AVG Anti-Virus Free: photo tour

Faster AVG Anti-Virus Free for 2011

The never-ending mantra chanted by security suite vendors sounds a lot like "faster scans, easier to use, better performance", and AVG has released a new version of AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 that it says accomplishes all three. Certainly, the scans are faster, it does install more quickly and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use. Read more of our review here.

Quicker install

Including the EULA, the new AVG has sped up its installation process, although it's not as zippy as the minute-long installations that some paid competitors offer. We found that the program can go from completed download to ready to use in about five minutes. One big change is that the number of install screens users see has been cut from 13 last year to five in this year.

Toolbar install

If you're not sure whether you want the toolbar, don't install it. However, if you later change your mind, you'll have to run the installer again to get it into your browsers.

Your first scan

After installing, AVG Free will ask if you want to run a scan. This isn't a quick scan, but a deep system scan to catalogue your safe files and determine if your computer has been compromised by a threat. Depending on the system, it could take an hour or more, but the new AVG does a good job of respecting system resource usage when scanning.

Running a scan

While running a scan, note the new interface colour scheme, which makes the navigation stand out better and the one-click scan option on the left. Also, if your system is not secure, a "Fix" button will appear at the top of the window.

Resource management

Another important new feature is the resource-managing slide at the bottom of the window. Drag it to adjust how big of a burden the scan will be on your system, including the default setting for taking more resources only when your system is idle.

Double-click for more details

Single-click on an option from the main interface to see basic info about the feature at the bottom of the window. Double-click and you'll jump to a new window with some basic controls for that specific feature.

All-purpose shield

The Resident Shield is part of AVG's behavioural detection system that continually guards your system against threats. It has some automatic settings, too, which are good for the set-it-and-forget-it types.

PC Analyzer

The PC Analyzer option is new this year and scans your system for Registry and disk errors. It includes a disk defragmenter and a broken-shortcut cleaner, as well. Although the feature is restricted in full to paid users, if you have the free version, the PC Analyzer comes with a one-time offer to clean all errors it finds.

Desktop gadget

There's a new desktop gadget for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users that lets them initiate scans and updates with one click, without having to open the full interface. It also contains links to AVG's Twitter and Facebook pages, which the company uses to bolster its support for the free version.

Plenty of options

If you like your security highly customised, AVG still offers a lot in the way of fine-tuning your security suite's behaviour.

AVG toolbar

Although toolbars have long since fallen out of favour with the browser cognoscenti because they decrease stability and slow down browser performance, AVG says that the toolbar remains a popular feature. Along with the standard option of adding buttons to the toolbar that access your most visited sites such as Facebook or your banking site, this year's AVG toolbar introduces a button that ties directly into the LinkScanner tech. It lets you know if the page you're on is safe, unsafe, potentially unsafe or unknown using LinkScanner's colour-coded scheme of green, red, yellow and grey respectively. Fortunately, the toolbar is not required to get access to the benefits of LinkScanner.

Toolbar impact in Internet Explorer 9 beta

As you can see, Internet Explorer 9 beta says the AVG's toolbar has a not-insignificant impact on performance. Whether you prefer the browser's performance or enhanced security, is a choice that you need to make individually.

Safe Search

AVG LinkScanner is available as part of AVG Free or separately. Either way, it builds into your browser search result rankings, using the colour-coded system shown here. It also will rank links on your Facebook wall. Sorry, Chrome, Safari and Opera fans: this is for Firefox and Internet Explorer only.

Via Download.com