AVG packs excellent protection into its free antivirus utility. If you want more than the basics, you must upgrade to the company’s security suite, AVG Internet Security. The suite adds several components, such as webcam protection, pro-level Android and iOS features, and tools for securing important data. AVG Internet Security gets excellent results from independent labs, and it no longer has as much of an impact on system performance as it used to. Still, its annoying upsells and expensive single-license plan are drawbacks, and this paid version’s extra features might not be substantial enough to warrant a switch from AVG’s free tier.
How Much Does AVG Internet Security Cost?
An AVG Internet Security subscription costs $69.99 per year for one Windows or macOS license. If you upgrade to AVG Internet Security’s $89.99-per-year plan, you can install protection on up to 10 devices. It’s a much better value than the base plan. This tier also includes AVG’s mobile protection products, AntiVirus Pro for Android and the pro-version of AVG’s Mobile Security app for iOS.
AVG’s free AntiVirus product for both Windows (AVG AntiVirus Free) and macOS (AVG AntiVirus Free for Mac) includes all of the basic protections (malicious links, malware, phishing, ransomware, and malware). AVG has free versions for both the Android (AntiVirus and Anti-theft) and iOS (Wi-Fi network analysis, password leak monitor, and secure photo storage) versions, too.
AVG offers another bundle, AVG Ultimate, for $119 per year. This suite combines AVG Internet Security (for Windows and macOS), AVG TuneUp (for Windows and macOS), AVG’s Secure VPN (Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS), and both AVG’s AntiVirus Pro and Cleaner Pro tools (Android). A subscription includes protection for up to 10 devices. McAfee and Bitdefender offer similar cross-platform suites with antivirus and VPN components.
Ever since Avast bought AVG, their product lines have thoroughly converged. In most cases, any component that appears both in this suite and Avast Premium Security acts the same. Some features may have different names, however, and one product may have something the other doesn’t. It’s no surprise then that Avast charges the same rates for its one- and 10-device plans.
Kaspersky’s and Trend Micro’s internet security products both cost $79.99 per year but give you only three licenses. Bitdefender Internet Security starts at $59.99 per year for one license and charges the same as AVG for its 10-device tier. McAfee Total Protection charges $119 per year for unlimited device licenses.
Desktop Interface
If you’ve used AVG’s free antivirus, this suite’s user interface will look very familiar. It has the same dark background, white and mint-green text, and five panels marked Basic Protection or Advanced Protection. Of course, the three Advanced Protection panels (Hacker Attacks, Privacy, and Payments) are all enabled for AVG Internet Security users.
To modify the way any of these modules work, open them, and then click on the gear icon on the right-hand side of the screen. Alternatively, you can access each module’s settings through the Menu tab in the upper-right; you can also manage subscription settings, access more AVG tools, and get support here.
AVG’s Smart Scan (the default option) does a quick scan for active malware, but it also checks for unsecured browser add-ons, files with exposed sensitive data, and performance issues. In addition to the expected full system scan, AVG offers a Boot-Time Scan, for rooting out persistent malware.
Upsell Issues
AVG’s interface doesn’t shy away from upsells. For instance, if you want to fix problems found by the performance scan, you’ll pay up to $3.49 per month. A little while after installation, a banner also appeared across the bottom of the main window noting that AVG discovered four privacy issues—all of which can be rectified with a subscription to AVG’s Secure VPN for an additional $3.99 per month. To be clear, we still saw these issues pop up even with a different VPN running, which seems dishonest on AVG’s part. We also saw a pop-up for AVG’s anti-tracking add-on.
If you like what AVG offers in its tune-up and VPN product, you should just upgrade to AVG’s Ultimate edition. One thing AVG does not offer in this bundle, however, is a password manager. Check out our roundups of the best password managers and the best free password managers for your top options.
Shared Protection With AVG AntiVirus Free
Since this suite’s basic protection is the same as that of AVG AntiVirus Free, we’ll send you to that review for the full details. Here’s a précis of our findings:
When possible, we refer to test results from four independent labs, MRG-Effitas, SE Labs, AV-Test, and AV-Comparatives. All four of them include Avast in their testing and three of four include AVG. Because Avast failed one of the grueling tests from MRG-Effitas, which omitted AVG, AVG has a better aggregate score of 9.9 of 10 possible points to Avast’s 9.6. All other test results came in unsurprisingly identical.
Either way, those are good scores, better than many for-pay products. However, Kaspersky Internet Security topped the list this time around with a near-perfect 9.9, a result which included testing from all four independent labs. Bitdefender Internet Security’s score dropped to a 9.6; it fared slightly worse in AV-Tests’ evaluation, albeit in the usability section.
Even when the labs provide plenty of data, we put each antivirus product through hands-on testing. Like Avast, AVG earned 9.6 of 10 possible points in our malware blocking test, a notable improvement. Those two products are now near the top of our results. Only Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus (10), G Data Internet Security (9.8), and Sophos Home Free (9.7) earned higher scores. McAfee Total Protection also earned a score of 9.6.
In previous testing with a different collection of malware, Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus rang the bell with a perfect 10 points, too. Given that the samples were different, it’s not a direct comparison, but everyone likes a perfect score, especially a consistent one.
Our malicious URL test checks an antivirus product’s effectiveness against prevalent malware. Starting with a feed of the latest finds from MRG-Effitas, we launch URL after URL, recording whether the antivirus blocks the URL or eliminates the download. AVG (like Avast) scored 94% protection, which is again, an improvement. Norton and McAfee still came out ahead on this test with perfect, 100% protection results. Bitdefender scored a respectable 99% protection.
Phishing websites are another danger, even though they don’t involve malware. These websites try to steal your login credentials by imitating banks and other secure websites. In our hands-on phishing protection test, AVG did a great job, detecting 97% of the verified frauds and diverting the browser to safety. F-Secure Safe and McAfee own this test, with 100% protection rates. Kaspersky dropped from a perfect score to a detection rate of 96%.
See How We Test Security SoftwareSee How We Test Security Software
Like Avast, AVG offers a special layer of protection specific to ransomware. Avast calls it Ransomware Shield; with AVG it’s Ransomware Protection. In both cases, this component prevents all unauthorized programs from making any changes to protected files. Bitdefender and Trend Micro offer similar protection against unauthorized file changes. Panda Dome Advanced is even stricter, blocking unknown programs from even reading data in protected user folders.
AVG has added its Ransomware Protection to the free edition since our last review, so be sure to check out that review for specific settings. In testing, AVG prevented our utilities from creating log files on the desktop. Then, we tried to edit a file from the Documents folder using a custom-built editor; AVG flagged the program as suspicious, scanned it, and eventually determined it harmless. When we went to save the edited file, AVG blocked the change and required us to grant it access permission.
We did find a window of vulnerability, however. When we created a simple, fake encryption program that runs at startup and reversibly encrypts all text files in the Documents folder, AVG did not prevent this activity; apparently, it hadn’t fully loaded. When we tried again after waiting for AVG to start, it detected and blocked the program from running.
Protections Specific to AVG Internet Security
The rest of AVG Internet Security’s tools are distributed across three Advanced modules: Hacker Attacks, Privacy, and Payments.
Hacker Attacks
AVG Internet Security offers three tools in this section: a firewall, a password protection tool, and a remote access shield. Like any firewall, AVG Internet Security’s is designed to prevent attacks from both the outside and the inside. Windows Firewall handles the former just fine and AVG enables you to easily set rules for how individual applications can access the network. Most people probably don’t need a personal firewall, but in any case, the combination of Windows’ built-in tool and AVG’s protections should be all you need.
The Password Protection tool helps you secure any passwords you’ve saved in your browser. It asks you to either allow or block access whenever an unknown app tries to make changes to your stored passwords. For more complete password protection, we recommend you install a password manager. The Remote Access Shield helps you prevent unauthorized remote connection attempts to your PC.
Privacy
You may think that your webcam is only active when you’re taking a meeting or letting your kids video-call faraway relatives. You may think that any time it’s active, the little light reveals that fact. But it’s not so. Webcam spyware can peer into your bedroom, office, or wherever the cam might reside, and do so without that telltale light. Fortunately, AVG is among the security companies that offer protection from webcam spyware. AVG and Avast offer their Webcam Protection features to all non-free users.
Click on the gear icon in the Privacy section to configure your webcam preferences. In Smart mode, the default, AVG allows known and trusted programs to use the webcam, but asks your permission when an unknown program attempts access. At the Strict level, even trusted apps need your permission for each use. With the No mercy option, no apps get to use the webcam. ESET Internet Security, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky offer similar webcam protection.
Another option in the Privacy section is the Sensitive Data Shield, which is designed to protect any documents with important information, such as banking details. In essence, AVG runs a local scan on your hard drive to identify such files and then will block and notify you of any attempts to open, read, or copy them.
Payments
AVG’s Fake Website shield is the only option within this section. When enabled, this setting protects you from being redirected to a fake site as a result of a DNS attack.
Bonus Tools and Features
The AVG Internet Security suite shares a few other features with the Free AntiVirus version. We cover each of them in more detail in our review of the free product, but here’s a summary of the additional tools you get.
AVG offers a Chromium-based AVG Secure Browser which emphasizes security settings, though you don’t gain too much with this browser over installing the AVG Internet Security extension. That add-on provides tracking and phishing protections, as well as keeps you away from dangerous sites. There’s also the SafePrice browser extension that watches your online shopping and seeks better deals, but you don’t need a subscription to use that.
You can put the product in Do Not Disturb mode when using specified programs, so an antivirus notification doesn’t get you fragged. On the right-click menu for files and folders, you’ll find an option to Shred with AVG (meaning it securely deletes the item, foiling forensic recovery).
Improved Performance
Modern security suites don’t tend to put a major drag on system performance. Their creators know that if security gets in the way, users will turn it off. Still, adding security can have some effect on system performance.
When one or more layers of protection are ogling everything that happens in the file system, there’s a possibility they could slow common file activities. To check that possibility, we time many runs of a script that moves and copies a large collection of files between two drives, averaging the results. Then, we install the suite and repeat the test. That script took an average of 3% longer with AVG installed. That’s a vast improvement over our last test, in which AVG slowed down the process by 29%. A separate script that repeatedly zips and unzips those same files didn’t run any slower with AVG watching.
The other area we check is boot time, since getting an army of security processes launched at startup could affect performance. Despite dismal results the last time we tested it (AVG doubled the time it took to boot our test machine), AVG had no measurable effect this time around. All that said, we did notice that AVG’s initial and boot-time scans took a long time to run.
Avast and AVG share a lot of code these days, so we expected similar results in the performance test. Indeed, last time around, Avast slowed boot time by 96% and the file system tests by 30%. We expect improvements in line with AVG’s the next time we test Avast.
Several competitors, including ESET Internet Security, K7 Total Security, and Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus did not slow down the file transfer or startup operation at all.
AVG’s Mobile Protection
Anybody can install the free AVG AntiVirus for Android, which offers some useful protection. Naturally, it scans for malware (and quickly). You can boost RAM by killing inactive tasks, clean up junk files to save space, and check your Wi-Fi speed. The Photo Vault holds up to 10 pictures in protected storage, though that doesn’t seem particularly useful. You can locate, lock, or wipe a lost phone from the online portal. AVG goes further than many, with commands to remotely record audio, snap a picture, or download data from the device. There’s an option to sound a loud alarm or put a message on the display, though Google’s Find My Device feature offers similar capabilities. Although all of these features are free, AVG puts large and targeted ads in the app.
With AVG Internet Security, you can upgrade protection on all your Android devices to the Pro edition, which is a nice bonus. This gets rid of the ads, for starters. Photo Vault loses the 10-picture limit. You gain the option to lock sensitive apps behind a passcode, much like the App Lock in Bitdefender’s mobile app. The Pro level adds some snazzy anti-theft features. For example, when Camera Trap is enabled, AVG automatically snaps a photo of whoever is holding your phone. AVG also offers an option to lock your phone if a thief tries to swap out the SIM.
For iOS devices, AVG’s free protection is more limited. It analyzes your Wi-Fi network for any issues, monitors any leaks for a single email address, and protects up to 40 photos in the vault. The Pro version, which is included as part of your AVG Internet Security subscription, adds VPN protection (only for iOS devices), monitoring for an unlimited number of email addresses, and vault storage for an unlimited number of photos.
Good Protection, Many Upsells
AVG Internet Security expands upon the excellent capabilities of AVG AntiVirus Free with protections for sensitive data, the ability to block webcam snoopers, and tools for staying safe online. It won’t slow down your system as much now, either. However, the single-device subscription isn’t a great value, and we could do without the barrage of upsells in the program. AVG Internet Security’s biggest obstacle is that the AntiVirus Free software already includes malware, phishing, and ransomware protections; you simply might not need any of the extra features this suite offers.
There are a lot of suites to choose from, too. Our favorites and Editors’ Choice winners, Bitdefender Internet Security and Kaspersky Internet Security, boast features not found in AVG, such as parental control, file encryption, and automated software updates.
