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.
However, the free version is a good place to start but I would always take the paid version to get the full functionality of the software.
Anyway, back to AVG 2011. They’ve made improvements on CPU use this time. CPU ‘suckage’ is always a problem with antivirus programs and this baby is now discreet when running. There’s nothing worse than having an anti-virus program that slows your computer down to dial up speed! So, good work AVG, this is a big plus.
They’ve also added a new social networking protection for those of you who use facebook and twitter (which will be quite a lot I guess!). This little feature will protect you from those disguised short links. That’s great because we are all busy on social media and having an anti-virus that looks after this aspect is very reassuring.
It uses a thing called link scanner which is basically realtime detection, which you can’t do without these days.
The other features are all still there of course, email checker, firewall etc.
Overall AVG 2011 is now faster, less resource intensive and kept up to date in realtime. The link scanner is top notch and only the best software in the market have this kind of feature.Updates are automatic and support is far better than that of PCTools.
For complete piece of mind just go for the paid version. When you consider how much your system is worth the cost is minimal to protect it and your data. But if you’re not sure go for the AVG free download and see how it is for you. If you like it then you know you’ll get many more features and enhanced security with the paid version. Anyway, check it out by clicking on the banner at the top of the article or buy it here at a discount ; AVG Anti-Virus 2011 – 20% off
