Possible AVG Replacment.

[speytone]

I have been using AVG for years and just recently switched to AVG 8 Free. I have noticed a considerable difference in my PCs performance, I know its for the better I am sure but im looking for something thats effective and doesnt slow my stuff down to a friggin halt.

 

Is there any other converted AVG users out there? If so what did you switch too?

[kmillerusaf]

Converted from AVG to Avast! 4 on my desktop and use Avira Personal on my laptop. I am have with both.

[Augeas]

I was a long time user of AVG, from 6 upwards. However I was hit by a win32.virut virus which AVG didn't stop, and didn't detect when I scanned the infected files, so I switched to Avast (which did detect the virus). It's fine, no great drain on resources, but the interface is crappy compared to AVG's excellent offering. I was happy with AVG 8 and it's a shame to move, but once hit by a box rebuild you tend to get a little wary.

[login123]

AVG for a long time, then to Avast on one machine, Avira on another. Avast seems to run a little heavier.

Avira was just today, and found 2 items that AVG had missed. Avast on a relative's machine found some items that McAfee had missed.

 

Rridgely's advice in post #4 here: http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=10098&hl= worked for xp home to shut off the nag screen.

[Andavari]

Out of the few freeware full featured antivirus programs I now much prefer Avast which I've been using for several months now. Just remember if you don't like the media player looking Avast you can turn that off to give it the look of a standard Windows program.

 

The only other antivirus I'm waiting to try out is Microsoft's upcoming freeware one that's supposedly being worked on.

[kmillerusaf]

Hmm... An A/V by Microsoft eh? I used Windows Defender for a bit but just didn't feel very safe so I hope they do better with their A/V. I much rather have a Spybot S&D or MalwareBytes' in the background providing realtime protection with WinPatrol batting 2nd.

[crazyperson]

I like free stuff and well Avast Home Edition is like heaven. It's free and so far it seems damn good.

[LIL NOOB]

I use AVG and I'm pretty happy with it.

[Corona]

Over the years AVG 5, 6 & 7 (free versions) were my AV of choice. Now I use Avast (free version) & it's been excellent for the past year or so. Just like old AVG would watch AdAwares' scans, Avast watches MBAMs' scans. I used to use AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. I find MBAM superior. It's probably a good thing to install and run AA & Spybot once, just to be sure. But I felt safe with getting rid of them afterwards and just using MBAM. It's soooo much faster.

 

And if you want to prove to the world that you really talk like a pirate, ye need Avast, matey.

[Robbie]

I used AVG for years but since 7.5 was discontinued I had been disappointed with AVG 8 and 8.5. It slowed down the startup on both my PC and laptop and did seem to cause some performance issues. I tried Avast but wasn't keen on it so then switched to Avira. Avira works great on my laptop (running Vista) and I haven't had any problems but I notice my PC (running XP) has become sluggish quite a few times and on a handful of times unresponsive - I've had to power off and restart the computer. The latter has happened normally when right clicking a file, though as I said, only a handful of times. I googled for the problem and found a few posts along similar lines, all on XP with freezing after right clicking a file, and usually on a PC not laptop. Hit and miss I suppose as I've had no problems at all with Avira on my Vista laptop.

 

So I'm sticking with Avira on my laptop but I am looking into changing again to something different for my XP PC. Shame, as the startup time has been great, the same as AVG 7.5 was.

[JDPower]

I used AVG for years but since 7.5 was discontinued I had been disappointed with AVG 8 and 8.5. It slowed down the startup on both my PC and laptop and did seem to cause some performance issues. I tried Avast but wasn't keen on it so then switched to Avira. Avira works great on my laptop (running Vista) and I haven't had any problems but I notice my PC (running XP) has become sluggish quite a few times and on a handful of times unresponsive - I've had to power off and restart the computer. The latter has happened normally when right clicking a file, though as I said, only a handful of times. I googled for the problem and found a few posts along similar lines, all on XP with freezing after right clicking a file, and usually on a PC not laptop. Hit and miss I suppose as I've had no problems at all with Avira on my Vista laptop.

Interesting, I switched to Avira last week (since AVG 7.5 was apparently at it's final final deadline) and have had the laptop lock up a couple of times after right clicking a file too, not something that ever happens usually. May have to give Avast a try if it starts to happen regularly.

[Tom AZ]

I've experienced the right-click problem a couple of times on my desktop. However, it's somewhat infrequent. For those of you who have had this problem, can you definitively conclude that it's an Avira related issue?

 

One question about Avast . . . does it provide resident e-mail protection for POP3 e-mail clients? As I recall, it did not. I think that's one reason I went with Avira Premium. That feature has been a life-saver on a couple of different occasions.

[Andavari]

I've experienced the right-click problem a couple of times on my desktop. However, it's somewhat infrequent. For those of you who have had this problem, can you definitively conclude that it's an Avira related issue?

I had that issue with AntiVir on numerous occasions when I used to use it, seems like using the right click shell extension for the scanner several times over the course of a Windows session would cause it. The only work around is to reboot for it to work again. Also after it would start doing that in a Windows session I wouldn't trust scanning with the main program either not knowing how far the issue extended.

[JDPower]

I've experienced the right-click problem a couple of times on my desktop. However, it's somewhat infrequent. For those of you who have had this problem, can you definitively conclude that it's an Avira related issue?

Well it's happened three times since i installed Antivir a week ago, never happened before that and have not installed or updated any other software. I wouldn't call it definitive (hadn't made the connection till reading the post above) but seems a likely suspect.

 

Will give it a couple more weeks to see if it happens again or was just a coincidence.

[tcoffeep]

I switched to AntiVir after AVG caught a case of bloat.

[Robbie]

Well it's happened three times since i installed Antivir a week ago, never happened before that and have not installed or updated any other software. I wouldn't call it definitive (hadn't made the connection till reading the post above) but seems a likely suspect.

 

Will give it a couple more weeks to see if it happens again or was just a coincidence.

I'm still getting it happening now and again and to be honest it's beginning to get annoying. Especially as the main reason for me right clicking on a file is not to scan it with AntiVir but rather to use the Send To part of the context menu to copy the file to a Backup folder I have (and I then back up to a flash drive the Backup folder once a day). Instead I have to power off the computer (although once or twice Windows Explorer stops and then restarts, solving the problem to a certain extent although the computer is then sluggish until after a restart) and then go back to the file and right click once again. Since I last posted 4 days ago I've probably had to restart the computer about 5 times after experiencing this problem. Like yourself, before installing Avira I never once had this problem occur.

 

I mentioned in my last post my laptop was running fine with AntiVir - not long after my previous post on April 18 it did lock up after right clicking, on this occasion I right clicked on a partition in Computer (I wanted to check something in Properties) and I think the problem was sorted by Vista allowing me to solve the problem by ending and restarting Windows Explorer. So far it's the only time it has happened on my laptop.

 

I think it's obvious that there is some bug in Avira AntiVir which is causing these problems. I need to find something else for my PC as it's too much of a problem on there but I'm prepared to give it a bit longer on my laptop as the problem has only happened that once. But I don't know what to replace it with. AVG 8.5 is a no-no and I'm not keen on Avast. What else is there? Comodo have a free Internet Security Suite (I already use the Comodo Firewall on my PC) but the reviews I've seen for the anti-virus side of the suite haven't been that great.

[Icedrake]

To Robbie: The only other free antivirus I could find that has realtime protection other than the ones you mentioned was PC Tools AntiVirus. Link: http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/

[Anomaly]

You people having issues with Avira are you using the newest version that just came out or the previous version? The previous version works perfectly and will be supported for about another year or longer. This is one reason I don't rush after updates as soon as they come out when my older version is working fine.

[Andavari]

You people having issues with Avira are you using the newest version that just came out or the previous version?

Those right click issues have been there for a long time now, as in years. Last year it was the reason I stopped using AntiVir because after awhile it gets too frustrating to deal with.

[Anomaly]

Those right click issues have been there for a long time now, as in years. Last year it was the reason I stopped using AntiVir because after awhile it gets too frustrating to deal with.

 

Running Avira on many machines over the years and have never experienced it. Does it happen after you right click scan or any kind of right click?

[Andavari]

Does it happen after you right click scan or any kind of right click?

In my situation it was only when using AntiVir's right click virus scanning ability which is actually a necessity for a quick virus scan of downloaded files in the freeware version since directory scanning isn't available in the GUI. After a while and several uses of it I'd always have to reboot in order for it to work again.

 

What's being explained above in other posts sounds like the issue has morphed into something more annoying.

 

For anyone not sure about Avast and the way it looks in screenshots on download sites if don't enable the Avast skins during installation that media player looking GUI will be turned off by default. Disabling the skins during installation gives a standard Windows GUI that's much easier and quicker to use, of course the skins can always be re-enabled after installation by configuring Avast.

 

An antivirus GUI can't get more straightforward and easier to use than this:

[Robbie]

Running Avira on many machines over the years and have never experienced it. Does it happen after you right click scan or any kind of right click?

For me it is after just right clicking on a file before choosing any action. It can happen after the first right click I make after switching on my computer or after making a few previous right clicks - the freezing up of the computer isn't happening after every right click but instead happens randomly. I don't right click to use the AntiVir "on demand" scan that much, I mainly use it to choose the Send To option to send (copy) a file to a Backup folder I have.

 

I've just checked over at the Avira support forums and there are several threads about this very issue. The general advice appears to be to remove the scan option from the Context Menu, but that isn't a good way of solving a problem in my opinion. The other advice, as is mentioned in this thread, is to revert back to an installation of AntiVir 8 but Andvari has said that as a solution that doesn't work either. A couple of the threads in the Avira support forums have suggested a conflict between AntiVir and Comodo, I do have the latter on my PC as my firewall and it is my PC that is having the biggest problem. However I''m sure that there are people who do not have Comodo who also are experiencing problems - my laptop doesn't have Comodo yet it too has crashed after a right click, albeit only the once (so far!).

[Tom AZ]

For me it is after just right clicking on a file before choosing any action. It can happen after the first right click I make after switching on my computer or after making a few previous right clicks - the freezing up of the computer isn't happening after every right click but instead happens randomly. I don't right click to use the AntiVir "on demand" scan that much, I mainly use it to choose the Send To option to send (copy) a file to a Backup folder I have.

Same here. Sometimes I just right click just to delete a shortcut and I run into this problem. Hopefully a solution or fix will be found. I like AntiVir a lot -- except for this little bug.

[Robbie]

Same here. Sometimes I just right click just to delete a shortcut and I run into this problem. Hopefully a solution or fix will be found. I like AntiVir a lot -- except for this little bug.

I forgot about using the right click to also Erase (I have Eraser installed) a file or delete a shortcut! I use those options a few times a week also.

 

What I may do, if the problem continues, is to disable the Context Menu entry for AntiVir and then re-enable it if I need to use it (which isn't very often). Various posts at the Avira AntiVir board have said that the way to do this is via Control Panel --> Add / Remove Programs and then changing the setup for Avira by removing the Shell Extension option (and then obviously doing the reverse if the Shell Extension needs to be re-enabled), a rather convoluted process - it should be an option in the program control centre interface really. However, I have a free program on my computer called ShellExView which enables the Context Menu entry to be easily disabled / enabled so I will try disabling the Context Menu entry for AntiVir on my PC to see if AntiVir works any better.

[writeaway]

Hi All,

I'm still using AVG 7.5. Yeah, I've been getting a message every morning that time has run out. However, when I manually check for updates, I get updates. And, for the last two days, it has been automatically updating again. I've been meaning to ditch it and install either Avast or Avira but just haven't gotten around to it . Glad to see all the posts about Avira because I sure don't want that right click problem so many of you describe. Thanks for the warning.