Grisoft AVG - Review

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Reviewed by: Andrew J. Lee

Version: AVG Free Version 6.0.336
Test Machines: AMD 350 MHz, 64MB RAM Windows ^TM 98 (Second Edn)
AMD 1.0 GHz, 512MB RAM Windows ^TM 2000 Pro
Intel Pentium4 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, Windows ^TM XP Pro


- Brief Summary -

Grisoft's AVG has come a long way in the two years since it appeared on the international scene. Even though, visibly, it's not that different; in fact, it can be installed from any previously downloaded (or CD) version that you have, and then updated via the Internet; it is a greatly improved product in terms of its detection rates and functioning.

Under the largely unchanged interface are some definite improvements. Its scanning speed, which some people reported as sluggish, is now quite impressively fast, even on the fairly low spec test machine. (Some of the noted increases in speed may be due to the fact that the product hasn't changed much while system specs have certainly increased). Added to that (and apparently due to our last review) the updates are now available on a weekly basis, rather than, as they were, monthly. This is a very Good Thing, though even on the latest download version, the scheduler component still sets the update check interval to 30 days. This is easily altered, but could be a danger for the inexperienced.

Detection rates have greatly improved, though the incidence of false alarms, as with many heuristics based scanners, is high enough to sometimes be a problem. Having said that, scanning a normal clean system (Default builds of the OS, with all patches and updates, and various apps and utils), there were no problems with false alarms. Interestingly, false alarms have been the major cause of AVG missing out on Virus Bulletin 100% awards.
Functionality was confirmed by detection of the Eicar test file in its normal state and in zipped and double zipped form.

The email scanner is still one of the best innovations of the product, and it works well with even the most recent versions of Outlook Express and Eudora.

Now that the product is frequently updated, is backed up with free email alerting about new viruses and threats, and is still free to users outside Europe, it is clear that there is not much to touch it if you want free and effective Anti-virus scanning.

- Details -

Pricing options:

There is a free version of AVG. The Professional Version includes several enhanced features and includes unlimited support; it costs EUR 44.50 / USD 39.95 for a single licence. AVG Professional is available in French, German and English versions.

Pros:

• Automatic Update option
• Low performance impact
• Very Easy to use
• Checks Email and safe stamps if no virus found
• Free
• Uses Heuristics by default
• Good detection rates
• Weekly Updates

Cons:

• Support is not free.
• Web site doesn't have much technical support information though this has improved recently.
• Can give false alarms on innocent files

(It is always worth checking using F-PROT or another Scanner if you are not sure if a file is producing a false alarm, or if a suspect file shows no infection)

Platforms: Win95, Win98, ME, NT, Win2000 Pro, Windows XP^* (* requires at least release 298 of installation files )

Features:

• AVG Resident Protection
• AVG Email Scanner
• AVG On-Demand Scanner
• Scheduled Tests
• Free Updates
• Automatic Update feature
• Easy-To-Use Interface
• Automatic Healing of infected files
• AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files

Components :

• The components are integrated into the AVG modular core.
• AVG Resident Shield - On access scanner
• AVG Email Scanner - Email specific scanner with a certification option also automatically checks for malicious Java applets and scripts embedded in web pages.
• AVG On-Demand Scanner - can be configured to scan only the files that you want to scan, or do full scans.
• Includes support for removable media such as Zip drives.
• Includes a Shell Extension to allow quick scanner access in Windows Explorer.

Engine :
AVG Virus Stalker - heuristics based scanning engine.

Updating :
Automatic Scheduled or manual from web site.

Update Frequency :
Usually updates are released weekly, or more frequently if needed.

There are also several other components in the Professional (pay for) version including Scanners for NTServer and Exchange, but the technology is the same in the Free Version. Professional edition includes unlimited technical support.