AVG has finally released version 9.0 of their Antivirus, Antispyware, Antispam, and Internet Security offerings.  Since it’s been out for a few days, I figured it was time for a review and me to speak up about the product.  Here is our review and information on this new offering from the folks at AVG (Grisoft)

I popped over to http://free.avg.com and made the selections for my download.  For some reason, AVG has decided to move to a download manager instead of allowing you to download the full package in one step.  I was given the option of choosing the Free version or a 30-day trial of their full security suite.  I elected to install the trial in order to do a more thorough review.  After the lengthy download of many packages and the install finally started.

On my machine, I did an upgrade from AVG Free 8.5, which was handled seamlessly, silently removing the old version and migrating the settings and preferences I’d already stated.

I accepted the license agreement, and then selected the custom install (as I always do, being a bit of a control freak.)  I did notice they weren't installing the plugin for Microsoft Office by default, but did select the plugin for Microsoft Outlook by default.  I deselected installing additional languages and selected the Office plugin then clicked Next.  I was pleased they let me know that they were turning off the Windows firewall in order to install their firewall instead, what did annoy me however, was that they wanted to install yet another toolbar in my browser(s) and to set Yahoo! as my default search engine.  I quickly de-selected both and continued the install.  After the install, I was requested to reboot my system.   (No surprise there.)

When the system came back up, it asked to do an optimization scan.  This new feature pre-scans your drive for trusted applications and files so they don’t have to be re-scanned later… efficiently speeding up the scanning process.

As I am always leery of “Internet Security Suites” I began using the program cautiously.  Unfortunately I can’t say much good about their firewall.  The firewall, in its default configuration, slowed down access to internet sites, sometimes freezing my whole computer, and I was unable to get VNC or Remote Desktop to work on my machine through their firewall and its unclear process with the configuration that I already know to work within my router and with the firewall.  I can say that their database of trusted programs which should be allowed access to the internet automatically with no user interaction is quite extensive, but beyond that, I give their firewall a big thumbs down if you have any need of configuring remote access to your computer.  It also did not allow uPNP to function correctly for some reason and I was unable to determine why.

Their spam control feature for Microsoft Outlook worked quickly and efficiently, is easy to use, but did get overloaded when I went into my multiple full inboxes of mail, which can go as much as a year back or further.  I had to spend a good deal of time clicking off a dialog box in Outlook before I was able to use a functional product again.  Of course, my setup is not typical and in my opinion doesn’t indicate a failure in the software to handle the typical configuration.

Scanning with the product was faster, as promised, and did not unreasonably slow down the system performance, so I’ll give that feature full marks.

After reviewing the features of the Internet Security Suite, I’d recommend to the power user to upgrade to the full version in order to take advantage of the advanced anti-root kit functions and the gaming mode.  For the typical user I’d recommend their Internet Security Suite, but be prepared for an extended learning period before you can use the product the way you’d like.  But for the budget conscious, I’d recommend as always just using the free version to protect your home computer from spyware and viruses combined with Windows Defender and the Windows Firewall.  It’s still the least system resource intensive and most thorough product available in its class to keep your system protected, functioning properly and operating smoothly.

To purchase AVG Antivirus Full or AVG Internet Security Suite, please use the links below.

AVG Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware

AVG Internet Security - Protect your PC from threats with AVG firewall software – download now