History
The brand AVG comes from Grisoft's first product, "Anti-Virus Guard", launched in 1992 in Czechoslovakia. In 1997, the first AVG licenses were sold in Germany and UK. AVG was introduced in the U.S. in 1998.
The AVG Free Edition helped raise awareness of the AVG product line.
In 2006, the AVG security package grew to include anti-spyware, as AVG Technologies acquired ewido Networks, an anti-spyware group. That same year, Microsoft announced that AVG components would be available directly within the itmastifree.blogspot.com operating system.
AVG Technologies acquired Exploit Prevention Labs (XPL) in December 2007, and incorporated that company's Link Scanner safe search and surf technology into the AVG 8.0 security product range released in March 2008.
In January 2009, AVG Technologies acquired Sana Security, a developer of identity theft prevention software. This software was incorporated into the AVG security product range released in March 2009.
Products
Versions for Windows desktop clients
AVG Technologies provides a number of products from the AVG range, suitable for Windows 2000 on wards. In addition to this, AVG Technologies also provides Linux, FreeBSD, and most recently Mac OS X versions of the software. AVG Anti-Virus 9.0 is available in free and commercial editions. AVG 9.0 has identity theft protection through a partnership with Intersections Inc., AVG 9.0 also adds white listing, behavioral protection and cloud operations to their signature-based blocking. The software adds the Resident Shield, firewall, and identity protection modules. The Link Scanner component has been improved to cut phishing threats further. Version 9 was the last version compatible with Windows 2000.
For desktop protection of PC's running Windows, the AVG solutions include:
- AVG Internet Security is a full suite which brings together the AVG Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Link Scanner, Anti-Root kit, Web Shield, Security Toolbar, Firewall, Anti-Spam, Identity Protection and System Tools protection components.
- AVG Identity Protection provides protection against identity theft and unknown Malware threats using behavioral monitoring.
- AVG Anti-Virus Plus Firewall provides the Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Link Scanner, Anti-Root kit, Web Shield, Security Toolbar and Firewall protection components.
- AVG Anti-Spyware was a re branded version of ewido Anti-Spyware, that was integrated into AVG Anti-Virus as of version 8.0. A free version was also available, having now been merged into AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
- AVG Anti-Root kit was a free anti-Root kit program that was discontinued as of late 2006. Like AVG Anti-Spyware, it has now been merged into AVG Anti-Virus
- AVG ADMIN is a remote administration tool, which allows the software to be managed centrally on networks.
- AVG Anti Virus provides the Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Link Scanner, Anti-Root kit, Web Shield, and Security Toolbar protection components.
- AVG Search a search engine by AVG which provides less risk in internet searching.
- Like other security products, AVG disables Windows Defender.
- AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition provides basic, Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection, plus the full AVG Link Scanner safe search and surf technology. There are some limitations with AVG Anti Virus Free Edition compared to the commercial versions of AVG products and other free antivirus. These limitations include:
- Less protection – AVG Anti Virus Free Edition provides the same anti-virus and anti-spyware scanning engine as the commercial product; however, it lacked anti-root kit protection until 2010. The older 7.5 Free Edition is perfectly capable of finding and disabling root kits based on signatures, but cannot scan for root kit-like activity. The 8.5 version of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition version lacks any anti-root kit capability. While there is no official protection for files from messaging sources, the Resident Shield component automatically scans files before they are opened or copied.
- Infrequent updates – AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition receives updates via a lower priority service. Priority updating via high-speed servers is only available for the commercial versions of AVG products.
- No telephone or e-mail technical support – There is no telephone or e-mail technical support provided by AVG for users of AVG Free Edition products anywhere in the world. AVG Free Edition users have access to support via the self-help AVG Free Forum.
- Less customization – Scheduling options in AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition are very limited (only one scheduled update per day). However, the AVG Resident Shield configuration allows exclusions. The on-demand/scheduled scanner allows advanced testing options such as heuristics and reporting of password-protected archives reporting. Process priority for on-demand/scheduled scans can be dynamically adjusted over three different configurations.
- No server support – AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition cannot be installed on server operating systems (such as Windows Server 2003), nor can it be used for the scanning of network drives. Note, the newer AVG 2011 free edition can be installed on Server operating systems like Windows Server R 2.
- AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is only licensed for home and non-commercial use on a single computer.
AVG Free Edition has previously been responsible for popup ads advertising the non-free versions of AVG Anti-Virus and AVG Internet Security, which claim to provide more comprehensive levels of protection. AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 Free Edition users are now also subject to a daily pop-up advertising campaign for a "recommended upgrade" to AVG Internet Security. A "manager" on the AVG free version forum states that this advertisement appears once per day for one month each year.
AVG paid license version will intermittently display popup ads advertising additional AVG products such as AVG's Quick Tune product. This advertising cannot be disabled.
The AVG license agreement includes a clause (Section 9) authorizing AVG to collect, from your computer, any personal information they desire and to share it with their business partners anywhere in the world. It also authorizes AVG to track your computer usage.
All versions of the AVG products, excluding AVG Anti-Root kit Free Edition (now discontinued), are compatible with the 64-bit edition of Windows.
Versions for servers
AVG Technologies also sells AVG anti-virus and Internet security solutions for web/file servers or email servers running either Linux, FreeBSD or Windows.
- AVG Internet Security Business Edition provides centrally controlled protection for workstations and file servers, e-mail server and Microsoft SharePoint server protection, plus e-mail server based anti-spam protection.
- AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition provides centrally controlled anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for workstations and file servers.
- AVG File Server Edition provides anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for file servers.
- AVG E-mail Server Edition provides anti-virus and anti-spyware protection for e-mail servers, plus e-mail server based anti-spam protection.
AVG for Linux/FreeBSD
With version 7.5, AVG Technologies is providing a solution for FreeBSD for the first time. AVG Technologies has incorporated spam detection in addition to virus detection for Linux/FreeBSD software.
Mobile Security
For Android
Antivirus & Protection
- AVG
- AVG Anti Virus PRO for Android Smartphones
- AVG Anti Virus FREE for Android Tablets
- AVG Anti Virus PRO for Android Tablets
Mobile Performance
- AVG Tune Up
- AVG Cleaner
- AVG Uninstaller
- AVG Image Shrinker
Privacy Protection
- AVG Privacy Fix
- AVG Vault for Android
For i OS
- AVG Family Safety
- AVG Privacy Fix
- AVG Safe Browser
- AVG Vault for i OS
For Windows Phone
- AVG Family Safety
Multimi
A joint project of AVG and Israeli start-up Z bang, Multi mi is a free Windows desktop and iPad app for organizing and sharing content between multiple in boxes, social networks, calendars, and media albums.
AVG PC Tune Up
AVG PC Tune Up is an application designed to speed up the computer by removing files that may slow down the operating system and optimizing some of its settings. If a user does not purchase this product when purchasing the anti-virus product, then AVG will intermittently display popup ads to entice one to purchase the product.
Features
AVG features most of the common functions available in modern anti-virus and Internet security programs, including periodic scans, scans of sent and received emails (including adding footers to the emails indicating this), the ability to "repair" some virus-infected files, and a quarantine area ("virus vault") in which infected files are held.
Link Scanner
The patent pending Link Scanner technology acquired from Exploit Prevention Labs and built into most AVG products, provides real-time updated protection against exploits and drive-by downloads. Link Scanner includes: Search-Shield – a safe search component that places safety ratings next to each link in Google, Yahoo! and MSN search results; plus Active Surf-Shield – a safe surf component that scans the contents of a web site in real-time to ensure it's safe being opened. Concerns regarding web analytic have made Link Scanner a controversial component (see below "Link Scanner Concerns").
Link Scanner Concerns
When AVG 8.0 was first released, its Link Scanner safe search feature was shown to cause an increase in traffic on web sites that appear high in search engine results pages. Since Link Scanner disguises the scans as coming from an Internet Explorer 6 browser when it pre scans each site listed in the search results, web site usage logs showed incorrect and over inflated site visitor statistics. The pre scanning of every link in search results also caused web sites to transfer more data than usual, resulting in higher bandwidth usage for web site operators and slow performance for users. AVG initially said site administrators would be able to filter the Link Scanner traffic out of their site statistics, leaving the problem of excess bandwidth usage still to be solved. Pay-per-click advertising was not affected by the increase in traffic.
In response to complaints, AVG announced that as of July 9, 2008 "Search-Shield will no longer scan each search result online for new exploits, which was causing the spikes that webmasters addressed with us", releasing a new build on that date that applies a local blacklist, then Pre fetches and scans only those links clicked on by the user.
Controversy
As of 2014, there are numerous reports dating back to 2012 that the AVG Safe Guard Toolbar installs itself without the consent of the user, as a side effect of installing other applications. The toolbar program appears to cause significant RAM issues. Once installed, the toolbar is virtually impossible to remove: Its uninstaller does not function, and it re-installs if manually removed. There are many discussions and blog posts that describe complex procedures for removal of the AVG toolbar, with very mixed results.
Reception
AVG Anti-Virus was certified by ICSA Labs. AVG Antivirus Free 2012 was selected as PC Magazine Editors Choice in the free antivirus category. AVG Anti Virus FREE 2013 received a 5 out of 5 star rating on CNET Download.com. AVG Anti Virus Free 2014 received a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Download.com.
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