A close look at AVG Antivirus FreeThe lengthy list of advantages in free AVG antivirusOpinions from expertsHow to install AVG Free AntivirusPros and cons of AVG FREE
It is a public secret that antivirus protection provided by Windows isn’t enough to keep yourself protected against sophisticated cyber attacks today. Therefore, installing AVG Antivirus can significantly boost your computer’s security levels entirely for free. If you wish to opt for advanced protection, you can always upgrade from the free version to AVG Internet Security or AVG Ultimate. Besides, the free trial is available for 30 days, so you can test the advanced features whenever you want. Later on, you may want to upgrade to AVG Internet Security at $19.99 per year. However, this review aims to discuss the features offered by the free version, so let’s get right into the details. First of all, let’s overview what operating systems are able to run this software properly. The software developer provides the free software for personal and family use only (not available for commercial use). Speaking of system requirements, you must use Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, or XP SP3. Since AVG provides protection products for Mac users, everyone using OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion or above versions can use them for free as well. Android users who are looking for free protection should be using Android 2.2 or newer versions of OS.
The lengthy list of advantages in free AVG antivirus
Automatic updates. AVG Free updates itself automatically. This fills the program’s database with the latest malware and spyware definitions and provides the necessary information required to recognize and remove viruses like ransomware, adware, browser hijackers, Trojans, and others. Effective malware blocking. AVG Antivirus Free can stop the absolute majority of malware and spyware variants available today. However, we must point out that the user of the software should make sure that detection of potentially unwanted applications (PUA) before scanning the system. The software scores high in independent lab tests, which will be overlooked shortly. Keeps you away from malicious websites and downloads. The free antivirus will block insecure websites, and you won’t be able to access them. It also detects malicious email attachments (often used to spread ransom-demanding viruses) and other downloadable files available online. Computer performance scan. On top of previously mentioned features, free antivirus checks your computer for issues that negatively impact your PC’s performance. Easy to use. The interface of the software is user-friendly and even inexperienced users will understand how to run a computer scan.
Opinions from experts
Several independent testing labs have tested the discussed antivirus product, and all of them responded with very pleasing opinions about this free-of-charge antivirus product. We will start by discussing results from AV-Comparatives. In 2017, the software developer received Advanced+ rewards in malware protection tests, also real-world protection test and also in performance tests. Experts from PC Mag have given this software a boost with Editors’ Choice award, meaning that it the product is acknowledged as one of the best ones that were tested in PC Labs. AVG also collected 87.7% in the Reactive and Proactive test of Virus Bulletin, with zero false-positives. In the test carried out by AV-Test laboratories, AVG scored 6 points in Protection test, 5 in Performance and 5.5 in the Usability test, which is precisely the same score as Avast’s. It is not surprising since Avast acquired AVG in 2016.
How to install AVG Free Antivirus
Pros and cons of AVG FREE
First of all, the free antivirus version offers automatic updates, which means that you won’t have to worry about updates suggested to you. Second, the freeware is easy to use, which makes it an extremely pleasant-to-use software. The software rapidly identifies malicious files and stops them, and this reflects in excellent independent software testing labs’ scores. The only downside of AVG is that it takes quite a while to check all files on the system on the initial scan. It does so because it checks and marks files that are safe, and this procedure isn’t repeated later on. Therefore, the following scans take way less time than the initial one does. Overall, we rank AVG Antivirus FREE as one of the top picks for free antivirus protection for Windows.
