gHacks technology news » avg http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:56:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Antivirus Software AVG 9 Released – AVG 9 Free Downloads Soon http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/06/antivirus-software-avg-9-released-avg-9-free-downloads-soon/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/06/antivirus-software-avg-9-released-avg-9-free-downloads-soon/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:35:07 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=16972 Security software companies like Symantec, Kaspersky or AVG are releasing new versions of their software programs every year. This year will be a special year though with the release of Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7 on October 22. Many users will now not only ask about the new features and improvements of the antivirus programs but also if and how they will run under Windows 7. AVG hat a bad year with AVG 8. Many users felt that it was a resource hog, slowing down system start and operations in Windows. It is still one of the most popular (and free) antivirus software programs out there and many of its users are waiting for the AVG 9 free release.

AVG has already release the commercial version of AVG 9 which can be downloaded and purchased from the AVG homepage. AVG 9 Free will be released on October 15 to the public and downloads will be available from the usual sources including the AVG website but also every major download portal.

avg 9 free

So what has changed between AVG 9 and AVG 8.5?

The homepage lists three new and improved features without going into detail:

  • NEW Enhanced Firewall (only available in AVG Internet Security) Prevents hackers from seeing inside your computer
  • NEW Superior Phishing Protection Checks to make sure web pages really are what they appear to be
  • NEW Enhanced Anti-Spam (only available in AVG Internet Security) Blocks spammers and scammers from clogging your system

AVG goes into greater detail when it comes to the performance improvements in AVG 9. They say that their newest antivirus software AVG 9 runs up to 50% faster than previous versions, boots up to 10-15% faster, uses 10-15% less computer memory while running and that it now takes less time and clicks to complete installations of the AVG software.

AVG 9 Free downloads are not live yet but will be from October 15 on. The downloads for the free version of AVG will be available at this site. Upgrades from AVG 8 will be handled by the installer of AVG 9 automatically. AVG 9 and AVG 9 free will be compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/06/antivirus-software-avg-9-released-avg-9-free-downloads-soon/feed/ 26 AVG Antivirus Linkscanner http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/21/avg-antivirus-linkscanner/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/21/avg-antivirus-linkscanner/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 07:36:26 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/21/avg-antivirus-linkscanner/ avgUsers of the antivirus software AVG already know the AVG Linkscanner as it is included as a module in the antivirus software. AVG has now made it available as a standalone application for the Windows operating system compatible with the Internet Explorer and Firefox web browser. The difference lies in the detail. AVG Linkscanner will install a software program but also an add-on on the computer system if the Firefox web browser is installed next to Internet Explorer.

Firefox users do not need the AVG Linkscanner program to be running in the background as they rely solely on the add-on for their web browser. Internet Explorer users on the other hand need the background application.

The background application does provide access to a few configuration settings and updates which the add-on does not offer (except for the updates probably). AVG Linkscanner wants to install a toolbar upon installation. This toolbar is not needed for the program to work properly but gives quick access to some of the functions of the security program.

avg linkscanner

Once installed AVG Linkscanner will automatically scan search result lists in popular search engines such as Google or Yahoo. It will query a database maintained by AVG that returns a safety rating for each website in the results. A green icon indicates a safe website whereas a red icon indicates danger. AVG will display a general warning about the page if a link that has been rated as dangerous is clicked on. The user can select to go back or continue to the website in question.

avg

AVG Linkscanner is a viable alternative for users who feel insecure on the Internet. Experienced users on the other hand usually have the tools, knowledge and experience to analyse a website by themselves.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/21/avg-antivirus-linkscanner/feed/ 5 Anti Virus Software Removal Tools Overview http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/16/anti-virus-software-removal-tools-overview/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/16/anti-virus-software-removal-tools-overview/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:00:36 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/16/anti-virus-software-removal-tools-overview/ anti virus softwareUninstalling anti virus software on a computer system is sometimes not a trivial task as they tend to add their components deep into the system to provide protection from various threats PC users face these days. The need for anti virus software removal tools arises if the default uninstallation fails. This usually leads to a messed up computer system that could throw all kinds of errors at the user. It could also break other anti virus software either during installation or usage.

So called anti virus removal tools have been created to effectively remove traces of anti virus software from the computer system. They usually run a series of processes that delete files, Registry settings and other parameters or options that have been installed by the antivirus software during installation.

Below is a collection of anti virus software removal tools that have been created by the developers of the programs to aid their users if they encounter difficulties uninstalling it.

anti virus software linux

Did we miss antivirus software uninstallation tools in the list? Let us know in the comments.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/16/anti-virus-software-removal-tools-overview/feed/ 10 AVG Remover http://www.ghacks.net/2009/01/31/avg-remover/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/01/31/avg-remover/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 09:20:00 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=10239 Software companies that release specialized tools to remove their software programs from a computer system are usually regarded with suspicion by many users. Many feel that there should not be specialized uninstallers as the regular uninstaller should be able to handle the uninstallation as good. The question that comes up is why they do not make the specialized uninstaller the default one.

AVG Remover has been specifically designed to remove the antivirus software program AVG Antivirus from a computer system. It will remove all parts of the AVG installation from a computer system including all Registry settings and files on disk. The program has been designed by AVG software developers as a last resort. They let us know that the AVG Remover tool “is the least option to be used in case the AVG uninstallation / repair installation process has failed repeatedly”.

The software program could therefor prove to be useful to remove AVG after a system crash or some other catastrophe that rendered the default uninstaller useless.

Similar tools exist for Kaspersky software in the form of KAV Remover and the Norton Removal Tool.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/01/31/avg-remover/feed/ 10 AVG 8 Update Marked User32.dll As Virus Infected http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/10/avg-8-update-marked-user32dll-as-virus-infected/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/10/avg-8-update-marked-user32dll-as-virus-infected/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:06:20 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=8190 An update of the popular anti-virus software program AVG let a false positive slip through quality control which caused widespread panic on the Internet by desperate AVG users looking for help. The update detected a virus, more precisely Trojan Horse PSW.BANKER4.APSA, in the important system file user32.dll in Windows XP. User32.dll allows programs to implement a graphical user interface and is considered a core component of the Windows XP operating system.

Users who followed the advice of the AVG software program were greeted with a Blue Screen of Death as soon as they clicked on the Heal button to remove the virus. Any attempts to boot the system afterwards failed because of the missing file. AVG was quick to react and released another update that corrected the issue.

This does not help those users who already cleaned the file in Windows. Here is the official information on how to fix the system for those users:


The system can be restored by following the steps in one of the comments on forum (using safe mode or recovery console and copying c:\windows\system32\dllcache\user32.dll into the right location)

If you need to restore deleted files from AVG Virus Vault you can do it this way:

- Open AVG user interface.
- Choose “Virus Vault” option from the “History” menu.
- Locate the file that was incorrectly removed and select it (one click).
- Click on the “Restore” button.

A possibility would have been to cross-check the detected virus with another anti-virus software or an online virus scanner to be sure that it is indeed infected before deleting the file.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/11/10/avg-8-update-marked-user32dll-as-virus-infected/feed/ 25 AVG Anti Rootkit free http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/05/avg-anti-rootkit-free/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/05/avg-anti-rootkit-free/#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2007 08:46:31 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/05/avg-anti-rootkit-free/ Rootkits received a publicity boost with Sony’s rootkit infested CDs that was supposed to be some kind of copy protection. Since then rootkits have become an ever growing threat on the Internet in line with Viruses, Trojans, Phishing and Spam. The major problem with rootkits is that most users think that their virus scanner protects them from rootkits as well which is most of the time not the case. Rootkits are much harder to detect by normal means and software that can scan systems for rootkits should be used by inexperienced users to be able to detect at least the most common ones.

AVG Anti Rootkit is a free software that scans a computer for rootkits and removes them if one or more of those have been identified. The anti rootkit application can be used to either quickly scan the computer for possible rootkits and the other to make an in depth scan which takes longer but is more thorough. The in depth scan for Rootkits takes some time depending on the amount of files and size of your hard drives.

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