That Blows!

JohnWPB

Active Member
Just got a pop-up that AVG Free will be discontinued on Jan 15th. Any suggestions for good free alternatives?
 
Crud! I just uninstalled expired McAfee last night and installed AVG Free. I am tired of McAfee and Norton being bloated and slowing system down. I immediately noticed that my startup and shutdown times are faster without McAfee.

I was contemplating between AVG Free and Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic (free) and opted for AVG Free. Looks like I will be switching to the other one and I might as well do it sooner rather than later before I forget and AVG Free quits.

I really don't mind paying $30 a year for virus protection at home but with 3 PCs, everyone wants $70-$80 per year. And a lot of them are bloatware now.
 
You can usually get Symantec and Mcafee 3-user versions for free (or close to that) if you watch and are willing to fill out rebates.

Buy.com and Outpost.com have them frequently (sometimes CompUSA, CircuitCity and Buy.Com).

Rebates are annoying but it would get you the software for free (or close to it) with a little work (and $90 is worth a few minutes of effort).
 
Yup,

New Free Anti-Virus
GRISOFT is announcing a new version of the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. This new 7.5 version with improved performance and full compatibility with the latest Windows Vista version is available. Users that are using AVG Free 7.1 will be provided with a specific dialog, within the next few weeks, with the opportunity to choose the right option fulfilling their needs. AVG Free 7.1 version will be discontinued on 15th of Jan 2007.
 
I switched to Avast after AVG let a virus through. No complaints, and it's also free. Just be sure to set it to silent mode, or it will drive you crazy with announcements that it has updated its database.

http://www.avast.com
 
Yeah I was fooled for a few minutes myself... the wording makes if sound like AVG Free is being discontinued and the link they give you is for the purchased upgrade. Tricky little devils....

John
 
Exactly! They are copying Real Media's tactics now! There was a time I spent like 10 minutes trying to find the free version of real! It has gotten better lately...

Here is the link for the rest of you to look at that we got as a Pop-Up. When I read it, I thought that it was simply going to a pay software, and left it at that.

Right from the top of the page:

STAY PROTECTED: Your AVG Anti-Virus Free 7.1 will be discontinued on 15. January 2007!

Dear AVG Free user,
You have a unique opportunity to get more security and benefits with our new AVG 7.5 products.


You decide when you look at the link!

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/special-upgrade...vg-75-free75cnv


EDIT: The new update is nice, they updated the GUI as well. I no longer feel like I am running a Windows 95 program :eek:


.
 
Mike said:
You can usually get Symantec and Mcafee 3-user versions for free (or close to that) if you watch and are willing to fill out rebates.

Buy.com and Outpost.com have them frequently (sometimes CompUSA, CircuitCity and Buy.Com).

Rebates are annoying but it would get you the software for free (or close to it) with a little work (and $90 is worth a few minutes of effort).
Yes. I have done that with both Norton and McAfee in alternating years. Both slowed PC startup and shutdown. Not really a problem for my 24/7 HA PC but my it became annoying with my laptop. With AVG, my laptop startup/shutdown is 1/4 what it was before.

From what I have read, I need the Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition that is just antivirus and has less bells and whistles.
 
I agree on the Symantec, which is why I switched back to Mcafee after seeing the drag on performance.

Oh, you are talking about just booting and shutting down the system? Well I never really cared much about that. If everything else is good the shutdown really doesn't matter at all since you don't have to be there, and for the startup... well, I guess that is why you are jumping around. I never saw the importance there (and it does not take long at all regardless).
 
I was talking startup/shutdown. However, you are correct in that Symantec had the added feature of dragging down performance in between startup and shutdown :eek: . So, if I had to choose between Symantec or McAfee, I would go with McAfee.

Have noticed that AVG is slow at scanning but its free and in the future I will run it at night. By default, it suggests a daily scan which seems to be a bit much. I need to set it to do a weekly one but will have the continuous protection on.
 
Try nod32 at eset.com. 30-day free trial. You'll never go back. Using for 2 years now. I frequently see it update virus defs 3-4 times a day. It's lean.
 
JohnWPB said:
EDIT: The new update is nice, they updated the GUI as well. I no longer feel like I am running a Windows 95 program :eek:
And I was going to put this off until the end of the period expecting the free product would suck.... now you are making me want to download it...
 
WHY is it when ANYTHING "Norton" touches your system, it changed the task manager? I installed Partition Magic a few days ago to prep a drive, and sure enough it changed the task manager so when ya do the 3 finger shuffle the screen blacks for a second, then shows the generic looking win95 task manager, and nothing else (Desktop is now out of view till the task manager is closed) EVERY single product I have ever tried made by norton has done this. It's fracking annoying!
 
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