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Along with the increasing interconnectedness of our computers, the sophistication of the software we use and the speed of the hardware comes increasing threats from a malicious type of software -- the virus. There is no question that everyone needs to protect their computers from viruses, but can it be done without spending lots of money to buy anti-virus software and spending even more money in yearly subscription fees to keep the software up-to-date? In a word, yes!
There are a number of things you can do for free to keep your computer safe from viruses. You can check out the best free antivirus software, but first a few tips on safe computing that you should follow even with good automated anti-virus protection.
* Stay Up-to-date: This not only applies to your anti-virus software, but also your operating system, browser and email client. Most viruses take advantage of known security problems in your computer’s software. There is almost always a patch available for the software before viruses appear on the scene that take advantage of the vulnerabilities. If you use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, Windows Update and Office Update respectively provide an easy way to keep up-to-date with security patches.
* Use Common Sense: This may sound harsh, but most virus infections wouldn’t happen if the computer user would think about what they are doing and use a little common sense. If you get a strange looking email message delete it instead of opening it to satisfy your curiosity. If a message, even a normal looking one, has an attachment you were not expecting to receive, don’t click on it to see what it is. Much of the secret to safe computing is smart computing.
* Avoid Dangerous Neighborhoods: Just like in the real world, if you go looking for trouble in cyberspace, you are bound to find it. Don’t visit questionable sites like those with pirated software (warez sites), hacker sites, or sites that promise you software keys and other ways to break the law.
* Don’t Follow the Crowd: Almost all viruses use flaws or features of Microsoft products. Using alternative software, especially Web browsers and email programs will thwart most viruses. Mozilla is good choice for both Web browser and email client. Using a non-Microsoft operating system such as Linux can also be a good choice for some. These measures won't prevent all viruses but they will greatly improve your chances of not becoming infected with the most prevalent viruses.
Even with the safeguards above, it is still a good idea for most people to use good anti-virus software. Believe it or not you can get top of the line antivirus software free for personal use. Check out these best free antivirus recommendations to get your free antivirus protection.
The bottom line: Although AVG has flagged a little in the past few years, AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 breathes some new life into one of the most popular security programs around with a shorter install, better usability, and faster scans.
Review:
The never-ending mantra chanted by security suite vendors sounds a lot like "faster scans, easier to use, better performance," and AVG has released a new version that it says accomplishes all three. Certainly, the scans are faster, it does install more quickly, and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use. However, changes to the engine that powers the detection and removal of threats has made it hard to come to a conclusion until independent labs return their efficacy results later this year.
Installation
The new AVG Free has sped up its installation process, although it's not as zippy as the minute-long installations that some of AVG's paid competitors offer. We found that the program can go from completed download to ready to use in about 5 minutes. Gains might have been made elsewhere, but a big contributing factor to that is that AVG has cut down the number of install screens users see, from 13 in the previous version to 5 in the 2011 version.
AVG's toolbar is still an opt-out feature. It also will commandeer your default search engine for Yahoo, so if you don't want it to do that, you'll want to uncheck the box that changes your search engine, too. Also unchanged is registration, which is a free process and can be completed from within the AVG interface.
Users who opt out of installing the toolbar but want it later will need to rerun the installer to get that component.
Interface
The changes to AVG's interface in the 2011 version are minor but actually improve usability quite a bit. The top and left navigation sections have been redecorated with light text on a dark background, although the main controls in the center of the window retain their standard black text on a white background. The safety status icon at the top of the interface has been simplified and made larger.
AVG Anti-Virus Free: Faster in 2011 (screenshots)
A new one-click Fix button for automatically repairing security breaches appears at the top along with the old red X when your system safety has been compromised. It disappears when your system gets a clean bill of health.
Joining the one-click Update button on the side nav this year is a one-click Scan Now button. There's a cleaner look to the nav, as well, with bigger fonts and timestamps for the most recent scan and most recent update.
For those not familiar with the interface, AVG has placed icons for its security components in a central pane. Double-click on one to access more information and basic configuration settings for each specific tool. Advanced settings are available under Tools on the menu bar at the top of the window.
The new interface changes are small, no doubt, but they do make AVG easier to use.
Features and support
AVG Free has some new protective features this year, too. The software offers what it calls "smart scanning," which leverages AVG's behavioral detection network to scan known safe files once, and only rescan them if it detects changes. As with its competitors, AVG's network is made up of its user base anonymously contributing data up to the cloud. You can choose to opt out of contributing your data when you install, or from the options menu. AVG says opting out won't negatively affect your security.
The never-ending mantra chanted by security suite vendors sounds a lot like "faster scans, easier to use, better performance," and AVG has released a new version of AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 that it says accomplishes all three. Certainly, the scans are faster, it does install more quickly, and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
The smart scanning tech also gives you a built-in system resource manager that prioritizes scans. If a scan is scheduled to begin while the computer is in use, it will automatically restrict the scan so that it runs slower but doesn't interfere with the computer's other tasks. When it detects the computer idling, it will then allocate more power to the scan. The feature comes with a slider so you can customize how sensitive it is.
Another big improvement has been to AVG LinkScanner. LinkScanner, which comes with AVG Free but is also available as a separate download, now scans links posted on Facebook and MySpace. It adds a green check next to safe links, a red X next to unsafe ones, and adds a notice below the link stating that it's been evaluated by AVG.
Concurrent with this new release, AVG has opened a new Web site called Threat Labs. The site is designed as a click-through landing page for people who want to learn more about the LinkScanner's ratings, but it's also available directly so that non-LinkScanner users can evaluate links on the fly.
Another important new feature is the resource-managing slide at the bottom of the window. Drag it to adjust how big of a burden the scan will be on your system, including the default setting for taking more resources only when your system is idle.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
There's a new desktop gadget for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users that lets them initiate scans and updates with one click, without having to open the full interface. It also contains links to AVG's Twitter and Facebook pages, which the company uses to bolster its support for the free version.
It's potentially big news that AVG Free has made the threat detection engines in the free version identical to its premium-upgrade siblings. This means that AVG Free users won't have to worry about getting a lesser standard of basic security, if it winds up improving the level of security. Independent benchmarks of last year's AVG versions were strong but mixed, scoring highly but not always consistently.
The PC Analyzer option is new this year, and scans your system for Registry and disk errors. It includes a disk defragmenter and a broken-shortcut cleaner, as well. Although the feature is restricted in full to paid users, if you have the free version, the PC Analyzer comes with a one-time offer to clean all errors it finds. It provides a link to download the separate PC Analyzer tool, once the scan is completed. This is an interesting twist on the idea of letting users detect but not repair errors, and it provides more functionality while not affecting the basic security of your computer. However, it's likely that some users will shy away from the extra download.
Although toolbars have long since fallen out of favor with the browser cognoscenti because they decrease stability and slow down browser performance, AVG has said that the toolbar remains a popular feature. Along with the standard option of adding buttons to the toolbar that access your most visited sites, such as Facebook or your banking site, this year's AVG toolbar introduces a button that ties directly into the LinkScanner tech. It lets you know if the page you're on is safe, unsafe, potentially unsafe, or unknown using LinkScanner's color-coded scheme of green, red, yellow, and gray, respectively. Fortunately, the toolbar is not required to get access to the benefits of LinkScanner.
Although toolbars have long since fallen out of favor with the browser cognoscenti because they decrease stability and slow down browser performance, AVG has said that the toolbar remains a popular feature. Along with the standard option of adding buttons to the toolbar that access your most visited sites, such as Facebook or your banking site, this year's AVG toolbar introduces a button that ties directly into the LinkScanner tech. It lets you know if the page you're on is safe, unsafe, potentially unsafe, or unknown using LinkScanner's color-coded scheme of green, red, yellow, and gray, respectively. Fortunately, the toolbar is not required to get access to the benefits of LinkScanner.
