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03/28/2011 05:02:39 PM · #1 |
My AVG anti-virus contract is due for renewal in the next couple of days. When I went to pay for the renewal it offered me "AVG's new PC Tuneup", which offers the following features:
Eliminates PC Crashes, Freezes & Slowdowns
Remove junk files
Increase your Internet speed
Fix registry errors
Recover lost files
Free up hard disk space
Protect your privacy
Tweak 280+ Windows settings
And much more!
It sounds useful, but there are a lot of programs out there which sound better than they really are. Does anyone have experience with this program? I am undecided whether to buy it or not. |
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03/28/2011 05:14:34 PM · #2 |
| Hey Gina, I have the free version of AVG anti-virus, I love it. Don't they have a 30 day demo? |
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03/28/2011 05:17:35 PM · #3 |
| Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, just Google it, it's a free download from Microsoft. I've installed it on a bunch of computers and never had any problems. |
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03/28/2011 05:26:11 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials |
Did you have a bad experience with AVG? I have always found their update process much less annoying than Microsoft, Norton or the like, who tend to hijack your computer for updates rather than giving you control of the process. |
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03/28/2011 05:33:51 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by BrennanOB:
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials |
Did you have a bad experience with AVG? I have always found their update process much less annoying than Microsoft, Norton or the like, who tend to hijack your computer for updates rather than giving you control of the process. |
Not at all, never used AVG but I have had bad experiences with Symantec, Norton and Kaspersky, all for different reasons.
And while you're right, MS does tend to do stuff without any confirmation or the likes, for a lot of users this is a good thing. How often have you seen people just cancel pop up windows endlessly because they don't really understand what it means.
I guess it depends what you're looking for. |
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03/28/2011 05:36:00 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, just Google it, it's a free download from Microsoft. I've installed it on a bunch of computers and never had any problems. |
I've already got Microsoft Security Essentials on my computer and I must admit that it seems to find things that AVG misses. But it doesn't seem to run scans automatically if my computer isn't on or is in use at the scheduled time, while AVG never misses a scan, so I feel happier having both.
But the question is about an ADDITIONAL program they are offering me. Despite my computer only being a year old, it doesn't seem to run as quickly as it should and I would like it to run more efficiently if this program really works. |
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03/28/2011 05:43:24 PM · #7 |
From my own experiences, most programs that offer to fix windows problems and bugs tend to cause more damage then harm, especially those which edit registry values and entries. A lot of the 'promises' seem to be inflated IMO. Here's my thoughts, take it with some grain.
Eliminates PC Crashes, Freezes & Slowdowns - If it were that easy, MS would have introduced it in an update
Remove junk files - yep. clears your caches and temp files
Increase your Internet speed unlikely
Fix registry errors If it's not broken, don't fix it, especially with the registry
Recover lost files - Other software can do this as well, and many of them are free
Free up hard disk space - Deletes caches, temp files, etc. Stuff you can do on your own, or with other free software
Protect your privacy - How? Is this just a firewall?
Tweak 280+ Windows settings - You can do this manually, or with other software. Mostly junk features like "make all windows 70% opaque" and other similar stuff. Most of this stuff tends to be options that are available manually, but hidden behind some obscure sub-menu within windows.
And much more!
If you're actually having problems with some of those things, sure, it might help a bit, but most of those things aren't issues for everyday users and tend to do more harm than good.
here's a good link with some relatively safe ways of speeding up your PC.
//www.dumblittleman.com/2007/05/top-12-ways-to-speed-up-your-computer.html
and a link that has other ways (some are more dangerous than others) to speed things up:
//helpdeskgeek.com/windows-xp-tips/99-ways-to-make-your-computer-blazingly-fast/
Message edited by author 2011-03-28 17:48:31.
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03/28/2011 05:46:07 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials, just Google it, it's a free download from Microsoft. I've installed it on a bunch of computers and never had any problems. |
I've already got Microsoft Security Essentials on my computer and I must admit that it seems to find things that AVG misses. But it doesn't seem to run scans automatically if my computer isn't on or is in use at the scheduled time, while AVG never misses a scan, so I feel happier having both.
But the question is about an ADDITIONAL program they are offering me. Despite my computer only being a year old, it doesn't seem to run as quickly as it should and I would like it to run more efficiently if this program really works. |
Full scans aren't essential, so long as the AV is running it's scanning files as you open or download them anyway. If you do want them to run from time to time, just leave the computer on on the night the scan is scheduled.
Another thing, I'm not sure that running two types of AV together is a good idea, it's probably putting a larger load on the system than necessary, and can cause problems, I'm pretty sure every time you install AV it asks you to make sure you don't have any other AV running at the same time.
But as for your original question, one of the reasons I didn't like Norton and Symantec is that they attempt to do a lot of that stuff, and I always found it caused more problems than it solved. Like I say though, I've never used AVG so I'm afraid I can't really say for sure :-/ |
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03/28/2011 05:53:10 PM · #9 |
Im not a fan of the all in one tuneup programs, but I have control issues.
That said, AVG has always been well reputed, and other than the relatively high cost their tuneup got very good reviews by the editors of PCMagazine, and CNET gave it a fairly rare 5 out of 5. That said, the user reviews are much worse, which means that if you don't know what you are doing, you might not like what you get. Read the reviews, especially the bad ratings and see which group of user you think you belong in. |
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03/28/2011 06:01:43 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by BrennanOB:
Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:
Every time someone asks me about AV now I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials |
Did you have a bad experience with AVG? I have always found their update process much less annoying than Microsoft, Norton or the like, who tend to hijack your computer for updates rather than giving you control of the process. |
I'm also running Security Essentials on all my machines. It's *much* less intrusive than most of the free or paid third-party solutions. It's true that you don't manually control the update process, but I have never found that process to be intrusive at all. My machines all run various flavors of 64-bit Win7, with various processors ranging from a very basic Core2 Duo to quad-core i7.
By contrast, I was running AVG (the free version) and I had repeating problems with failure to update, something which is pretty much unforgivable in my book. I also was not satisfied with the product performance; it was very intrusive while running, so I had to ensure that it would only run when no one was using the machine, which in turn required that the machine be left on and not in sleep mode. |
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03/28/2011 07:59:09 PM · #11 |
I must admit I've been a bit uncertain about renewing AVG anti-virus altogether. Maybe running both programs together isn't such a good idea (I wonder if that could be what's slowing my computer down), and Microsoft Security Essentials has found a few problems over the past year, while AVG has never found anything at all.
I just get worried every time I see a message from MSE saying: "You haven't run a scan on your computer for a while. This could put your computer at risk." AVG never tells me this. I suppose I could try changing my scan schedule to make sure it does run, but I usually have the internet open on my computer even when I'm busy doing something else, so this may stop the scan from running.
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03/28/2011 08:04:52 PM · #12 |
Frankly the most common cause of slow running is lack of RAM. Vista is a PIG, Photoshop is a PIG. They say they can run with 3 gig, but only with a lot of file swapping. I upgraded to 8 gigs and things move along much more quickly now.
Anti virus is pretty important, but when you look for a culprit for why your machine is slow, look to memory first. |
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03/28/2011 08:21:55 PM · #13 |
I've got 4 gigs on my computer, running Windows 7. So far I've only been running PS Elements 7, though I did have a trial of Photoshop a few weeks back. Despite having to overpay drastically for it (discounts don't seem to apply to South Africa), I was trying to buy it tonight, but kept getting errors at checkout. I'll have to try again in the morning.
I think I'll have to look into getting more RAM though. Just don't feel like schlepping my computer around, and when I added RAM to my old machine myself, I got some horrible error messages and was only able to get the machine going again through a restore disk - though I was able to stop it without actually returning Windows (XP on that one) to its original state. I really don't want to go through that again, so I suppose I will have to take the computer back to the shop.
I suppose I will give PC Tuneup a miss - maybe I should forget all about AVG and just rely on Microsoft Security Essentials. |
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03/28/2011 08:41:46 PM · #14 |
| this is one of those things that there will be tons of opinions on. For me, I put Norton Internet Security on all my pc's. There is a reason it is constantly rated #1 by many pc magazines. |
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03/28/2011 09:05:20 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by smardaz:
this is one of those things that there will be tons of opinions on. For me, I put Norton Internet Security on all my pc's. There is a reason it is constantly rated #1 by many pc magazines. |
...hmmm ever consider that they might have an unbelievable advertising budget. I had Norton's and got rid of it. It was a resource hog, was replete with errors and the only way to get rid of it was to delete it from the registry.
It could very well be that things have improved a great deal since then, but I am quite satisfied with Microsof Security Essentials.
Whatever works for you is what you should opt for.
Ray |
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03/28/2011 10:29:12 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by RayEthier:
Originally posted by smardaz:
this is one of those things that there will be tons of opinions on. For me, I put Norton Internet Security on all my pc's. There is a reason it is constantly rated #1 by many pc magazines. |
...hmmm ever consider that they might have an unbelievable advertising budget. I had Norton's and got rid of it. It was a resource hog, was replete with errors and the only way to get rid of it was to delete it from the registry.
It could very well be that things have improved a great deal since then, but I am quite satisfied with Microsof Security Essentials.
Whatever works for you is what you should opt for.
Ray |
yeah i amm sure that plays into it, but if you havent used it for a while i think you would be pleasantly surprised. they have really slimmed it down, installs fast,works fast. good stuff. |
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03/28/2011 11:48:33 PM · #17 |
In my years of running a PC... since about '91.... Norton is the only AV program that actually allowed me to get a virus. ...
AVG is a great piece of software, no complaints.
But, currently, I find Avast! to be better suited for my needs.
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03/29/2011 12:29:26 AM · #18 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
In my years of running a PC... since about '91.... Norton is the only AV program that actually allowed me to get a virus. ...
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that you know of |
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03/29/2011 05:14:51 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
In my years of running a PC... since about '91.... Norton is the only AV program that actually allowed me to get a virus. ...
AVG is a great piece of software, no complaints.
But, currently, I find Avast! to be better suited for my needs. |
...and good luck getting rid of it if you ever want to replace it. :O)
Ray
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03/29/2011 07:41:49 AM · #20 |
| I've also had an issue with AVG not giving an option to disable the anti-virus program. I tried installing a trial version of Paint Shop Pro X3 and nothing I did could get it to run. I don't know whether this is an issue with Microsoft Security Essentials or not. |
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03/29/2011 08:58:55 AM · #21 |
FWIW, I've never been a fan of Norton either, but I do hear that they have really stepped it up over the past few years. A buddy of mine (who should know, he majored in computer science) uses the product on all his PCs and is quite satisfied.
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03/29/2011 10:10:27 AM · #22 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Eliminates PC Crashes, Freezes & Slowdowns
Increase your Internet speed
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Used car salesmen type promises like these really turn me off. I used to use AVG, but after seeing them start to hawk this sort of stuff a while back I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials. |
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03/29/2011 01:29:08 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by RayEthier:
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
In my years of running a PC... since about '91.... Norton is the only AV program that actually allowed me to get a virus. ...
AVG is a great piece of software, no complaints.
But, currently, I find Avast! to be better suited for my needs. |
...and good luck getting rid of it if you ever want to replace it. :O)
Ray |
Don't things like that hack you off? |
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03/30/2011 07:00:25 AM · #24 |
Originally posted by smardaz:
this is one of those things that there will be tons of opinions on. For me, I put Norton Internet Security on all my pc's. There is a reason it is constantly rated #1 by many pc magazines. |
I've just read about a product called Norton 360 in our local newspaper. As I haven't committed to renewing AVG yet, I wasn't wondering if this is a better option. Is this what you're using? |
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03/30/2011 07:27:58 AM · #25 |
I have used all the free AV software since 1995 and have also paid for some - Norton, Mcafee etc - but the only one I have found that works for me is Kaspersky Pure (which I tried on the advice of the network security team when I worked in a very large organisation). Not failed me (yet!), so I can recommend it 100%.
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