Add Your ReviewAVG, formerly known as Grisoft, was founded in 1991 in the Czech Republic. The company provides computer security products, focusing on software development, threat prevention and detection, risk analysis, and research and development. AVG has received a number of independent IT certifications and awards from Virus Bulletin, ICSA, and West Coast Labs, among several others.
The Good
- Complete antivirus coverage
- Wide variety of devices covered
- Community protection network
AVG's Premium package packs the punch. It offers complete antivirus coverage for a PC, tablet, and smartphone at an affordable price. AVG also has several free mobile downloads, such as the basic mobile protection package, memory clean up tool, tune-up app, social media privacy fix, and even an image-editing tool.
AVG effectively blocks malware, as demonstrated in several independent IT tests. The antivirus technology that AVG uses involves multiple detection layers, which provides excellent PC protection. AVG scans for files matching known virus signatures, variants of the recognized viruses, software behavior that is characteristically malicious and hostile file behavior. AVG recently improved their method of sending virus signature updates to users. Daily file updates are small, so they don't take as long, and it is no longer necessary to restart your computer after the update.
AVG's use of a community protection network through cloud technology is a newer feature. All customers benefit from this cloud service that keeps track of prevalent computer files, a database that users can opt into contributing to.
The Bad
- Limited for Apple users
- Parental controls
While AVG does offer some kind of antivirus protection for most popular devices, these options are limited for Apple users. AVG has a basic free antivirus download for Macs, but not a premium protection product. They offer a few free downloadable apps for iPhones, but not the full protection that Android users get with the Antivirus Pro for Mobile. Also, the parental controls are not included with AVG's standard antivirus products, but need to be purchased separately in a "family safety" package. Depending on your security preferences and needs, this could be a positive or a negative.
The Bottom Line
There is not much to complain about AVG. They offer excellent antivirus protection at an affordable price.
