AVG Free Antivirus Software Anyone Else Using This?

[ClaytonBigsby]

Hello, My CPU was slower than hell (2.3 Mbps) so I upgraded to 15 Mbps and I was still getting 2-3. I figured out it was McAfee slowing me down. I reformatted my Hd to get rid of it completely and after reading many reviews installed AVG. This shit is making me crazy! EVERY GD webpage I vist this "Shield" pops up telling me about an ad tracker or cookie and when I click to close it, two more pop up. So, just opening IE is a pain in the ass. Then occassionally one of the pop ups gets stuck and will not close. I will be typing in the browser and look up only to realize an AVG security pop up has been blocking all of my typing (really annoying when I am trying to log into email).

Anyone else have this and experiencing the same thing? Know how to fix it? Recommend another AV that doesn't slowdown the CPU? Kaspersky?

 

[DSB65]

im using microsoft security essentials..works good dont slow my computer down and its free...

 

[ClaytonBigsby]

Hey Brother,

You're everywhere! How long have you been using it? Anything else come with it besides AV?

 

[Voidling]

I've ran comodo internet security for some time myself. Firewall and antivirus. Then run adaware, malware bytes, and spybots on demand.

An ex airforce computer security guy I know swears by avast which is what I'm downloading at this very moment. Switching off comodo as it's giving me a positive that claims it can't get rid of and have gone to some pay someone to get it off option. bah.

 

[DSB65]

Hey Brother,

You're everywhere! How long have you been using it? Anything else come with it besides AV?

i guess about a year..its just av...but it updates every day..seem to work as good as the ones you pay for..and ive tryed a bunch of different ones..

 

[forgetfulpenguin]

Until computers start getting dedicated hardware to do virus scanning (IIRC this has been discussed for years but has gone nowhere) then the task is going to inevitably fall on your CPU.

I don't like Microsoft Security Essentials simply because most malware I've fucked around with has no problem bypassing it. Every malware designer is going to make it a prime target so they can hit more computers with a drive by download. At least with third party they have to either guess whats popular or try and beat them all.

I used to use AVG but they have been going downhill. Now for AV I use Avast! with a free license (supposedly only lasts for a year but they have been letting free users register for another free year after it runs out for quite awhile. It's kinda like what Anarchy Online did when they went F2P.)

COMODO is nice if you need a software firewall (again I don't like the Windows Firewall for the same reason as their AV) but I haven't tried out the AV side of COMODO.

I also used to use Adaware but it is now owned by shady fucking people who used to (I think they still do) run scams so I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw a 1 ton weight.

Virus total is nice to run over a file first. It's an online service that runs files through multiple AV scanners and gives you the results back. Good at catching malware that can defeat some AV but not all.
https://www.virustotal.com/

On the topic of malware, don't forget to use the Noscript, Adblock Plus and Request Policy addons if you are using Firefox. That will go a long way to keeping you safe while browsing.

Finally, make sure you have a proper backup of your MBR. For some reason infecting the MBR has fallen out of favor but when malware authors remember to do that the effects are spectacular. A BIOS backup doesn't hurt either.
Example of MBR malware from 2010: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/16/tdl_rootkit_does_64_bit_windows/
Example of firmware malware from 2009: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/24/persistent_bios_rootkits/

 

[eyesky]

im using microsoft security essentials..works good dont slow my computer down and its free...

All I use and never an issue.... When I had Norturd or McCrappy I had something every so often and the CPU drag to go with it!

 

[Weedasaurus]

I tried it, doesn't find anything. Best luck I've had with free software is ad-aware. I have it turned off when I'm surfing, because it and most any software will slow down your computer and your internet.

 

[jjotoole1]

Hello friend I am using AVG Free Antivirus Software and it was quite nice and working perfectly and it is also very useful for security purpose if you are using licensed version then it is beneficial and your pc working faster and efficiently. Thanks

___________________
Security Companies

 

[Sunbiz1]

Hello friend I am using AVG Free Antivirus Software and it was quite nice and working perfectly and it is also very useful for security purpose if you are using licensed version then it is beneficial and your pc working faster and efficiently. Thanks

___________________
Security Companies

No need to advertise, AVG rocks...my own IT guy uses it.

 

[ClaytonBigsby]

Do you get all of the GD shield pop ups at EVERY website you visit? It is making me crazy. Every time I go to search for somehting or check my email it pops up while I am looking at the keyboard and I have to retype everything after clicking away the pop up three or four times.

 

[unohu69]

currently and for the past 5/6 years i do not run an antivirus. just eats up resources anyway. If i need to scan for malware a couple of free programs do the job just fine.

slowest but most powerful: emsisoft, just get the free edition.

malwarebytes is decent

Iobit advanced system care, and malware fighter.


I disagree with using noscript, it makes surfing around a pain in the ass, use adblock with the addons. you also can use more than one definitions list.

with adblock it is super easy to create a new rule if you do happen to see an ad on a website. I do not see any ads on 99% of the web.

I used to use eset nod32 for antivirus. i have heard good things about avast also. I use clamwin once in a while. commodo was ok but i hate anything that hinders my operations.

norton, mccaffe, and most of the others arent worth the HD space they take up.

keep in mind I can scan my puter once a year and not find any problems. smart net usage will keep you going better than some software companies claims.

get klite codec pack, just get the mega pack and do a full install, its safe and will contain codec (like a driver, it tells the OS how to decode the file) for almost any file your going to run across. so if you download a porno (shut up, you know you do it), if it says you need to dl a special codec to watch it, then you dont want to do that, thats what gets you into trouble.
that, and letting your kids use the puter.
I just use windows firewall, if you know how to get into the more advanced options for it, it is fine. MOST routers have built in firewalls, and I know everything on my computer so im not worried about any "calls home".

 

[skunkd0c]

antivirus software is aimed at folk who do not understand or want to understand how malware works they want a one click solution
so they get products that are next to useless
real time protection is a myth in principle , and in practice its a complete joke
most of these antivirus products cant even remove simple user mode browser hijackers that have been floating around for years

throw some kernel mode malware at them and these products are completely blinded and again useless
these programs do not protect themselves the kernel mode and user mode hooks they install to intercept system api calls, can be unhooked with simplicity

its a shame so many people feel they need to use this type of software, if anything it gives a false sense of security
which is a bad thing imho

good luck

 

[ClaytonBigsby]

Recommendations for those of us who have no idea how to protect themselves otherwise?

 

[unohu69]

my post is all recommendations....

 

[forgetfulpenguin]

I disagree with using noscript, it makes surfing around a pain in the ass

Pain in the ass? It takes like five minutes to setup your whitelist to handle complex websites. Once the whitelist is setup you don't have to do anything else. It's easier and takes less time then writing the rules for your firewall. NoScript provides the most competent protection against XSS and CSRF attacks available, surely that is worth a onetime investment of a couple minutes.

Even if you can't be bothered to set up a whitelist and just allow scripts globally NoScript still provides XSS filtering and Application Boundaries Enforcer.

I see no good reason to browse without it.

 

[unohu69]

That may well be, honestly its been several years since iv used it. I was having issues with videos on websites one day, and disabled it. and it was very recently when i actually uninstalled it from firefox, it was just disabled all these years. Since I never noticed any better security with it then without, I axed it. Firefox can get slow if you bloat it up with to many addons and bells and whistles, which i like bells and whistles...

Iv never had an issue with virus's and shit, mostly that all comes from inexperienced users who just click through installs, and have no clue what they are doing other than trying to get kool smileys, or whatever program they think they are dl'ing, porn videos that tell you you need to dl a special codec.

Not saying I didnt have my puter screwed up a couple times along the way, but iv also dl'd the top 9 worst virus's and installed em just to see what would happen. iv formatted and done more installs than anyone I know, but im also the guy they pay to fix their shit when its screwed up. This is just for friends, and friends of friends, im not a pro, but Iv never had any complaints either. cept that one chick who couldnt figure out how to just click "remember passwords" on her browser. she was all pissed off she would have to type it all in again every time. I actually just forgot to set it up correctly for her.

There are really only a couple of really annoying malware files out there that are the main problem, fake antivirus/malware scanners and shit. when they take over it can get pretty bad. but ill generally try and salvage someones system before goin with new install.

 

[Flowebb Arjan]

It's simple use the free avg with registry mechanic and spybot search and destroy. I download like a champ and test all kinds of dangerous programs with no trouble when using these 3 programs in combination. All free. you can get a copy of registry mechanic of piratebay up to date. However if you want to pay for something buy Kaspersky. It's the best, the Russians are the best.

 

[ClaytonBigsby]

It's been a year, and I have had zero problems with Avast. Don't really know it's there (hell, it may not be). I have been studying up on PGP, TOR, VPN, etc, and am currently running Malwarebytes. I came across this website, where a guy who clearly knows waay more than I, said "We recommend you keep SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for scanning/removal of malware. Unless you purchase them, they provide no protection." This is a 3 yr old post, but I wonder, does anyone else believe this to be true? Should I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for". Thank you!

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=188246

 

[skunkd0c]

running all those programs will slow down the computer somewhat
no matter how fast the computer is that type of software messes with performance
remove all of it and notice how much smoother it is

many folk like the idea or running lots of scanner type programs
if you like that kind of thing, join wilders security forum or something similar
they will give you lots of advice on that kind of software and they are quite friendly
a fair bit has improved with windows 7 over xp as far as security goes
i do not think these programs are really necessary if folk are not doing silly things
like downloading from unscrupulous websites/ porn sites that require users to downloads codecs before you can watch your free porn LOL

an alternative to scanner type software, would be to look into virtual machines, sandboxing HIPS
which gives better protection than scanners

sandboxie is a popular program you might want to have a look at that it is easy to use
http://www.sandboxie.com/

returnil goes a step further down the virtualization route it is similar to deep freeze which is more well known but not free
http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/


Hips these might now be for everyone not so easy to use, they require some effort from the user
http://labs.360.cn/malwaredefender/
http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/

its not so much what you pay for with this type of software, but how much effort you are prepared to put in to understand how malware attacks the system
most folk do not want that burden and just want a one click solution scanner
most of these products offer the same free version, the same database of malware is used in both free and pro versions, but greater customization with the pro versions

if avast makes you feel safe continue to use it, i would not advise you to buy anything though, keep your money there are so many better things it could be spent on

malwarebytes does not give real time protection unless you pay for it, so it is of no use to keep it running, it is like a stand-alone scanner
it will not scan files automatically, you will have to start the scan manually
malwarebytes is a popular program lots of folk use it , personally i do not care for it, as it is just a scanner it does the exact same thing as an antivirus
but it uses a different database/blacklist of malware there is a huge amount of overlap coverage with these types of programes
maybe even 98% of the malware that malwarebytes detects is already detected by avast lol perhaps even 99%

peace