AVG Antivirus Review
Fundamental virus, malware, and ransomware protection. Enhanced firewall and webcam security. PC performance boost and unlimited device coverage.
Overview
AVG was founded in 1991 and has been dedicated to protecting homes and businesses against digital threats ever since. With a stellar reputation and decades of experience in cybersecurity, it’s no wonder the company has become synonymous with essential antivirus protection.
AVG Antivirus protects devices against viruses, spyware, malware, and ransomware. It also blocks unsafe links, downloads, and email attachments with real-time security scans. With multiple pricing plans and even a totally free version, AVG Antivirus has something to offer every computer user.
AVG Antivirus is available for download on PCs, Macs, and Android mobile devices.
Key Features
AVG has several virus protection products that were made to keep your device safe from cyber attacks. These are some of our favorite AVG antivirus software features.
Powerful Protection: AVG Antivirus scans for and prevents viruses, spyware, malware, ransomware, rootkits, Trojans, and other digital security hazards in real time. It uses advanced AI-based threat detection to keep your computer safe from even the latest and most sophisticated malicious content.
Enhanced Firewall: You can easily keep ransom seekers and hackers at bay with the extra layer of protection you get from AVG’s firewall software. You won’t have to worry about cyber-criminals stealing your private data or personal information with nasty ransomware or phishing scams.
PC Performance Scan: AVG Antivirus comes with the extra benefit of improved performance for PC users. Your computer will be optimized by removing junk files, discovering and uninstalling unnecessary software, and getting rid of bloatware with just a couple of clicks.
Completely Customizable: We all have different ways of doing things and AVG decided that should also hold true for digital security. You can fully customize your virus protection software by tweaking the way your user panel works. This gives you the chance to configure AVG Antivirus to meet your personal needs and preferences.
Protection Plans
AVG offers a variety of pricing options and comes with a free 30-day trial to help you decide if it’s the right antivirus software for your needs.
AVG Antivirus Free: One of the most popular free Windows antivirus software options, AVG Antivirus Free is now also available for Apple computers and Android mobile devices. While this no-cost virus protection has been around for years and is trusted by many people, it’s nowhere near the most powerful digital security available, as you probably guessed by the price tag.
AVG Internet Security: This version of AVG Antivirus is much more robust than their free option. It not only stops viruses, malware, and spyware, it also comes with an extra layer of ransomware protection. Plus, you’ll get online payment protection, AVG’s Enhanced Firewall, and PC performance optimization. AVG Internet Security protects every Windows and Apple computer in your household, plus has antivirus for Android and costs just $79.99 a year.
AVG Ultimate: If you have a household (or small business) full of PCs, this protection plan might work best for you. With AVG Ultimate, you get all the protection found in AVG Internet Security, plus the addition of more powerful performance optimization with AVG PC TuneUp, which goes for $49.99 a year as a standalone product. AVG Ultimate protects and optimizes all of your Windows, Apple, and Android devices for only $99.99 a year.
The Good
As with all of our editor reviews, we put AVG Antivirus through its paces, so you don’t have to waste your own time. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite AVG benefits…
Webcam Protection
This new feature of AVG Internet Security prevents malware and unauthorized applications from gaining access to the webcam on your PC. With this feature enabled, you can rest easy knowing that nobody can capture images or videos on your webcam without your consent.
Comprehensive Help Library
AVG Antivirus provides their users with one of the most thorough knowledge base’s that we’ve encountered. You can quickly get 24/7 help with any of their Windows, Apple, or Android products. Answers to your questions can be found with a simple keyword search or by scrolling through tons of articles by device or product type.
Available Premium Support
If you need more one-on-one help with your AVG product, you can contact their customer support team at any time by phone or with an easy-to-use online ticket system. AVG also offers free consultations for their premium support package, which means an expert cybersecurity tech will remotely connect to your device to fix any problems for you.
Guaranteed Security Satisfaction
AVG wants you to be happy with all of their antivirus products, so they offer their users a full money-back guarantee for 30 days. If you’re not satisfied with any version of AVG Antivirus for any reason in the first month of your subscription, they’ll refund your entire purchase price.
The Bad
One of the biggest complaints we had about AVG Antivirus was the presence of pop-up ads in their software. While we expect that in the free version, we were disappointed to find advertisements for upgrades in even paid AVG products.
We also discovered less available protection for Apple users and a dashboard that’s nowhere near as sleek or simple as other antivirus products out there. But we were very impressed by AVG’s speedy security scans and lack of performance slowdown on PCs.
The Bottom Line
Less coverage for Mac users and the presence of ads in a slightly bulky security dashboard gave us pause when testing AVG Antivirus. But quick scanning and awesome features like Webcam Protection and Enhanced Firewall for PCs turned things around for us.
If you’re using a Windows computer, want unlimited device protection, and enjoy the confidence that comes with products made by a well-known name in the antivirus community, we definitely recommend giving AVG products a shot.
Our recommendation? Download AVG Internet Security today and try it free for a month!
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B. J.
I use AVG free ver 18.8 because that is the highest version that will work on XP 64 Pro. When all the shields are actually on, the program works as intended and is adequate for my needs.
Regardless of the operating system or even what version of AVG is used, me and 1,000’s of others seem to experience the same (years long) persistent flaw in the software. Every time the virus definitions update there is a significant chance that at least one of the shields will turn itself off. The only indication is the orange exclamation circle over the notification tray icon. In my case it’s the file or behavior shield and this is fixed by simply turning it back on provided I am paying attention.
AVG could do one of two things to address this situation. FIX THE PROBLEM !!! Of course there is a better chance that Trump will exit gracefully, than AVG fixing the problem. The other thing AVG could do is have a customizable pop up notification with audio that shows up every few minutes until all shields are running. Again, not very likely because they just don’t seem to give a crap.