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Editor’s Rating: 4.75 out of 5
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Introduction / Overview

If you are an Internet user, you undoubtedly need a protection from various Internet threats. There are many anti-virus programs available off the shelf, and searching for the best among them is not an easy task. AVG Free anti-virus by Grisoft is one such option to choose from. AVG anti-virus is a highly reliable virus protection and currently one of the leading anti-virus applications.

AVG anti-virus comes with a simple and user-friendly interface and is very easy to use. Once installed the program is very easy to operate and has an extensive virus database.

Features

The software interface is very simple and brightly colored with large buttons.

You can set this software to act as a boot-up scanner each time you turn your PC on. It may check each individual e-mail attachment, and you can also set it to perform a scheduled daily virus scan of your hard drives, at a time of day convenient to you. It provides a virus database and you can schedule to update it on a regular basis. We highly recommend updating the database on a daily basis in order to avoid new threats.

Main features of AVG anti-virus 7.5:

• Internal virus database: As soon as you connect to Internet, AVG automatically looks for virus definition updates, and will automatically download and install the updates, if any. You may also update the definition files manually at any time.
• Scheduler: This option allows you to schedule virus scans of you PC at your most convenient time. Since testing process may affect your PC performance, we recommend to schedule the test for a time when the PC is not used.
• Resident Shield: The resident shield provides real-time scanning of executable files and documents you use, it monitors any changes in the PC memory and will warn you if you try to execute or open a file containing virus. It runs in the background using very little resources, so it does not affect your work. Once launched, a small icon appears in the system tray which can be used to control the activities of this anti-virus program.
• Virus Vault: Unlike other anti-virus software, where infected files are moved to Quarantine folder, AVG uses the term ‘Virus Vault’ instead of Quarantine. The purpose of the virus vault is to safely move infected files, which cannot be healed. The file is then encrypted so that the virus can not spread across your system. It is kept stored in the ‘Virus Vault’ for a period of time until it is automatically deleted from your system. In addition, it is possible remove those files manually at any time.
• Update manager: The update manager allows the user to configure and schedule the updates of the AVG database, according to your preferences.
• Context Menu: This feature allows you to scan any file directly from Windows Explorer’s context menu, instead of running the anti-virus program. You can check any suspected file, before you open or run it, by right clicking on the file and using “Scan with AVG Free”
• E-mail Scanner: This feature integrates into your email client. All incoming and outgoing email messages and their related attachments are then scanned and cleaned, if infected, before downloading or sending them. You may customize this module per your preference and it may certify all email (incoming an outgoing) as “Clean from Viruses”.

Installation

To install AVG Free Anti-virus, download the installation file, and follow these steps:

1. Locate the downloaded file on your system and double click it to run the file.
2. Click Next, It will show you the license agreement.
3. Read the license agreement and click ‘Accept’ to continue.
4. Choose ‘Standard Installation’ option if you wish to install the software in standard configuration. If are an advanced user, you can click “custom installation option” and can customize the installation process.
5. Click ‘Next’ to enter company name and user name.
6. If you have chosen the ‘custom installation’, it will ask you for the destination folder. Enter the desired location where you want to install the software. Click ‘Next’
7. Click ‘Finish’ to start installation.
8. Restart you computer.
9. After restart, connect to internet and update the anti-virus definition files.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• AVG Free anti-virus is as its name suggest free of charge.
• Updating anti-virus definition database does not require payment or subscription of any kind.
• Automatically downloads and updates the latest definition files.
• Fast operations and does not consume valuable memory resources.
• Simple and easy to use user interface.
• Highly reliable, as long as it is updated on a daily basis

Cons

• Advanced Scheduling of Tests is disabled and only available only in the commercial (paid) version of this software.
• Technical support is not available.
• May not be fully compatible with older Windows’ versions (98/ME).
• No actually a con, just something to be aware of. It is only an anti-virus. You need to install separate firewall and anti spyware software to completely protect your computer from internet threats.

Conclusion

Even though AVG Free Anti-virus v7.5 does not cost a penny, it is not inferior to similar paid-for anti-virus applications. As a matter of fact, only a few home users may require the advanced features offered by advanced commercial applications. Further more the free virus definition updates, which you may schedule to be downloaded everyday, makes this application one of the best choices in the market today.