AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011 Version (10.0.1204) – Freeware Review

The Results Breakdown:

Passed – Did well in all of our tests

Acceptable – Could go ether way. But in most cases AVG passed

Failed – AVG did not work at all or only worked 1 out of 10 times we ran the test

Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer

Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results

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A. Stability Of Program – Acceptable – We have received a VERY LARGE NUMBER of e-mails about the lack of stability with AVG 2011 free and paid with both installation and long term use.

DISCLAIMER: No one thus far who works for the The Computer Savvy Weblog has had any issues with AVG 2011 Free or Paid. But we will let you know if that does occur.

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B. Has AVG Free Been Compromised By Hackers Or Virus – Failed – Thus far 2 of our own computers has been infected via an Internet browser cookie through Mozilla FireFox web browser (3.6.16)

C. Speed of Scan – Passed – Very quick on most computers. And now you have the option to choose how much Memory/Ram you want each scheduled scan to take up.

D. Does AVG Free Do Automatic Updates By Itself Without Any Issue – Passed – Yes, but there seems to be on occasion to be issues with hanging and or stalling out, when manually updating your AVG.

E. Internet Browser Cookie Detection Rate And Removal Test – Acceptable - You are way better off with something like SUPERAntiSpyware or Spybot. AVG Internet cookie detection rate is terrible even with the option actived and checked off. But it does seem to be getting a little better with each update.

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1. Anti-Virus Detection Rate Test:

1A. Windows XP – Passed

1B. Windows Vista – Passed

1C. Windows 7 – Passed

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2. Anti-Spyware – Failed – AVG still seems to miss very common and not so common spyware/adware. You are much better off with SUPERAntiSpyware or Spybot as your adware, spyware, malware protection.

3. One Click Fix – Passed – I really like this idea. But I am not a fan, of the idea fact that if I want to de-activated a service. Such as the Link Scanner, that AVG should still show as not being fully protected. But that just might be me.

4. Link Scanner - Passed - Not a fan. But it can be very very useful to some.

5. Safe Search - Passed - I love this option and find it very very useful for all thous people that are unsure about certain websites.

6. AVG ToolBar – Failed - This toolbar causes browser crashes of Firefox and other such Internet browsers on a regular bases. And it is really hard to un-install. We also noticed it caused some strange behavior when dealing with WordPress.

7. AVG SideBar Gadget – Failed – I don’t really see the point of it and it is super bulky. (Taking up way to much space) And + I already have my side bar full of way more useful widgets/gadgets.

8. Residential Shield Test – Acceptable – I still find AVIRA and AVAST seems to grab the virus way before AVG free does. But there is indeed some major overall improvements here.

9. E-Mail Scanner - Acceptable - I already have e-mail protection from another program. + I find it is way more difficult to set-up then it needs to be. 

10. Update Manager – Passed – No issues here at all. And it even update faster then past AVG versions, such as 8.5 and 9.0.

11. Anti-RootKit – Failed – 100% useless no detection during any of OUR MANY TESTS

12. PC Analyzer – Massive Epic Fail - If you don’t mind that you only can fix your errors for free once then great. But if you are like me and you probably feel this options is both somewhat misleading and out right bait to buy this extremely expensive add-on.

13. Identity Protection – Undetermined – I really love this whole Idea. But I am just really unsure how to test this feature properly. On the bright side of things Identify Protection seems to have plenty of informations to displays for you and overall seems very comprehensive. But I am just a little overwhelmed as how to use such information.

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Overall Rating: 8 Passed, 4 Acceptable, 6 Failed, 1 Undetermined, 0 Not tested (Total # of tests done 20)

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My Final Verdict: I’m loving the new AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011. AVG even seems to have fixed some of their remaining issues. But I still want to say I highly recommend upgrading to AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011. I would say at least give it a go and see if you like it. If you don’t you can always switch to AVIRA or AVAST.

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Here are 2 links to download AVG Free Anti-Virus 2011:

1. http://free.avg.com/ww-en/download.prd-afh#tba1 (AVG Main Site)

2. http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition-2011/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=rb_content;main

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My Overall Score: 2/5

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Till The Next Review,

Danny

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