Free AVG has been around for a while.  It still seems to be the most popular free antivirus out there.  Just do a quick Google search “free antivirus” to prove this theory.  Version 8.5 brings a completely new interface update to the previous version 7.0 AVG software.

Link Scanner Plugin

AVG’s main big update is the inclusion of the link scanner which is an add on to either Internet Explorer or Firefox.  However, I question the necessity of the Link Scanner utility because Internet Explorer 7.0+ and Firefox 3.0+ already include built-in phishing security. The built-in browser protection is based on lists that are downloaded rather than sending each  individual URL.  However, with the link scanner every website you visit is submitted to AVG and then checked for malware.  So, while the tool bar may provide extra security you also need to be concerned about the potential privacy implications.   If the later is not  too much of a concern, consider installing the toolbar. I consider my privacy pretty important so I used the “Tools” > “Add ons” in Firefox to remove the toolbar.  In Internet Explorer 7.0 and 8.0 use the “Tools” > “Manage Add ons” to delete the Link Scanner.

Resource Usage Install Process

The installation process of AVG was pretty smooth.  However, unlike the previous versions of AVG the resource usage has significantly increased.  I originally installed Free AVG on a Centrino Mobile Laptop with 512 mb of ram and Windows XP. On this machine start up time was significantly increased and the computer was fairly sluggish as a result of the install.   However,  on newer systems with Windows Vista and Dual Core processors, Free AVG  functionality is significantly improved.  The Windows Task Manager indicated that the entire AVG process was using about 4 megabytes of RAM.  In relation to other antivirus programs Free AVG is very efficient under Vista.  There seems to be a discrepancy between resource usage in Windows XP vs. Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Virus Scanning Performance

Free AVG’s scanning performance was really sub par.  To scan a computer with a 55 gigabyte Operating System Partition, it took about 50 minutes.  This is several times higher than competiting antivirus (Norton and Kaspersky etc.)  that can scan an entire hard drive between 12 and 20 minutes.  The scan was also performed while there weren’t many background processes active.

Resident Shield and Updates

One of the great features of Free AVG is its Resident Shield.  Many free antivirus simply do not include always on scanning functionality.  In tests, Free AVG quickly detected the eicar test virus available from eicar.org.  While this test virus is known by all free antivirus it still was indicative of the speed at which Free AVG can detect and neutralize viruses.   Free AVG also includes free automatic updates.  However, this should not be used on a critical machine as updates can only be applied once everyday.  Competing antivirus such as Panda’s Cloud Antivirus can download new updates in as frequently as 15 minute intervals.

Virus and Spyware Detection Performance

Free AVG’s virus detection has been certified by ICSA labs and Virus Bulliten VB100.  These awards mean that Free AVG has benchmark capability at detecting viruses.  However, I have read online that users are experiencing problems with AVG’s false positive detection rate.  Essentially, Free AVG is detecting viruses that don’t exist and could potentially delete important files by accident.   In the spyware neighborhood Free AVG has significant problems.  In tests, Free AVG missed mainstream spyware such as Weather Bug and 180 Solutions etc.  However, this is due to the fact that AVG is a barebone antivirus program and not a Internet Security program.  If you want additional antispyware protection you’ll need to download a program such as Spyware Doctor or Malware Bytes. Also note that Free AVG doesn’t include root kit detection.  For those of you who don’t know what a root kit is, they are some of the most devastating viruses.  They are extremely hard to detect and delete.

Email Scanner

Simply put if you want an advanced email scanner consider a paid antivirus.  Free AVG’s email scanner is a hassle to configure and I never got it to fully work.

Conclusion

Free AVG is free and therefore lacks capability of paid antivirus.  Major Antivirus costs money for a reason.  However, if your not going to open your wallet for a paid antivirus solution, make sure you download AVG.  Its better than not having an antivirus program. Just remember to get an additional free antispyware solution.

Pros:

• The most popular free antivirus program
• Provides benchmark protection
• Link Scanner plugin makes surfing more safe from phishing sites

Cons:

• Very slow updates
• Full system scans take a while
• May slow down some systems