Well, there are two kinds of AVG Antivirus software, which is the paid version and the free version. Since the latter has way more users than the former, it will be the thing to be the main focus of this article. This article will be reviewing the antivirus software, mentioning every important aspect you can find by using it. Well, is it worth a shot to use this software to keep your computer protected? To find out, you will need to read this article to the end!
What you get when installing the software
AVG free is extremely popular among PC users since aside the fact that it’s free; the software itself does not require too much space and performance. The software also allows you to set up its program as you like. What you get is quite decent free antivirus software with light requirements. ‘
Protection ranges it offers
The software has a high level of compatibility since it can work when installed in a computer which runs any versions of Windows, from XP to Windows 10. By opening it, you can figure out that AVG Free Antivirus Software has the ability to optimize its performance in keeping your computer safe from the threats posed by various kind of malware. Also, there are other kinds of protection, from the standard scanning commonly found in other antiviruses to the ability to block a website which is considered to have a dangerous effect if visited. Furthermore, you can use file shredder it has to remove any useless files you never wish for.
Actually, there are more AVG offers other than those mentioned above. However, in order to obtain them, you will need to pay the software USD 70 every year. After subscribing, you will be able to access the personal firewall, a better level of ransomware protection, and the ability to protect your webcam.
Need more? Well, by paying USD 100 a year, you will get the ultimate version of AVG antivirus software. Now, after you have unlocked the version, you can perform disk cleansing, file encryption, startup optimization, email protection, and system locking. Those features are absolutely useful for keeping your PC secure, but it is not cheap to get them.
The protection it offers
It is without a doubt that the company which manufactures AVG is related to the company which manufactures Avast. The reason why it’s worth mentioning is that the two companies have a similarity in the technology to detect malware, albeit each of them has their own designs. To detect a threat, it starts with a scanning to compare every file with the information to recognize whether a file is a threat or not by using its database. If a file shows signs of malicious behavior, it will be detected in an instant. If it finds a potential new threat, the software will upload it to its lab for further analysis. It protects your e-mail from any threats too, but the company seems to lack any specific way to counter ransomware.
You can choose to scan your computer in a normal way, in a specific file, or in every part of your PC thoroughly. Obviously, the last option takes longer than the other ones. However, it is very effective to detect any hidden threats.
The performance of the software
To be honest, the protection offered by AVG Free Antivirus software is not to be considered the best. Although it works absolutely well against the threats commonly encountered by the PC users worldwide, it does not fare well against new threats that are not commonly found yet. Detecting a zero-day malware seems quite difficult for this software. Although it is not the best, fortunately, there are several free antiviruses that are worse than it.
When tested in several lab tests conducted by several people, it is found that the software only managed to stop the threats of malware with 95% of the score. This sounds not so bad initially, but letting five percent of the threat to harm your PC is pretty bad. Fortunately, it works effectively against the threats that are considered to be more mainstream, with a 99.00% score.
The performance
Since the software itself is very light, you will never have to worry its impact on your PC’s performance. Most computers encounter no significant reduction in performance when they have the AVG installed in their system. This is one of the reasons why there are so many people use this software to keep their computer protected all the time.