AVG anti-virus is so bad (how bad is it?)!

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 2 Sep 2015 2:03 am

Yes, it pursues viruses as aggressively as it pursues its customers, so I tried the full-version trial (forgetting that nothing's free).
It did work well, but a couple of times I wondered if it created events to impress me....
At its end, I refused, and it refused to leave. (Yes, there was something else going on in my machine, but you--well, I--get paranoid at some point.)

Attempting to delete the remainders in favor of my old utility Avast, it remains in programs and features though it no longer functions,
and will not delete normally. The uninstall button will not work; repeated attempt indicate that the uninstallation process goes on all day.

AVG has a utility to download for the purpose of deleting it.
I guess my question is, why am I hesitant to let the thief who won't go away back into the shop to return something?

Any experience or suggestions?
----------------
Edited to add: more looking found Revo Uninstaller Tool
http://www.techsupportall.com/tools listed under 'Tools.'
It worked; the evil empire is gone.

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 2 Sep 2015 2:37 am

I never saw the need to use the paid version of AVG. That said, I kicked it to the curb about a year ago when they started forced updates that went into the 100MB range, and it became a memory hog.

I now run the free version of Avira.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 2 Sep 2015 4:06 am

Thanks, Scott, good help.

Avira wasn't in the PC Mag comprison I looked at, but a later addition by the same editor linked to lab tests in which Avira beat Avast
across the board except in 'Cleaning,' but we have CC Cleaner for that.
It's hard to know what to make of comparisons due to prejudices and agendas, but anything beats AVG.

I've been getting by with Windows Defender for a couple of days, and I wonder, do you know if I need to disable that in order to load Avira?

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 2 Sep 2015 4:27 am

I've used the Windows Defender (and previous versions) for several years. Never had a security problem.

Defender is less intrusive than many other anti-virus programs, especially with my recording studio software.

I also have a paid version of Malwarebytes.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 2 Sep 2015 4:33 am

Thank you, Jack. Defender does seem to do fine.
I have the free Malwarebytes, so I'm not feeling insecure.
I don't go to strange places on the web except for the Forum.

Perhaps I'll leave things as they are as I'm setting up a DAW.

Dave Potter · Post by **Dave Potter** » 2 Sep 2015 5:18 am

For years, I made the rounds of the "paid" anti-virus software, on the basis that if I'm "paying", I must be getting more than with "free" offerings. I paid for Norton, McAffee, and others. I still think it's clear that the "paid" versions of software DO provide more functionality than "free" versions of the same software - developers obviously will devote more resources to "paid" versions. However, I've come to the conclusion that Microsoft anti-virus, now Windows Defender, is robust and sufficient, and the same goes for Windows Firewall. Of course, my sense of internet security is also supported by my religious use of a NAT router, which acts as a buffer between the internet "jungle" and my PC.

I also found the various "paid" anti-virus products messy, from a maintenance standpoint, and intrusive and hard to get rid of when the time eventually came.

Getting rid of all vestiges of poorly-coded software uninstalls often necessitates manual registry searches and edits. I do that when it's required, but only with prior backups of either the full registry, or the parts I plan to edit, as well as a fresh drive image in case things go south - and very likely, a system restore point.

Scott Duckworth · Post by **Scott Duckworth** » 2 Sep 2015 6:19 am

My "go to" list is:

Avira
Malwarebytes
Malwarebyte Anti-Exploit
CC Cleaner

Haven't had a virus or Trojan in years.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 2 Sep 2015 6:41 am

Scott Duckworth wrote:My "go to" list is:

Avira
Malwarebytes
Malwarebyte Anti-Exploit
CC Cleaner

Haven't had a virus or Trojan in years.

My list is close to yours. I use Trend Micro Internet Security (for 3 pcs), Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (paid version, runs at startup, protects in real time), CCleaner and Win Patrol Plus. Additionally, I operate under a less privileged user account.

These programs protect against drive-by infections (e.g. via Flash or Silverlight exploits), downloaded Trojans and email borne malware. They cannot protect against raw stupidity though. If I was tricked into knowingly installing a rigged setup file (and possibly disregarding any warnings), I too could be rooted, as most installers ask for Admin credentials.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 6 Sep 2015 6:31 pm

I bought an iMac about a year ago. No need for virus scanners and the like. Never had a security issue. Love it!

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 6 Sep 2015 11:27 pm

Bent Romnes wrote:I bought an iMac about a year ago. No need for virus scanners and the like. Never had a security issue. Love it!

Hope you know that the old "security through obscurity" myth for Apple products, isn't very real...
http://betanews.com/2014/04/07/the-appl ... -security/
Better safe than sorry.

FWIW: I put ESET on my machines, regardless of make. Have done for a decade or so.