Everybody needs antivirus protection. Microsoft agrees—if Windows detects no third-party antivirus it insists on enabling its own Windows Defender. But you can get better protection than the built-in without laying out any extra cash. AVG AntiVirus Free has millions of users around the world. In our own tests and tests by the independent labs, it earned excellent scores.
AVG vs. Avast
In 2016, Avast acquired AVG. Both product lines continue their separate existence, but the underlying antivirus protection engine is identical, as evidenced by the results from our tests and independent lab tests. Why does the company keep them both? AVG and Avast Free Antivirus both have huge followings, but globally each is strong in different areas. The combined company has a worldwide reach.
That global reach gets AVG plenty of mindshare, but mindshare doesn’t pay the bills. AVG only makes money when customers pay for the premium security suite. When you install the free antivirus, there’s some minor pressure to upgrade, or at least start a 30-day free trial with all the premium features. Other products, among them Avira Free Security, lean harder on you to upgrade.
There isn’t a Pro edition of the AVG antivirus anymore, though. If you click one of the pro-only features in the free antivirus, it suggests you upgrade to the full AVG Internet Security suite.
The product’s user interface features green and white text on a slate-gray background. It clearly distinguishes free from premium features. It also marks the panels for Computer and Web & Email protection as basic protection. Full protection includes panels for Hacker Attack protection, Privacy, and Payment protection. All three display a lock icon; clicking them invites you to upgrade to AVG’s security suite.
Lab Scores: High and Plentiful
You might not realize this, but in most cases antivirus companies pay for the privilege of having products tested by the independent labs. The company does benefit; a high score gives it bragging rights, while if the score is poor, the lab helps the company work through what went wrong. With a free antivirus that doesn’t bring in any income, a company might be tempted to avoid the expense of testing. Not AVG, to its credit. We follow four independent testing labs that regularly release reports on their results. Three of them include AVG in their latest reports, and all four include its cousin Avast.
The analysts at AV-Comparatives perform a variety of security tests, of which we follow four. Products that achieve the necessary minimum scores receive a Standard rating, while those that show advanced features and capabilities can rate Advanced or Advanced+.
AVG and Avast both received Advanced+ ratings in all three tests. Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, ESET, G Data, and Kaspersky also took Advanced+ in all three tests.
AV-Test Institute reports on antivirus capabilities in three areas: protection, performance, and usability. With six points possible in each category, the maximum score is 18 points. AVG took six points for usability, meaning it didn’t erroneously flag valid programs or websites as malicious, and six more points for malware protection. It came close in performance, with 5.5 points. Avast precisely matched those scores.
A total of 17.5 points is high enough for AV-Test to award both AVG and Avast the designation Top Product. Kaspersky Security Cloud Free also took 17.5 points. Note, though, that, in the latest test, 10 products managed a perfect 18-point score.
Trying to come as close as possible to real-world conditions, the experts at SE Labs capture drive-by downloads and other web-based attacks, using a replay system to hit each tested product with the exact same attack. The best products receive AAA certification; others may be certified at the AA, A, B, or C level. Like Avast, AVG received AAA certification.
Quite a few other products managed AAA certification in the latest test from SE Labs. Among them are Avira, Microsoft Windows Defender Security Center, and Norton.
MRG-Effitas reports its test results a bit differently from the other labs. Products that don’t manage perfect or near-perfect protection simply fail. We follow two tests from this lab. Avast appears in the latest report for one, while the other includes neither Avast nor AVG. Alas, despite past successes Avast failed this latest test.
A third of the current products I track don’t appear in results from any of the labs, and another quarter only have one lab test result. Tested by three labs, AVG is almost among the elite. Its aggregate lab score of 9.9 points out of 10 can’t fail to impress. With four tests, Avast has even better coverage, but since it failed the additional test, its aggregate score is lower, 9.6 points. The big winner is Kaspersky, with results from all four labs and a score of 9.9 points.
Very Good Malware Protection
Any kind of internet-based malware must get past numerous defenses before it can infect your PC. For example, AVG could block all access to the malware-hosting URL, or it could wipe out the malware payload before the download finishes. I’ll discuss those malware protection layers shortly.
If a file is already present on your computer, AVG assumes it must have gotten past the earlier protection layers. Like Avast, Emsisoft Anti-Malware, McAfee, and a few others, its real-time protection doesn’t scan such files on simple access. Rather, it gives those files a final scan before they execute.
To test AVG’s malware-blocking abilities, I opened a folder containing my current collection of malware samples and tried to execute each one. AVG blocked over 90% of them immediately on launch, wiping them out so fast it left Windows displaying an error message stating that the file could not be found. It eliminated most of those that did manage to launch before they could fully install. I tested Avast simultaneously and got precisely the same results.
Both products detected 96% of the samples and scored 9.6 of 10 possible points, edging out Norton AntiVirus Plus by a tenth of a point. Tested against this same malware collection, Sophos and G Data earned 9.7 and 9.8 points respectively. At the top is Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus, which earned a perfect 10 points.
When AVG detects a file that’s completely unfamiliar, it prevents that file from launching and sends it to AVG headquarters for analysis. AVG displays a message stating that it has found a suspicious file and promises an evaluation within a few seconds. All my hand-coded testing utilities triggered this warning; all correctly got a clean bill of health. A ransomware sample that was marked as suspicious, on the other hand, wound up in quarantine. Avast offers precisely the same protection for unknown and suspicious files.
The samples we use for the malware blocking test stay the same for months. To check each product’s ability to deal with the very latest malware, we start with a feed of malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas. We try to launch each URL, recording whether the antivirus blocked access to the URL, quarantined the malware download, or totally missed the boat.
We test using URLs from the last few days, continuing until we have a large enough sample set. Then we tally the results. AVG blocked access to 65% of the URLs and eliminated another 29% at the download stage, for a total of 94% protection; Avast turned in identical results. That’s quite good, but some competitors have done even better. McAfee AntiVirus Plus leads the field, with 100% protection. Bitdefender, Sophos, and G Data all managed 99% in this test.
Excellent Phishing Protection
Phishing websites don’t need fancy coding tricks to infest visitors with malware. Rather than try to evade protection by the operating system and antivirus, they bamboozle the user into giving away secrets. Fraudsters simply create a convincing imitation of a sensitive site, perhaps a bank, or PayPal, and strew links to that fake site around the Web. Any user who logs in, not realizing it’s a fraud, has just given away a secure account to the fraudsters. If a thousand smart web surfers spot the fraud and just one sad sack unknowingly logs in, that’s a win for the bad guys. And when the authorities put the kibosh on the fraudulent site, the fraudsters just pop up another one.
We test antiphishing using the very newest phishing sites, making sure to include some that haven’t yet been fully analyzed and blacklisted. We launch each probable phishing URL in four browsers. The product under test protects one of the browsers, naturally. The other three rely on protection built into Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. As with my other hands-on tests, we challenged AVG and Avast at the same time.
Any code monkey can write a phishing protection module that blocks site found on official blacklists. The best products use real-time analysis to identify frauds that are too new for the blacklists. AVG clearly has this capability; the company touts its enhanced machine learning technologies. In testing, it proved quite effective.
With an impressive 97% detection of phishing frauds, AVG joins an elite group with top scores in this test, tying with Webroot and beating out Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security and Kaspersky by one percentage point. F-Secure and McAfee top the list, both scoring 100%, while Bitdefender and Norton came close with 99%.
As in other tests, Avast scored just the same. Of more interest, perhaps, is the fact that AVG AntiVirus for Mac also scored the same. While phishing is completely platform-agnostic, phishing protection can vary between Windows and macOS versions of the same product. In this case, they fared just the same in testing.
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Ransomware Protection
AVG is modest about its ransomware protection. You may never realize you have it unless you dig into settings…or suffer a ransomware attack.
This ransomware protection system simply bans all modification of protected files by untrusted programs. Out of the box, it runs in Smart mode, meaning that it ignores known and trusted programs. You can set it to Strict mode, meaning every modification of a protected file will require your permission, but why would you? By default, it protects archive, audio, database, disk, document, picture, and video files, though it warns that selecting all of them may impact performance.
It’s not immediately clear what folders are protected. I can report that this feature initially blocked my test utilities from creating log files on the desktop. I tried to edit a file from the Documents folder using a one-off editor that I wrote myself. Initially, AVG flagged it as suspicious and put it through an initial scan, eventually deeming it harmless. When I tried to save a file, AVG prevented the change, asking me whether to allow or block access.
I did find a window of vulnerability. For testing, I created a simple fake encrypting ransomware program that runs at startup and reversibly encrypts all text files in the Documents folder. AVG did not prevent this activity; apparently it wasn’t ready. When I ran the same program after verifying AVG was fully loaded, ransomware protection detected and prevented the file modifications.
If you see this warning when you’re trying out a new document or photo editor, go ahead and allow it. But if it comes as a surprise, smack the button to block access, and then investigate the perpetrating program.
Scanning Your PC
AVG’s main window features a big Smart Scan button, with a floating tip that nags you until you run your first scan. Clicking the button checks for insecure browser add-ons, runs a fast look for active malware, and scans for what it calls advanced issues. On my standard clean test system, the scan finished in about five minutes. It reported no malware or browser problems, but it did find some advanced issues.
Specifically, AVG reported that the test system only has a basic firewall, and that it doesn’t have active protection against DNS hijacking. Clicking to resolve these issues simply brings up a page inviting you to pay for AVG’s premium suite. In previous editions, the advanced scan found performance issues like junk files but called for an upgrade if you wanted to fix the problems. Either way, it’s not a real scan, just an upsell opportunity.
Avast’s Smart Scan performs those same three security checks, and it adds a scan for unpatched security vulnerabilities.
As noted, clicking Smart Scan just scanned the system for active malware. For a full scan of the entire computer, I launched what AVG calls a Deep Scan. It must have been very deep; the scan took 81 minutes, about the same as the Full Virus Scan in Avast. That’s well above the current average of 67 minutes for a full scan. You should run a Deep Scan after installation, though, to root out any existing malware. After that, the product’s real-time protection should be enough. You can also choose to scan all removable media or scan specific files and folders.
Performance isn’t truly a security issue, unless the consumer blames security software for slow performance and turns it off. Like other security companies, AVG tries to head off that unfortunate event by making performance enhancement part of its products. When you select Performance Scan, it looks for junk files, broken Registry entries, and more. On my test virtual machine, this scan took almost 20 minutes and found 1.56GB of system junk. 130 broken Registry items, and 8 programs slowing the PC. Clicking one of the three categories opened a detail page, but most users won’t learn anything by reviewing the details.
When I clicked Resolve All I got a slap in the face. After I waited 20 minutes, after I learned about those performance issues, AVG refused to do anything about them unless I paid cash for the premium advanced protection. Guys, that’s not a good upsell strategy.
The Boot-Time Scan aims to wipe out persistent malware that doesn’t yield to the regular antivirus. It does so by launching before Windows does, meaning it launches before any Windows-based malware can defend itself. You simply select Boot-Time Scan and reboot, optionally loading a special set of antivirus definitions. Avast offers a similar feature. Be warned that this scan takes a long time—long enough that I didn’t wait for it to finish. Use it when you really need its help.
AVG Secure Browser
Along with the security suite, AVG installs the AVG Secure Browser and prompts you to make it your default browser. If you’re a Chrome user, you’ll find it familiar, as it’s visibly Chromium-based. In fact, it’s hardly different from Chrome except that it puts existing privacy settings front and center.
This browser’s home page is the Security and Privacy center, with ten panels representing various available security functions. The collection looks impressive, but when you go down the line there’s not a lot there. One panel launches a scan using the antivirus. Another launches AVG Secure VPN, if you happen to have it installed. I assumed Anti-Tracking referred to an active Do Not Track system, like what you get in other browsers with the AVG Online Security extension. However, the description mentions “requesting” that websites don’t track you. That clearly refers to use of the ineffective Do Not Track header. If you do choose to use this browser, be sure to go to the Chrome store and install AVG Online Security.
Going beyond the anti-tracking skills of Online Security, Secure Browser offers the ability to disguise your browser fingerprint. What’s that? Well, your browser offers a huge amount of information to websites, because sites can use that information to tune the pages they serve up. They can also process this information into a browser fingerprint that uniquely identifies you, for tracking purposes. Like the standalone TrackOFF Basic, AVG can randomize what the browser reports, just enough to prevent fingerprinting.
Stealth Mode is something you get in every modern browser; it’s nothing special. And Password Manager simply refers to the built-in Chromium password manager. Extension Guard blocks untrusted browser extensions. But stop a minute. Why allow any extensions in a secure browser? Bitdefender’s SafePay and Kaspersky’s Safe Money isolate sensitive browsing from all other processes and ban extensions.
Privacy Cleaner is nothing more than what you get by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Del in any modern browser. That is, it lets you delete history, cookies, and cached data. And the Webcam Guard simply enables a feature built into Chrome and Chromium.
It’s true that the Secure Browser handholds you through enabling important security settings, but you can configure all those same settings in Chrome itself.
Bonus Features
The AVG SafePrice browser extension (for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera) keeps an eye on your online shopping. If it finds a better deal than the items you’ve selected, it shows what it found. For some sites it also offers coupons. It is functionally identically to Avast SafePrice.
The AVG Online Security browser extension, for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera, enhances your browsing safety and privacy. If it doesn’t appear automatically you can install it from AVG’s menu. The extension supplements existing protection against phishing and dangerous sites, including sites with a bad reputation. For any site, you can click the icon to get information about the current site, including any ad trackers or other trackers. There’s also an option to block all trackers on all sites. In addition, it marks up search results with colored icons, green for safe, yellow for iffy, red for dangerous, and gray for not checked yet.
Both Avast and AVG offer a Do Not Disturb mode, which postpones scheduled scans and suppresses notifications when you’re running any program in full-screen mode. You can fine-tune this feature by choosing Do Not Disturb Mode from the Tools submenu in Settings.
Launched from the Basic Protection submenu in Settings, the Network Inspector checks your current network for security problems. It didn’t find any with my home network, naturally—this feature is more useful when you’re using public networks. It can also notify you when a new device connects to the network, though it won’t do so unless you dig into Settings to turn on that feature. Note that the similar feature in Avast goes much further, listing all connected devices and reporting on any that exhibit security problems.
The final bonus feature is a little hard to spot. Buried in the right-click menu for files and folders is a new item titled Shred using AVG. If you choose this item, AVG overwrites the file’s data before deleting it, thereby foiling any attempt to recover the deleted file’s data. By default, the shredder just overwrites data once before deletion, but you can dig into Settings > Tools > Data Shredder and choose the three-pass DOD shred algorithm or the total-overkill Gutmann method. Avast offers a similar feature, but only at the for-pay suite level.
An Excellent Free Antivirus
The core antivirus engine in AVG AntiVirus Free is the same as what powers Avast Free Antivirus, as evidenced by identical scores in independent labs tests and our own hands-on tests. Many bonus features are also the same, though Avast gives you a full network security analyzer and a software updater to ensure you don’t miss security patches. Avast remains an Editors’ Choice winner for free antivirus, edging out its cousin, AVG.
Kaspersky Security Cloud Free is our other Editor’s Choice free antivirus. Where AVG and Avast currently have high ratings from the four independent labs that I follow, Kaspersky routinely takes perfect or near-perfect scores. It comes with a bandwidth-limited VPN, an effective behavior-based ransomware protection system, a simple password manager, and some (but not all) of the tools from the full Kaspersky Security Cloud suite.
