AVG from Grisoft has always been a popular anti-virus program, especially since they offer a very effective free version of their paid software. Well just recently, Grisoft released version 8.0 of AVG, both free and paid versions. This review was based off the paid version of the program, but it also applies to the free version since everything in the free version is in the paid version. The only different is the paid version has some added features that the free version doesn't have...more on that later.
AVG has always been praised for its simple and easy-to-use interface and Grisoft has redesigned the interface in version 8.0, but it is still very clean and simple, which we like very much. The cool blue color scheme and tabbed/module-like interface allows for quick interaction and no confusion at all. At the home screen when you open the program, you'll get an overview of all the programs' modules and their status, allowing you to quickly see what is running correctly and what needs attention. There is also useful information in the lower-left corner that give you details about your license information and last update/scan.
The new interface in version 8.0 continues with AVG's slick and clean interface that allows for quick interaction and effectiveness.
The new feature to version 8.0 is actually quite useful, perhaps one of the most useful features we have seen in an anti-virus program. The new SafeSearch Link Scan feature checks search results when you use one of the major search engines against AVG's database for known malicious sites and warns you of the potentially harmful link. Safe search results will have a green check mark next to it and sites without any information in the database will have a gray question mark next to them. We found that SafeSearch worked very well and quickly displayed their results after we performed the search. It is definitely a great feature for today's Web users who have to be careful to dodge potentially dangerous sites where your computer could become infected with viruses or spyware.
AVG 8.0 includes a new feature called LinkScanner, which checks search results against AVG's database of malicious sites.
Next to each search result a little icon will appear telling you if it is a safe site, an unsafe site, or if there isn't any information in the database about it. You can hover over each icon to view more detailed information about the site in their database.
The paid version of AVG Anti-Virus also includes spyware and rootkit protection as well as instant messaging and e-mail scanning. However, it does not include an anti-spam system, but AVG Internet Security does include that along with a firewall. AVG 8.0 also includes a brand new real-time scanning engine, which is really improved over the previous scanning engine, which could slow down a system at times. AVG 8.0 continues to be very "lightweight", meaning that it does not take up significant amount of system resources that would slow down a system, like other larger competing anti-virus programs do.
Overall, AVG 8.0 is a must have anti-virus program if you are in the market to upgrade your old AVG or switch from another program. Users of AVG 7.5 will definitely want to upgrade to the new version, even users of the free version. Paid users of 7.5 can download and upgrade to version 8.0 for free at Grisoft.com.
