I haven’t written much on this site about AVG and its anti-virus offerings, so I thought it was about time that I actually did. Especially as they have just announced their new 2011 version which is getting rave reviews already.
AVG developed as a contender to Norton which comes pre-loaded on most computers these days. Norton’s success is more to do with clever marketing than actual excellence of product. I think it is a well known fact, in the tech arena, that AVG outdoes Norton quite easily.
Certainly in the ‘free’ arena. AVG is well known for having the best free anti-virus software in the world. But as I’ve said on many previous posts you always sacrifice something with free offerings. And AVG is no different. Of course these guys are out there to make money too and they of course hold back on their free offering compared to the paid version. [click to continue…]
It’s true, identity theft and the compromise of personal data is big business. And spyware blockers and antivirus programs are not necessarily your friend in the fight against it. In fact a lot are actual culprits used by cyber criminals themselves.
The facts, set out in Australia’s new “BLK MKT” cyber-safety campaign, are startling: an identity is stolen every three seconds, with 43 million fake antivirus and spyware programs downloaded every year.
You see these fake spyware blockers and anti-virus programs log all your keystrokes and give the criminals all your sensitive data, including passwords. It’s the perfect crime, using security software to install a false sense of security and then using that exact program to steal your life! [click to continue…]
Are spyware and spam really big business? I’ve begun to wonder what actually people achieve from creating spyware, trojans, spam and viruses. Is it productive for them or are they just people who are really bored with nothing better to do. The spyware blockers and ant-virus industry is huge and maybe they have something to do with it?
I really don’t know anymore. I watch my computer and get tired of the amount of times my spyware and anti-virus software updates with new fixes. But I have to say it has been a while since I had any annoying popup ads or unwanted changes to my tool bar. So I guess my Spyware Doctor is working.
But then I also get tired of clearing my junk mail folder in my email client. It’s truly amazing how many spam emails I get. Do these people really believe that I will actually read one of these and take action on their email. Some don’t actually make any sense. [click to continue…]
