AVG Antivirus Review 2017

Company Overview

AVG is a leading online vendor of IT security software and services. Founded in 1991, AVG has more than 1000 employees in 11 offices worldwide and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Widely known for its free product, AVG has more than 200 million users worldwide. AVG specializes in creating performance optimization, internet security, privacy and identity protection software for residential and business PC and Mac users and mobile device owners.

AVG gained worldwide popularity by offering a free AVG virus protection program. AVG has a strong history of listening to its customers and continuously provides them with forums where they can provide feedback. AVG uses this feedback to enhance their products and create more intuitive and stronger security software & solutions for their customers. AVG also participates in various global functions, communities and organizations so that it can continue to be a leading vendor in the IT security sector.

Software Features

AVG Antivirus is available three editions: Free, Pro and Internet Security. While pretty impressive on its own, the free edition does not offer home users as much protection as the Pro and Internet Security editions do. AVG antivirus software is very intuitive. It has large buttons to make it easy for users to toggle between categories. Windows 8 users can also navigate the software via touchscreen or with a regular mouse and keyboard.

AVG is powerful enough to provide users with all the protection they need to engage in their daily online activities with ease. It has a strong antivirus engine and behavior tracking capabilities that enable it to keep tabs on all of your online activity including links and emails.

AVG features an online shield that is designed to prevent users from accessing malicious sites. While its phishing detection rate is not very impressive, it does go a step beyond redirecting users to a warning page whenever a malicious page is detected. AVG actually stops the browser from generating the page and gives users a malicious content site warning popup. The online shield tool also scans downloads before downloading and allows users to run suspicious files in a safe virtual environment to determine whether or not they are malicious.

The Data Safe feature allows users a safe and secure way to store their private and sensitive data so that it is completely inaccessible to hackers and malware. To access the Data Safe feature, users have to name it, add a password and choose a capacity.

Usability

Installation is a breeze. After downloading the installer and entering the product key, protection starts immediately without you having to reboot your computer. There is a protection indicator that sits at the bottom of the home screen to let you know if your PC is at risk or protected. The software itself is very easy to navigate through, making it easy for users to tweak and modify the product’s configuration the way they want.

There isn’t a quick scan option to choose from, meaning that you only have the option of performing a scan on files, folders or your whole computer. While this may seem like a downside, it seems to be a plus because every scan automatically searches for rootkits that are not normally included in quick scans. Users also have the option to choose which resources the program uses to limit how it affects their system while they are using various programs.

Customer Support

AVG’s customer support is not very robust or endearing to users. There is a huge database to search for answers to commonly asked questions and concerns. To get more specific assistance, users have to describe their problem on an online form before they can access an actual phone number to call. There may also be a fee for tech assistance.

Pricing

Although AVG is reasonably (starting as low as $25.00 for a 1 year), many of its customers often start off with the unpaid version. Unlike most competitor trials, AVGS’s trial does offer real-time protection but it is very limited in its features.

AVG does offer some very nice discounts for multi-PC licenses & multiyear renewals. Once they convert to the paid edition, users then have 30 days in which they can experience the true power of AVG Antivirus Software. If they are not satisfied, they can receive a full refund with no questions asked.

Our Verdict

AVG antivirus software is a solid program. Its impressive resource usage capabilities provides users with basic level security so that they can shop, socialize and play games on their computers without compromising their safety or identity. It offers good protection for users who are interested in antivirus protection that does not bog down their PCs.