the network version of AVG Anti Virus - and it was quite good.

Since then we have "upgraded" to the Anti Malware version.

I am very disappointed with this. First off, it uses a LOT of extra system resources - so 256MB of RAM in your Windows XP PC is no longer an option, 512MB is an absolute minimum.

Second, and more importantly - it doesn't stop malware!

I have had 2 PCs infected with "Antivirus 2008" and "Antivirus 2009" - even though AVG anti malware was fully up to date and running in the background.

I went to AVG's web site and did a search for the above malwares and found ZERO results.

I emailed their support - and got a reply that was worse than useless saying that there may be problems if you use 2 antivirus programs at the same time!

I had to download a freeware malware remover to get the PCs running properly again!

[ctabuk]

Hi Jordan, hope you are keeping well. It's gone downhill really quickly - try avast it seems pretty cool avast! antivirus - high security and protection from malware with anti-spyware and anti-rootkit software built in

[crankydave]

Yeah, I've got to say the same. My dad called me frantically when he stumbled on the 2008 and I found the 2009 yesterday. Interestingly enough, both were when viewing a Google video.

Dave

[wige]

I have always liked AVG, but since they rolled out version 8.0, we have been having a lot of problems as well. Malware seems to be increasing on our network, and we are also having issues now with our internal backups. Before we upgraded, a backup of our entire network took about four hours. After moving to AVG 8.0, the same backups take 20 hours.

I think it is fortunate that our license is expiring next month, and we will be able to test some other anti-virus solutions.

[crankydave]

I'm still running the previous version on one machine and 8.0 on the others. I have to agree wige. Don't see how they made it "better".

Dave

[ctabuk]

Originally Posted by wige

I have always liked AVG, but since they rolled out version 8.0, we have been having a lot of problems as well. Malware seems to be increasing on our network, and we are also having issues now with our internal backups. Before we upgraded, a backup of our entire network took about four hours. After moving to AVG 8.0, the same backups take 20 hours.

I think it is fortunate that our license is expiring next month, and we will be able to test some other anti-virus solutions.

Wige, if WenWilder is still around on the board, she's the lady to ask.

[jordanmcclements]

Thanks for the feedback..

It is not looking good for AVG!

[lspence]

Thanks for the link to avast! It's time I switched from AVG. Why is it the longer anti-virus doftware is out, the more bloated and worthless they become. Before this it was McAfee, Nortons,...

[deepsand]

Concur re. v8.0 being a step back from best-of-breed.

While I've yet to experience any missed infectious agents, I am being plaqued by false positives, with no consistent, quick & easy way to enforce their being ignored.

It's become a real PITA having to constantly restore GoToMyPC DLLs that AVG 8.0 insists are "Trojans."

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by crankydave

I'm still running the previous version on one machine and 8.0 on the others. I have to agree wige. Don't see how they made it "better".

Dave

Same here. But, unfortunately, they stopped providing threat updates for v7.x on 25 JUN.

[netroact]

At risk of being labeled a paranoid conspiracist I will state my belief that there is a trend among software and hardware manufacturers to increment advances over a long period of time in order to increase revenue. Why are we still using mechanical hard drives to store data in most computers? You can be sure that will change in the near future, and we will be charged more for the so-called upgrade. And, all newly developed software will then require the new storage medium.
Seems to me that new software developments should make more efficient use of resources, instead of demanding more. They want us to buy more hardware and stuff. I believe the hardware folks and the software folks are in it together, and I think they might be out to get us.

[deepsand]

In this case, the explaination is much more simple and straightforward.

The various threats here involved did themselves evolve over time as the environments within which they operate changed. Owing to the highly technical nature of these threats, and the great amount of knowledge & expertise required to develop counter-measures, it was natural that early on such counter-measures should themselves be specialized to deal with a particular type of threat.

Eventually, a provider of a counter-measure for a particular type of threat decides that a competitive advantage can be obtained by offering a product that combines counter-measures for 2 or more types of threats. Once such is introduced in the marketplace, competitors will be pressured into doing likewise. The end result is that there will be fewer providers of standalone counter-measures and more who provide suites of such.

Now, were it the case that each of the components of a suite were best-of-breed, then such a suite would in truth be more beneficial than an aggregate of separate applications. However, it is rare that any provider of any product or service should truly have the very best of everything that can be had. Still, such all-in-one products thrive in the marketplace owing to customer demand for "simplicity," whether real or perceived.

By way of analogy, observe how the audiophile market has evolved. Where once one selected individual tuners, pre-amps, power amps, tape decks, turntables, etc., most today buy an integrated system. Only the most discriminating audiophile with sufficient discretionary income now buys separate components.

[colincartwright]

What you have all got to remember is that the malware or virus ALWAYS comes before the cure. There are going to be many, many occassions when your PC gets infected before your virus supplier can help you fix it.

That said, we use AVG on our network nad have gone back to version 7. We tried 8, it took up all our PC's resources, spoke to AVG and re-installed v7 - everything now fine again.

We use spyware detector on our system as a standalone, and it owrk beautifully. Only takes up a lot of memory when running a network wide scan, but I can live with that as it cleans any and all spyware very quickly.

[jordanmcclements]

Originally Posted by colincartwright

What you have all got to remember is that the malware or virus ALWAYS comes before the cure. There are going to be many, many occassions when your PC gets infected before your virus supplier can help you fix it.

I read recently that one company was going down the 'whitelist' road. i.e. rather than checking if the program is on a list of known malware - the program is only allowed to run if it is on a list of known 'good' programs (which is probably the way forward)..

[crankydave]

Originally Posted by deepsand

Same here. But, unfortunately, they stopped providing threat updates for v7.x on 25 JUN.

7.5 is supposed to be supported through the end of this year. Need to make a decision on what I'm going to do. Installed 8.0 on some of my lesser used machines "just to see".

Dave

[jordanmcclements]

Just to clarify - I am still using 'Avg Anti Malware network edition' Version 7.5.0.522, and am still receiving regular updates..

Interesting to know that we will have to move to an even worse version at the end of the year!

[deepsand]

Is it then the case that some products are continuing to receive updates while others do not?

Or, did Grisoft simply not implement its stated intent to cease updates for earlier products as of 25 JUN?

[deepsand]

I've confirmed that AVG Free v7.5.526 is still receiving updates.

[wenwilder]

Just slippin' in my two cents a day late and 98 cents short....

While catching Mal-ware for any program is a cat and mouse game... AVG use to be a better mouser. Now... it's become a lazy resource hog. I never thought I'd say that but... unless AVG decides to release a truly new and useful version... I'm jumping ship at the end of August. When CWS slipped through the cracks that was the straw that broke a couple of technicians backs.

Just consider me a disappointed AVG diehard reluctantly switching to Avast I'll be keeping back ups of Dr.Webs CureIt! handy, as well as Microsofts Mal-ware remover.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by victor2008

AVG anti virus and internet security solutions for web or file servers or email servers running in the windows. The new edition of AVG centrally controlled comprehensive protection for workstations and file servers. The AVG internet new version Anti-Spyware protection for most popular e-mail servers.

Your point?

Originally Posted by victor2008

<snip...quoted link removed CD>

This belongs in your Signature.