apobull
join:2001-05-03
Manchester, MD
| Pros/Cons of Free AVG & Avast AV Programs
I have been running NAV for years and have grown increasingly frustrated with it due to its bloatness among other things. As such, I'm looking to possibly change AV programs. I have been looking at the free versions of AVG and Avast but am not sure which of the two is the better choice. From what I've uncovered thus far, Avast does not provide script protection (pay version does) while it appears you get this support with AVG. Otherwise, I don't really know too much about either. Would appreciate feedback, etc on either...good or bad. I most likely will purchase the pay version of one of these two but for now, giving the free versions a try. |
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scmdslguy28
join:2004-02-26
Columbus, GA
 ·Knology
1 edit | To answer your question, personally I have Avast Antivirus along with ZoneAlarm firewall. I attempted to download the AVG Antivirus free version but had a problem with updating the virus database and program files accordingly. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling it and I had problems with it. I think AVG and Avast work well; it just depends on how secure you would like for your computer or network to be.
Stephen |
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HA Nut
Premium
join:2004-05-13
USA
| reply to apobull
Both are fine. When asked about free AV's, I have recommended both to other users. If I were to choose between the two for myself, I'd lean toward aVast. I like the look of it (it's skinable) and like the way the modules are user selectable at install. Plus, in several AV tests around the web, it tends to test a bit better (though it's a small difference.) That said, I don't run either one. I prefer other AVs... but that is for another conversation.
If it matters much to you, aVast is MUCH more customizable than AVG. Depending on your needs or preferences, this could also be a factor for you.
(I also like free AntiVir. A very good virus catcher. But until the beta test is finished for the new version 7, I really haven't been recommending much lately. Version 6 virus definition downloads are BIG. Of course, this is meaningless if you have a fast web connection.) |
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Anonymous
Premium
join:2004-06-01
IA
1 edit | reply to apobull
Get antivir. I don't like avast and avg sucks big time. AVG has low priority for free version updates and/or overloaded servers I'm not sure but free version is useless also the detection rate is mediocre. |
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apobull
join:2001-05-03
Manchester, MD | Does the free version of antivir offer e-mail/pop scanning or do you need to upgrade to the pay version? |
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La Luna
Surviving Ashraful
Premium
join:2001-07-12
Warwick, NY
clubs:
·Optimum Online
 ·Vonage
| said by apobull  :Does the free version of antivir offer e-mail/pop scanning or do you need to upgrade to the pay version? You are going to get a gazillion different answers about what is "best", there is no "best" among the top AV's, it's all personal preference and what works best with your setup...I like Avast, and yes, it offers those things in the free version:
»www.avast.com/
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~~~...and I miss you, like the deserts miss the rain...~~~ |
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devicenull
Premium
join:2002-12-01
Clifton, NJ | reply to apobull
I'd vote for avast too, I've got it running on 4 computers, none of them has ever gotten a virus, despite it catching many  |
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zmnk
@ab.ca
| reply to apobull
I don't recommend AVG Free, Avast Home is far superior and it is equally good as many commercial antivirus software.
I also found the bad thing about AVG Free here at Wilder forum
»www.wilderssecurity.com/showthre···st639156 |
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HA Nut
Premium
join:2004-05-13
USA
| reply to apobull
said by apobull :Does the free version of antivir offer e-mail/pop scanning or do you need to upgrade to the pay version? No, but IMO, that is not a deal breaker. The active real-time scanner would catch any nasties auto executing and (IMO) any attachments could/should be saved separately from the email and manually scanned.
There are users out there that have major heartburn over POP3 scanners. They don't want the CPU bloat. Me, I can take them or leave them. My current AV's have them and I use them. But when I tested AntiVir, I never missed them at all... |
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apobull
join:2001-05-03
Manchester, MD | Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'll test out both Avast and Antivir extensively and see which one I like the best. Seems like I can't go wrong with either so will just do a little testing and go from there. |
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ZOverLord
Premium
join:2003-10-20
Minneapolis, MN
1 edit | reply to apobull
Give "Windows One Care Beta" a look as well, it's FREE for a year, and so far has been GREAT!
It also has a built in Backup to backup files to CD/DVD.
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Black, Grey and White Hats Unite here -> »testing.OnlyTheRightAnswers.com |
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avast user
@rr.com | reply to apobull
Unless this has changed, Avast updates automatically all day long. AVG updates once, then you have to manually update, this causes more times than not a problem getting the update. Avast wins hands down in detection.. |
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ZOverLord
Premium
join:2003-10-20
Minneapolis, MN
| Windows One Care also Updates all day long, automatically, no manual effort, just thought I should mention that.
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Black, Grey and White Hats Unite here -> »testing.OnlyTheRightAnswers.com |
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markwp2001
Spreadhead
Premium
join:2002-05-25
Long Beach, MS
1 edit | reply to apobull
AVG free is a good program which is used by quite a few people here. See here:
»[Poll] Antivirus Poll 2005
I find it easy to use, almost always updates daily, and is effective.
EDIT: additional information here:
»Software Forum Member Choice »(Archived) Preferred Antivirus Programs - 2005 Member Choice
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"Independent thinkers tend to ALWAYS have someone not agreeing with them. It's the non-thinkers that always come in legions." -John Callari |
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ezdsl
join:2002-03-13
Austin, TX | reply to avast user
AVG does automatically update once a day, but I have also added a scheduled task to the Windows Task Scheduler to check for updates every two hours and have never had a problem with updates, other than a sometimes overloaded server. |
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toadlife
Premium
join:2004-05-03
Lemoore, CA
 ·AT&T Yahoo
1 edit | reply to apobull
I would recommend Avast. I've been using it at home for quite some time now, once set up and it pretty much stays out of the way and it has a feature set very comparable to commercial scanners. One thing I REALLY like about avast is the boot-time scan. It's great for detecting the really nasty malware that embeds itself into the OS, because it does the scan before the nasties can get themselves loaded into memory. Even the corporate version of McAfee 8.0 we use at work, which I like, doesn't have this feature.
I set up Avast (in combination with MSAS) on my mother in law's computer, which kept getting hosed by spyware. I set it auto-update both the program and dat files, and set it to not notify her of anything. I came back after three months and it was all up to date and her computer was still clean as a whistle.
And for what all does, you sure can't beat the price.
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Security is a process, not a Penquin. |
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Lex Luthor
Premium,Mod
join:2000-09-17
Hicksville, NY
Host:
OptimumOnline
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| I've used both and have converted my PCs to Avast. AVG was fine, but I definitely did have a few cases where the update server was busy.
As we are seeing this week, frequent updates are critical to a good AV program and I just wasn't confident I'd get that from AVG.
Also, on various friends' PCs that I installed AVG on, I had some times where I had to install it twice to get it to work right and someone just yesterday was getting a weird error.
I've had no problems with Avast whatsoever and in fact, it saved me from this Windows WMF exploit on Saturday. |
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trooper1
Premium
join:2002-03-13 | Can you suggest a free AV which is light on system resources?
I am currently using AVG free version on my 4 year old 700 MH Pentium 3 256 MB SDRAM system. |
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Guessed
@pipex.com | reply to apobull
The fact is that what runs smoothly on one person's box acts like neurotoxic poison on another. You'll have to do some work, test the three main freebies and see which one doesn't kill your system. |
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wxboss
This is like Deja vu all over again.
Premium
join:2005-01-30
Jacksonville, FL
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to apobull
I've used AVG for over a year. I just recently switched to Avast! and see no reason to turn back. While AVG was a decent AV, I like that Avast! has more features, better reliability and does a better job of updating ITW virus sigs.
I'm impressed with Avast so far, and I haven't had to reinstall or manually update it like I had to with AVG. |
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