Was AVG the culprit?

[Jon Light (deceased)]

My new Vista Premium system (a super cheap refurbed Emachine) came with a Norton trial subscription which I am using. My old xp rig ran AVG. I was intending to run out the trial and then go to AVG because I am as cheap as the next guy (and the next guy is pretty damned cheap).

This new rig is super fast compared with the old. It also has double the RAM.

Spybot S&D is right now running like three times faster than it did with the old rig.

So---could it be the 2G RAM vs. the old 1G or do I need to kiss goodbye the idea of switching to a freebie AV program? Because there's no way I'm going to funk up this system if I can help it. What a pleasure to be back in the fast lane.

[Jack Stoner]

Norton is known for "bloatware" (more software than is needed). I doubt that you will "screw it up" by dumping Norton.

But, getting rid of Norton can be as hard as cleaning AOL out of a PC. Norton has or had a "clean tool" program that is supposed to rid the PC of Norton. Check their web site. In a couple of Win XP PC's I had to do complete reinstalls to get totally rid of Norton for two people.

Vista is not the "bad guy" many make it out to be. Given a PC with the right hardware it will run great and will be fast.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

No no, Jack---my concern was not about problems with ditching Norton (although now you have me concerned) but rather about going with the AVG free thing. I'm wondering if things are so fast because AG sucks and I'm free of it. If I were to successfully get rid of Norton and install AVG would I seriously regret it? I have a feeling that it was responsible for at least some of the slowness of the old rig. So the thread title is my question.

OTOH--the old rig was poorly maintained (by me) and bloated with loads of downloaded programs and full of conflicts so it had plenty of reason to run slow.

[Jack Stoner]

Wiz will have to comment on AVG, but I know both Norton and McAfee security packages are known for their "Bloatware" and causing PC slowdowns because of all the added stuff that is on the borderline not needed.

I use the Microsoft "Windows Live One Care" on all my PC's and it does not "slow down" my computers. They have a free 90 day download. Some knock it because it's "Microsoft" but I've been using it for almost 2 years without any security problems. It has antivirus, spyware and firewall all in one package. It gets automatic regular updates, sometimes every day - just depends on what new security items (threats) that there are. I also have many of my clients using the Microsoft One Care and none have had any security issues.

[Don Sulesky]

I am using the AVG 8.0 the free copy and having no problems with it.
At 1st I downloaded the full trail version and did not like it so I deleted it and tried the AVG 8.0 free version and I'm happy with it so far. I also use PC Firewall and PC spy doctor all free.
Computer seems fine to me.

[Wiz Feinberg]

AVG 8.0 is not the same product as its predecessor. The new version contains not only an anti-virus, definitions and heuristics based engine, but also an anti-spyware component, formerly Ewido Anti Spyware, plus the Link Scanner and Safe Surf (paid version only) modules. It was designed from the ground up to be compatible with Windows Visa computers. It assumes that these computers will have at least double the amount of RAM that a typical XP computer is running on, plus a screaming fast CPU. Because of this it tends to load down XP computers having only 1 Gb RAM, or less. I would not recommend running it at all if your computer has less than 1 Gb DDR RAM and a not-so-fast CPU.

This is a major departure from the smallish footprints of the previous versions. AVG used to be an ideal replacement for Norton, after the subscription ran out. Now, one has to evaluate it and compare it against other similar freeware products. Avira AntiVir has a smaller footprint than AVG and is Vista compatible, and has scored much higher than AVG in virus tests. Avira has free and paid versions.

About Norton and its reputation as being bloatware.

Norton is one of the first major anti virus products most people ever see. It has been around since the days of Windows 95 and most of us "old timers" have used several versions of it. The simple Norton AntiVirus application was actually quite well behaved, as regards system load. But, nothing is simple anymore. I think most of you are well aware of the insidious nature of today's "malware." It takes a big stick to fight it off. Norton has a big stick.

I can tell you that many of the top anti virus companies are trying to reduce the load their programs place of computers and the 2009 line of Norton and Trend Micro security products are leading the way. I will have more information about the changes coming in a couple of weeks, along with links for your use.

Anybody who wants to buy 2008 versions of either Norton or Trend Micro security apps online should contact me before August 31 for a discount link for them. When the 2009 versions have been vetted of their bugs (inevitable) you can upgrade for a small fee.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

Thanks Wiz. Stuff to think about.