Any AVG users out there???

[Mark42]

My Macfee account is about to expire, and I'm so sick of the problems that come with Mcafee that I'm not going to renew. I read where the free version of AVG is very good, does not suck up lots of cpu time and lets the PC boot up quick.

I have a firewall in my broadband router, and think that AVG free basic version in conjunction with Spybot and Webroot (also free) should be enough protection.

Any AVG users out there that might want to comment on your AVG experience?

Thanks,

Mark.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Been using the free version for years. Works great.

 

[JB]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Every now and then they will ask you to upgrade for $70. If you ignore them they will continue to update the free version.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Thanks Guys! I just uninstalled Mcafee and installed AVG. PC boots up quicker and runs faster.

Now I have to do the other PC on the network, and hopefully after removing Mcafee from that PC they will communicate again normally. Mcafee keept telling me that one or the other PC was not a member of the network, but neither PC was able to allow the other onto the network. Thats why I am just fed up with Mcafee.

Will keep you posted.

 

[vess]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Mark- I have been using the AVG for awhile now also, and it seems to work very well. I also downloaded Zone Alarm for my firewall, also free, and I have been pretty happy so far. Give it a shot.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Vess, thanks for that tip.

I have now uninstalled Mcafee from both networked PC's and all is well. Can remote desktop each from the other. Added AVG and things still work fine.

I think the actual problem of one pc not being able to remote desktop the other, was due to firewall settings on the destination PC. All ports were open, don't know how that happened.

Anyway, both machines start up faster and run quicker with AVG than with Mcafee.

 

[i386]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

I use the free one at home and the centrally managed network edition at work. The new 8.0 version needed some tweaking both at home and at work, but they're both fine now. I think they're trying to add too many features to the software. I also needed to remove the AVG toolbar from Firefox because it made it noticeably slower. I still like their software, but I'm starting to wonder if they failed to learn from Symantec's mistakes.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Ran AVG for two or three years but their upgrade reminders became so annoying that I unloaded it and loaded Avast, which is what Spinner uses. Been a couple of months now and I'm OK with it.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

I've been using Zone Alarm and AVG Free for years. I've had a virus or two slip past Zone Alarm but it usually catches them. What Zone Alarm misses, AVG seems to pick up and remove very succesfully.

My other way of dealing with viruses is Trend Micro's "Housecall." Its a little bit different approach to virus removal, because you actually allow a couple of items to be downloaded into your puter. Housecall then scans the whole machine from their server. Some people get a little nervous about the installation of a couple of files on their computer, but Trend Micro is a reputable company - they are the same folks that Microsoft uses to scan all hotmail emails. If I get something on my puter that AVG doesn't seem to be able to fix, I just run Housecall and "bye, bye virus!"

I'm also studying a Linux version called Ubuntu right now. I guess I am getting cranky in my old age, but I am seriously considering ridding my computers of Microsoft products. If I do this, I would use Ubuntu as an operating system, OpenOffice for an office suite, and whatever other open source software I find, that is usable and efficient. While I am thinking of this mostly because I am both annoyed at Microsoft's lack of ability to release a product without major problems, and it's ridiculous pricing, another benefit is that the virus moe-rons seem to focus on windows based machines.

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone started using OpenOffice rather than Microsoft Office. If the business world would just realize that OpenOffice, which is free (that's right .... zip, nada, pay NOTHING!), is disributed by Sun Microsystems, and is a very powerfull office suite, there might be a chance of the product becoming the defacto standard that Microsoft Office is now. Think what fun it would be if Microsoft couldn't sell a copy of Word for a few bucks, never mind the stupid prices that they ask now! I have legal copies of everything I am currently running, but to me, the pirating problem is sort of a "duh," when you consider what Billy and the boys charge for their software!

 

[arboldt]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

I have one PC at home using Symantec, and another using AVG. I switch to AVG when the Symantec license expires. I have heard and read many good things about Avast, but have no experience.

Jay, I too am experimenting with Ubuntu, although I haven't had the time to do much with it. There are many programs I have that only run on Windoze, although I understand linux has a way of doing that. Since I've used PerfectOffice for many years, I'll need to convert lots of documents and spreadsheets to *.doc / *.xls first. Once I get laid off in a couple months, maybe I'll have time to do more conversions then.

Al

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Use the full blown version at the house...... never a problem.

 

[crabby_bob]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Good luck with AVG. I had some problems with Mccafee but figured it was just another reason why I shouldn't have bought a laptop with Vista pre-installed. If you bought it directly from the Mccafee web site you might want to check if you're signed up for automatic renewal.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Good luck with AVG. I had some problems with Mccafee but figured it was just another reason why I shouldn't have bought a laptop with Vista pre-installed. If you bought it directly from the Mccafee web site you might want to check if you're signed up for automatic renewal.

You are not kidding about the automatic renewal. They have automatically charged me for software that I specifically requested to be taken off the automatic renewal list. Somehow they got changed back to auto renewal. Had to get a refund, and argue with a rep to get the auto renewal turned off. Now all products purchased from them have auto renewal turned off. Their business practices are unethical.

But the ultimate joke on them is that I have cancelled the credit card used to purchase the products in the first place. So they can't charge me even if they want to! LOL!

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Arbolt, we might have to compare notes on Ubuntu as we progress with it.

At the moment, I am trying to get a very old PC (Penium II) that belongs to a friend of mine going. She just changed careers and had to take less money to get going in it, so she is a little broke and can't afford a new puter right now. There is a corrupted copy of Windows 95 on the machine, which I can't fix because she doesn't have the disc for it. Because of this, I am trying to get Puppy Linux on it now. LOL - I might end up learning a thing or two about Linux, fooling with all these versions.

I've managed to get the Puppy Linux running on another, newer machine and it is interesting. It uses very little memory to run, so its pretty quick. It also looks quite a bit like the Windows desktop in some ways. While its not very powerful, for my friend it will be just fine, because all she wants to do with the machine is to get on the internet for email, etc.

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

I have at least three versions of win95 that I paid for.If you know what you need I can send you a copy of the disk to get you going as long as you use your own key to load it.PM me if you need help.Ron G

 

[arboldt]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

I hope no one complains that we're hijacking this thread about Anti-Virus to talk about Linux.

I've thrown away copies of Win95, Win98, and WinME, although I might still have one if you really want it. From what I've seen of linux, though, I wouldn't bother.

I upgraded my (83 yo) mother's PC a year ago. Her old one was a 500 MHz running WinME . I brought it home to wipe the drive and freecycle it, but thought I could experiment with Ubuntu on it (I'm at Gutsy Gibbon level, and the next semiannual release should be in October, so I'm almost 2 releases back). The little bit I've played with it, it really looks good. From what I've read, the Hardy Heron release was much better, and the next one better yet.

I've done some surfing and email with it. That's great. The standard download includes Open Office, so your friend should be in business (so to speak). I haven't looked, but I believe AVG and ZoneAlarm offer free versions (personal use only) for both Windoze and Linux. Ubuntu has a menu item to search for free software that my son tells me works wonderfully, although I haven't tried it. I have some software I've purchased that doesn't come in a Linux version that I'm aware of -- genealogy and Study Bible particularly.

Two main factors for not doing much so far -- I have to change connections for my monitor etc from my main box to the Linux one, and I just haven't taken the time.

The other factor is that during summer, I'd much rather be on the water than sitting at a PC.

PM me with your experiences if you want.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Any AVG users out there???

Its been a couple days now with two PC's running AVG Free 8.0 on a network and so far so good. No problems to report at all.