Woe is me! New AVG 8.0 totally blows!

xSamhainx

Paws of Doom
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Ive been w/ AVG forever, theyve always had the best non-intrusive, free virus protection. Beside being free - I dont want frills. I dont want a program that takes over my entire computer w/ a myriad of memory-hogging features and services that run even when I shut the program itself down. I have spyware programs, etc, i have all the auxillary stuff I need- all I want is a simple non-intrusive antivirus program that minds it's own business, does it's job, and goes away when I tell it to go away.

AVG 8.0 has finally done it, like most favorite programs they eventually cross the line into bloatware. Un-killable memory-hogging services that run constantly, scanning the speed of molasses, and myriad of stupid features that i just dont want. There's just bad design in it too, for instance the update doesnt even have a progress bar on it anymore, you select update and it just disappears... I want the bar, dammit. I aint got all minute.

So i went back to 7.5, but that's going the way of the dodo soon.

I would actually pay for a good program, but the problem w/ all the paid programs is that they do just what AVG has done - they try and pack so much into their software that it's just overkill, and like Norton or Mcaffee, they attempt to take your entire pc over. Screw that. I'm a gamer, I need to run light here.

I tried avast a while ago and didnt like it. Anyone got any recommendations?
 
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AntiVir? Use it on the others comp, catches some dodgy sims site stuff as well.
 
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ESET NOD32 Antivirus. Fast and unobtrusive. Got fairly good reviews too.

I'm not using the most current version, because I have a free 1 year subscription from a computer magazine. I've been using AntiVir before, but I didn't like the ad screen and update process very much.
 
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--snip--
I would actually pay for a good program, but the problem w/ all the paid programs is that they do just what AVG has done - they try and pack so much into their software that it's just overkill, and like Norton or Mcaffee, they attempt to take your entire pc over. Screw that. I'm a gamer, I need to run light here.

I tried avast a while ago and didnt like it. Anyone got any recommendations?
--end snip--

One thing to be aware of is that many if not most of the major Antivirus programs come in a straight-up Antivirus product as well as total Internet Security Suite package. Admittedly though even a few of the staight Antivirus products are becoming obtrusive and slow your PC.

Comparison Charts with mini reviews and rankings:
2008 Anti-Virus Software
2008 Internet Security Suites Report


Straight Antivirus products from personal experience the last 2-3 years:
I despise Nortons. While it offers excellent protection it's way to intrusive, bogs the PC horribly, has constant errors and upgrade problems, and the worst support I've ever experienced.

I dislike McAfee for a few of the same reasons as Nortons.
I'm not fond of Antivir, Avast, and the recent AVG versions.

Kaspersky Antivirus is an excellent product. The one problem I had with it was the numerous false positives I would get. Quite a few of the false positives were gaming related. Whether this has continued in the last year or not I wouldn't know.

Prior to the last year or two I was not fond of ESET Nod 32. While offering great protection it had some unusual usage and implementation idiosyncrasies. They also have no 24 hour phone support only 6am -6pm Pacific time. However with the latest version ESET Nod 32 is now one I would recommend.

My current number 1 choice is BitDefender Antivirus 2008
I'll go anywhere on the web using this product without concern.
I've used it in the past and never had problems with it. The reason I stopped using it was I would receive 3-6 month or 1 year free trial versions of other products with new hardware. It includes P2P file sharing protection and Registry Startup protectection. The 2008 version has included a Gamer mode. The one thing it does not cover is Webmail protection but that's generally covered by your ISP provider and almost no Antivirus product covers that. Support is free and always has been phenomenal. Telephone or live Internet is available and email respnse is good ( 5-6 hours in my experience).
Yes there is a Free edition but I'm unfamiliar with it.


I've had a few people tell me about CA Anti-Virus 2008[ Here's the The Trial versions
I'm not sure if it's still available but in the last 2 weeks or so they were offering:
1 year FREE trial of CA Anti-Virus

Ubbax
"Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows." - David T. Wolf
 
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Yep, I dumped AVG in May after upgrading to 8.0. I mentioned it in the free software thread.

I was sickened by the anti-spyware program it forced on me that I couldn't get rid of. At least in Windows I can prevent MS's update with a lot warnings from MS not to ever, ever in a million years do that. Spybot is good enough for me.

I noticed on my laptop they extended support for 7.5 until the end of June.

I switched back to Avira so now I have to deal with the daily spyware again.

I'll try some of Ubbax' suggestions but I had a hard time last year with Vista and/or 64 bit compatibility. I believe that's the reason I had to dump Avira last year but htey've since updated.
 
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I had to install Norton Internet Security on my mother´s PC 2 months ago. Better than expected, I have to say. The reviews say Norton got better this year. Seems they´re right.
 
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I like to keep my PC clean, simple and stable, and while Vista own antispyware probably not the best, i dislike current trend of anti-virus to intergrate with antispyware component.

I still using AVG 7.5, probably get AntiVir to replace it but again it has extra component that i don't want. According to independent antivirus test site it is one of the best.

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/ihs/alex/avtestresults_2D2008q1.pdf
 
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Funny, I'm pretty happy with AVG 8.0 (the paid version). It allows me to switch off any or all components as I see fit, and it hasn't thrashed my hard disk any more than 7.5 (even less, perhaps). Maybe they made the free version more annoying on purpose?
 
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According to the tests I've read, CA antivirus is total crap, considering its detection rates.

AVG is imho a good player in the middle field.

I'm currently using Bitdefender, after Gdata Antivirus before.

P.S. : I heard that Symantec antivirus for desktops and for business are two totally different programs/products, which absolutely nothing in common - technically speaking - except the name.
 
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@ Remus, thanks for the pdf link more info, especially impartial, is always appreciated :)

@ Gorath, Well I hope it got better my last experience with it was 2006.
I think in most peoples opinion there was no where for it to go but up ;)
As an aside it's nice to see you more active lately here on the boards Gorath.

@ Alrik
P.S. : I heard that Symantec antivirus for desktops and for business are two totally different programs/products, which absolutely nothing in common - technically speaking - except the name.

This is true. The Enterprise Editions are are fairly good. The individual PC clients have a small footprint, and are easily disabled temporarily if the need should arise.

As for CA Antivirus I should have clarified I have no personal experience with it. Prior to the 2008 version I had heard and read the same as you. Perhaps the reason they have that free 1 year trial is the supposed highly improved 2008 edition.

Ubbax
 
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@ Gorath, Well I hope it got better my last experience with it was 2006. I think in most peoples opinion there was no where for it to go but up ;)
As an aside it's nice to see you more active lately here on the boards Gorath.
[...]
Ubbax

Thanks! :)

I´m not really planning on being as active as I was on RPGDot though. Time restrictions and stuff. So maybe a couple of posts here and there but no permanent new home. ;)
 
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I did install both AVG 7.5 and AVG 8.0 - but somehow they both block my outgoing emails. Very annoying :mad: :(

Any advice on how to do get around this ?

I have also some other anti-virus programs? Could it be one of them interfering?
 
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I´m not sure if you should install more than one anti-virus program, but you should for sure never run more than one of them at the same time.
 
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I have not noted any difference between AVG 8 and 7. It stays silent in the tasktray, except for scheduled updates made at night. Still, it instantly detects and warns for potential dangers.
 
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On a newer pc, maybe it doesnt show that dramatically a difference. On this 3 year old laptop, it really seems to drain the ol resources, especially the "avgsrv.exe" (iirc) that must constantly be running. Nobody else has noticed the big CPU drain on this program? Above all, that's what ticks me off, I should be able to totally disable a product if I want to - you arent able to do so w/ AVG unless you want to go in and start renaming files and such. I'm a control freak when it comes to my pc!

Here's a link I found w/ some info @ tweakguides -
AVG 8.0 thead @ Tweakguides


I'm going to check out that "autoruns" program when I get home, looks awesome -
AutoRuns . Ive always just managed if from within msconfig, this has a lot more cool stuff.


Thanks for the suggestions, I havent decided what I'm going to go w/ yet. I'm on the road on business atm and not really on the net that much since I'm busy tiger, and the access at this hotel is awful. When I get home and get back on my pc is when I'm really gonna need something. I surf too many dangerous environs to go unprotected.
 
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My current number 1 choice is BitDefender Antivirus 2008
I'll go anywhere on the web using this product without concern.

Im currently on trial with that. It has found stuff from my harddrive that previous scanners didnt. I really really like it and the price aint that bad either. Im not expecting to get everything for free in internet.

The most annoyning AV is norton. I unistalled the program but still it exists somhow and launches itself to get upgrades from internet. Hopefully once I run full scan bitdefender will find norton and recognice it as a virus and delete it automatically. Othervice I need to find somkind of norton remover or somthing from the internet.
 
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i'm in the same boat as the deadline for updating AVG 7.5 to 8.0 has expired. i'm not too keen on other currently-free AV as i believe that in a year or two they will start to build up their bulk (read: bloat). btw, has anyone tried the open-source ClamWin?
 
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I use that one once, but years ago. There are better free alternatives as mentioned earlier.
 
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A while back I was using BitDefender (paid version) and it worked perfectly! Then I changed to AVG and then NOD 32... Didn't have any big problems with any of them... exept for the unkillable procces from nod 32... damn that upsets me... also may I suggest a NOD 32 + Zone Alarm combo? It's very good from my point of view...
 
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I thought Grisoft will discontinued the support sometime in June but my AVG 7.5 virus database still being updated everyday.
 
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