Product Review: AVG INTERNET SECURITY

AVG Internet Security offers robust, comprehensive protection against malware and spyware, with real-time scanning, automatic updates, and immediate quarantining or removal of infected files. Its unique, recently acquired, Linkscanner technology actively blocks malware from websites that appear to have been compromised. AVG checks files, emails, instant messages, file downloads, online transactions, search results and other web links in real time, and is generally quite effective at blocking and removing viruses and spyware, as well as successfully flagging malicious websites. This suite also includes a firewall to stop hackers from accessing your computer, but will require disabling any existing firewalls. AVG recently added identity theft protection to this security suite, designed to prevent new and unknown threats from stealing your personal information. This feature essentially acts as a second program, rather than being neatly integrated into the rest of the suite.

AVG can be configured to run virus updates once every 4 hours, which is recommended, or once a day, and allows the user to schedule these updates so as not to interfere with regular PC use. Users can also choose whether or not to enable daily scanning and schedule their daily scan times. This is convenient, as it was found that during boots, scans and updates your computer can slow to a crawl or, at times, completely freeze. During the configuration process, users are also given the option of installing a browser plug-in, which adds a toolbar that is dominated by a distracting Yahoo search box, which cannot be closed without hiding the entire toolbar. Note that this toolbar is not required to use the Linkscanner technology.

This security suite lacks spam and phishing protection beyond basic email filtering, and does not include a parental control feature. The biggest drawback of AVG Internet Security is the fact that it can slow your computer down dramatically. AVG does offer a fully functional 30 day free trial, which would allow potential customers to determine whether their computer systems can handle the heavy demands of this software. AVG Internet Security is $44.99 per year for a single license or $64.99 to license 2 PCs. Customers who purchase coverage for 2 years receive a discounted price of $79.99 for a single user or $111.99 for 3 users.

Compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7

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