AVG’s most popular product is its free antivirus, but the company also makes two enhanced security suites that are geared for users who don’t mind paying for additional protection–as long as it’s worthwhile. AVG Anti-Virus 9 introduces a few new features, claiming faster scan times, faster boot times, and other under-the-hood improvements.

Users who’ve used AVG 8 will find the interface nearly identical, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, firewall protection, or updating. We’d like to see this streamlined, since there’s no reason to click on any of them without wanting more details; it is a spare interface, otherwise. You’ll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you’d like. Other perks include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background. There’s also a new identity-theft assistance service, available for free and provided by a third party.

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In order to provide the highest level of antivirus protection for users of AVG Free, AVG Technologies continuously develops information about new viruses. This information, as well as product improvements, is provided to the users of AVG Free in the form of Updates. Timely virus database updates are the critical component for the effectiveness of any antivirus program. In order to ensure that your AVG is providing the maximum amount of antivirus protection, your AVG Free System must be kept up-to-date.

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AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall Edition is the ideal product to protect your single home PC or workstation from external threats such as viruses, the Internet, and other network users. It is simple to install and operate. No IT expertise is required and it can run in the background. All unauthorized network activity is blocked automatically, allowing you to get on with your work without worrying about external attacks.

All file and e-mail activity is continually scanned to eliminate the threat of viruses. It is extremely fast, reliable and light on resources, so, no matter how demanding a user you are, it will not slow down your performance.

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AVG’s most popular product is its free antivirus, but the company also makes two enhanced security suites that are geared for users who don’t mind paying for additional protection–as long as it’s worthwhile. AVG Anti-Virus 9 introduces a few new features, claiming faster scan times, faster boot times, and other under-the-hood improvements.

Users who’ve used AVG 8 will find the interface nearly identical, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, firewall protection, or updating. We’d like to see this streamlined, since there’s no reason to click on any of them without wanting more details; it is a spare interface, otherwise. You’ll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you’d like. Other perks include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode. The program doesn’t obviously tax your system when scanning or when running in the background. There’s also a new identity-theft assistance service, available for free and provided by a third party.

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AVG Free provides the bare necessities when it comes to security, but that should be enough for savvy Windows users. You’ll get a combined antivirus and antimalware engine, LinkScanner, and e-mail scanning. AVG Free 9 introduces a few new features, with improvements focused on performance, including claims of faster scan and boot times. One new feature is the Identity Theft Recovery Unit. Only for users in the United States, ITRU is a business partnership with Identity Guard which provides “consumer identity theft solutions,” accessible only from the AVG toolbar in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The interface is nearly unchanged from the last version, and generally it’s easy to use. From the main window, though, you must double-click to get further information on any feature, whether virus scanning, LinkScanner settings, or updating. Streamlining this to one click would be helpful. A scheduling utility automates both scans and updates, while the upgrade ad at the screen’s bottom can be easily hidden using the Hide Notification button. When starting a scan, a slider makes it easy to jump between Slow, Automatic, and Fast scans: the faster the scan, the less comprehensive it is, so users should take advantage of the scan optimization that is recommended during installation to speed up that first scan. A progress meter for regular scans would’ve been useful, though. Should a virus create serious problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.

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