AVG AntiVirus review, manual and guides

AVG Free Antivirus 2018 software is developed by AVG Technologies, a company that has been known in the market for two decades already^[1]. AVG has a great reputation for having a strong user community which makes it one of the best-supported programs in the antivirus market. Let’s see what’s new in the 2017 version of the famous AVG Free Antivirus. 

AVG provides users with advanced antivirus protection across all the major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Android. Windows users can choose from AVG AntiVirus Free, AVG Internet Security and AVG Ultimate which includes licenses for all your devices.

In addition, AVG developed a range of optimization tools including AVG TuneUp, AVG Cleaner, and AVG Driver Updater.

AVG AntiVirus Free offers essential protection and stops various types of malware, blocks unsafe links, downloads and email attachment, checks your PC performance and offers real-time security updates. In addition, a premium version of the application AVG Internet Security is available as a free trial with the installation of AVG AntiVirus Free.

Our experts tested the free version of the application on Windows 10 OS.

 Download and installation

If you are curious to try out this anti-malware solution, try downloading it from our page. These are the Windows operating systems this program supports:

• Windows 10 except Mobile and IoT Core Edition (32 or 64-bit)
• Windows 8/8.1 except RT and Starter Edition (32 or 64-bit)
• Windows 7 SP1 or higher, any Edition (32 or 64-bit)
• Windows Vista SP2 or higher, except Starter Edition (32 or 64-bit)
• Windows XP SP3, any Edition (32-bit)

The software also has its Mac and Android versions.

Once the app is downloaded, simply follow the instructions that the Installation Wizard provides.

Test Results 

Antivirus protection

AVG applies the same antivirus defenses for all its’ packages for Windows, including AVG AntiVirus Free. The detection technologies include a traditional scanning engine that matches suspicious code with known malware, and heuristic monitoring which looks for suspicious items in order to detect zero-day malware. Finally, all suspicious icons are sent to AVG’s online analysis lab.

Firstly, we carried out a test with several infected PCs – a great selection of malware, Trojans, rogue-ware and adware^[2] was added to each of these computers and then AVG was supposed to detect and remove them.

To be fair, AVG Free Antivirus 2018 did a really good job detecting and removing almost all of the malware, except browser hijackers^[3]. The browsers installed on the PCs were still hijacked and it required lots of manual work to remove them. It might also look like some of the threats are not even removed, because there were lots of icons left on the desktop, but that was a false alarm – there are only icons, while the real threats are already gone.

AVG has a pretty good real-time protection service.

Secondly, a good antivirus program has to have strong real-time protection^[4]. Talking about AVG, it has a pretty good real-time protection service. After we installed the new version, we tried to install several samples of various malware and about 80% of it was flagged and blocked during the installation. There was this 20% that got through, but it was later blocked after a reboot.

In addition, AVG AntiVirus was tested by the independent testing lab AV-TEST.^[5] The tests conducted in March – April 2018 indicated that the application has great but not perfect malware detection rates. In April, AVG AntiVirus detected 99.8% of zero-day malware attacks, including web and e-mail threats and 99.9% of widespread and prevalent malware discovered in the last test, April 2018.

Additional features

AVG Free AntiVirus provides users with free essential protection for Windows PCs. The free package includes Antivirus protection against viruses, spyware, ransomware and other malware, Web Protection feature which blocks unsafe links, downloads and e-mail attachments. It also includes Performance features that allow you to speed up and boost your PC’s performance, and Real-Time security updates.

The paid version, AVG Internet Security offers all the mentioned features and adds Privacy Features that will keep your personal folders safe with an extra layer of ransomware protection and secures your webcam. It also includes Enhanced Firewall, helps you to avoid fake websites for safer shopping, and includes Antivirus Pro for Android license.

System-performance impact

When it comes to system-performance impact, AVG AntiVirus Free did not slow down or interrupt our test computer in any way.

However, according to AV-TEST’s results, the application has a mediocre system-performance impact and its results are similar to the industry average. The application slowed down the installation of frequently-used applications by 32% while the industry average is 29%, and slowed down while launching popular websites by 13%, while the average is 12%.

Scanning performance

AVG AntiVirus Free took less than an hour to complete the full initial system scan, which is one of the best results in the market. However, the application has no quick-scan option, but offers a Deep Virus Scan, which took less than an hour.

As the application does not use a lot of system resources, it also does not slow down the PC or have any other noticeable system-performance impact.

User interface

One thing we really liked about the new version of AVG Free Antivirus is a very clear user interface. The dark-skinned interface uses color green to indicate which parts of the program are working fine (updated or not), and which are disabled or need your attention. In that way, you won’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what each of the buttons does – it’s all very clear, and yet it is not a limited program.

For those having some advanced experience, there’s a way to expand the user interface with all of the advanced options. Even then, it doesn’t seem ‘too full’ – it seems that all of the features have their own place on the dashboard so you won’t have much trouble operating it.

It comes to mind that such powerful yet very understandable and easy to use user interface gives AVG so much popularity – this might be a very significant reason why AVG Free Antivirus is one of the most downloaded applications on the market.

Customer support

Like many other programs, AVG Free Antivirus 2017 has a pretty large base of self-help documents and a web page with frequently asked questions. If you have a pretty simple issue, maybe you will find an answer in their question-and-answer database, but if you would like to talk to a real person, it might take up some time before you get to talk to a technician.

Firstly, you will have to spend a few minutes completing a form about your problem and after that you will see their customer service number. However, after you reach them by phone, you will have to explain the same issue again, so it makes us question – why is the form needed in the first place?

It doesn’t have any pros regarding the customer service side because you cannot get free virus removal help if you get the software and get heavily infected during the time. There are some other developers which would offer you free virus removal service in such a case, but the people at AVG Technologies don’t – they will charge you money in that case.

The final verdict

The program is one of the best in the game.

The perfect rates of virus and malware detection and removal along with a great real-time protection make up for its not-so-good customer support. The program has another strong side which lies in the user interface – it is really one of the best in the game because of the simplicity, yet we know there are lots of advanced options in there too.

All in all, AVG Free Antivirus 2017 is a decent program, but it doesn’t give a full set of tools to stay safe online.

Other products

AVG Free AntiVirus for Mac

AVG also offers Mac users free antivirus software. AVG AntiVirus for Mac is a simple but effective way to keep your Mac safe and malware-free. AVG Antivirus detects and stops not only Mac-specific malware and viruses but also PC-based malware and mobile threats in order to protect your family and friends.

AVG Free Antivirus for Android

AVG Antivirus for Android offers reliable protection for Android smartphones and tablets. The features include Anti-theft tracker, app lock, camera trap and more. AVG Antivirus for Android also increases the device performance and is available in 33 languages. Consumers can get AVG Antivirus for Android free version or its Premium version. AVG Antivirus for Android is available on Google Play App Store. 

AVG Cleaner for Android

AVG Cleaner for Android cleans and frees your phone in order to boost its performance, speed and extend battery life. AVG Cleaner for Android is very easy to use, it cleans your photos, frees up space, extends battery life, stops resource bugs, and works in the background, so you can simply set it up and forget it. AVG Cleaner for Android is free and available on Google Play App Store. 

AVG Secure VPN

AVG Secure VPN is available across all the major operating systems, including Windows PCs, Macs, and Android devices. AVG Secure VPN provides users with a good overall performance and relatively steady connection. This VPN Service is one of the best in the market.

AVG TuneUp

AVG TuneUp is a great choice if you want to boost your device. The software is capable to update outdated software, clean up and speed up the device, free up disk space, improve battery life and even more.  With AVG TuneUp your old device will live longer and a new one will run faster.  

The features include Smart Sleep Mode, Automatic Software Updater, PC Cleaner and more. This all-in-one tuning suite is suitable for Windows, Android, and macOS devices. 

Comparison

Avast AntiVirus VS AVG AntiVirus

Both AVG AntiVirus and Avast AntiVirus offer free basic protection and premium version that includes more features. When it comes to malware detection rates AVG AntiVirus successfully detected and removed more malware compared to Avast, it also provides better real-time protection. However, Avast offers more useful features. 

AVG VS PANDA

It could be said that both AVG and Panda provide users with quality security systems for free. If you are looking for free antivirus with a quality security system for business class computers and laptops, Panda would be a better choice. However, if you own an average device, then Panda Antivirus will slow the system down. In this case, we would recommend you AVG Antivirus.