Detect and Remove Spyware

AVG has been shown to be one of the greatest free virus removal programs available to this date. Whether you are shopping around for a retail version of antivirus or you know what you are doing around a computer and think you can be trusted with the free version, AVG performs well against the competition. You should still exercise caution when browsing the internet. AVG cannot prevent every virus from getting on your computer. Even though AVG is ranked fairly well against the competition, that doesn’t mean it is amazing and will prevent everything. In the following article, I will discuss why we feel AVG is among the best free virus removal programs, and what makes people want to pay for the retail version.

To begin with, AVG is less resource intensive than many other anti virus software. What I mean by resource intensive is that it takes a lot of computer processor memory in order to run many of the Antivirus programs. For example, McAfee takes 5 times more hard drive space to install than AVG. It states that it requires the same amount of RAM however I feel that it actually uses far more. I was not able to find any information on how much CPU McAfee requires but AVG requires a Pentium with 300MHz so its not much and would be very hard to beat. Norton requires: 300 MHz or faster processor, 256 MB of RAM (**512 MB RAM recommended and required if you use the recovery tool), and 150 MB of available hard disk space. When running AVG, it is very difficult to tell any difference in performance of your computer even if you happen to be playing a game, which requires many of your computers resources. This is one reason I recommend it to anyone.

On a second note, the virus detection rate of AVG is very high, higher than retail antivirus programs in fact. AVG is boasting an amazing detection rate of 93%. That means it will find 93 out of every 100 viruses. That is an average between the retail version and the free version. Yes it still misses some but no virus protection is perfect. AVG still manages to outperform McAfee and Norton Antivirus and find viruses that they missed every time.

The third and most important fact is that it is AVG Free is well, completely free! It is a great product and will put many retail antivirus programs to shame. So you would think that the retail version of AVG would be amazing right? Well you are right; it’s faster and more efficient than the free version. Does that mean you have to get the retail version? No, you should be okay with AVG Free combined with Spybot or maybe Malwarebytes Anti Malware. If you are not comfortable using a computer safely then I would suggest buying the retail version to make sure you are safe. Think of an antivirus as insurance… you don’t really need it until something goes wrong but when something does you better believe you are happy you had it!

In the end, no program is going to be perfect and AVG like others has its downfalls. For AVG it’s a number of programs that AVG is not compatible with. If you have these then it’s probably a good idea to try another free virus scan and removal. These programs include: Webroot SpySweeper, ICQ toolbar, Session Manager 0.6.1.13 add-on, the StumbleUpon toolbar, System Protect, Dell Network Assistant, and Contafiscal 2000. Now I don’t think most people are going to have these however I wanted to throw out a warning anyway.

In conclusion, AVG is excellent software that I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a free solution to antivirus. It requires and uses fewer resources than many other antivirus programs, it detects approximately 93% of viruses and other malware, it has a FREE version, and there are only a few programs that it is not compatible with. So, if you are looking for an excellent addition to your computer security collection consider AVG Free. If you arent too good with computers and would like to keep the money currently in your bank account out of the hands of hackers, I would recommend paying for the retail edition.

Tags: Adware, antivirus, Antivirus and Malware, Antivirus programs, Antivirus Software, computer, computer repair, computer security, computers, Computers and Internet, Computers and Technology, internet security, software, Spyware, technology