Avast vs AVG antivirus

[Cephius]

Not using anti-virus is like driving without a seatbelt. You may be the best driver in the world, but you still buckle up because it's the safe thing to do and just in case. There's no reason NOT to use anti-virus - the stigma that it slows your computer down hasn't been true for years.

Especially for people who play online games and have something to lose (account information) it's stupid to not protect yourself. Free AV + Firefox and noscript/adblock + common sense = you have nothing to worry about.

[ClassicRed]

Avast~! + Spyware Doctor

<3 Avasts boot scan option if I feel I accidentally allowed something I shouldnt have~

[Nattack]

Avast updates in the middle of a game and makes me choppy for a moment,

AVG updates in the middle of a game and freezes my computer solid for a half an hour.

[dejet]

look, being smart helps a lot with not getting crap. you never know tho, people get around firewalls, people get into adds, into the code, into anything. Being smart wont get you all the answers no matter how smart you think you are.

Maybe you wont get hurt, but someone that is linked to the internet should have something. Only reason my PC has no AV is because I have no web browser. my laptop has avast because I use it for P2P as well as net/ffxi/aion.

Its not likely to happen if you are smart but it can. So just shut up about "updates make me lag for 2sec /cry not worth it.

[Baelorn]

If AVG is lagging you you probably need to change some settings. AVG updates all at once whereas Avast, afaik, draws many smaller updates from multiple sources.

Advanced Settings > Update > When to update files and your problem goes away. Updating at Restart still too annoying for you? Advanced Settings > Schedules > Virus Database Update Schedule/Program Update Schedule. I recommend you schedule it to check for virus db updates before your daily scan time so you know you're catching the latest crap.

I hate when people blame software for user error.

[Odesseiron]

This program Spyware Doctor - Free Download. Remove Spyware. Anti spyware Software. is quite honestly the best I have ever used, and I recommend it to everyone. It catches almost everything for when, when in other cases Norton and other "Top" spyware programs just sit there and do nothing. I love this program to death.

[Yabby]

This program Spyware Doctor - Free Download. Remove Spyware. Anti spyware Software. is quite honestly the best I have ever used, and I recommend it to everyone. It catches almost everything for when, when in other cases Norton and other "Top" spyware programs just sit there and do nothing. I love this program to death.

I'm pretty sure most people know norton isn't a top anything, its a virus in itself. comparing any anti virus program with it, is a slap in the face.

[Pikarya]

I'm pretty sure most people know norton isn't a top anything, its a virus in itself. comparing any anti virus program with it, is a slap in the face.

Depends, old Norton was shit. 2009/10 is much better of an overall product compared to the past. Also corporate edition is probably one of the most lightweight antivirus you can get.

[Kaylia]

Not using anti-virus is like driving without a seatbelt. You may be the best driver in the world, but you still buckle up because it's the safe thing to do and just in case. There's no reason NOT to use anti-virus - the stigma that it slows your computer down hasn't been true for years.

Especially for people who play online games and have something to lose (account information) it's stupid to not protect yourself. Free AV + Firefox and noscript/adblock + common sense = you have nothing to worry about.

Noscript is great, there is no doubt about it. Everyone should use it.


For the rest, I can't agree. It's true for a good gaming pc if you don't install a lot of crap, but the difference is very noticeable on many 2 years old pc/laptop (especially the non gaming pc you buy on dell, futureshop..etc). But either way, just like anything running in the background, it's going to use ressources and slow down your booting sequence. Antivirus, althought more useful I suppose, are going to hog more ressources than most application running in the background.

Also, the belief that you're safe with an antivirus running has never been true. Safer? Maybe, but most virus are going to hit you anyway, and there is a good chance the free antivirus won't be able to remove it either. The best exemple I can give you is how many time my family got virus on their pc, after I installed avg or avast, while mine has been clean for years using noscript.

[Moosey]

That's not true at all. I use AVG Free and it uses less than 10MB of memory including the tray application which can be disabled. Schedule your scans to run while you're at work or asleep and don't be stupid.

This.

I've tried both, but I like AVG a little better. I find that Avast is a more active program and seems to always be doing something, and finds ways to slow my computer down a little bit(and I have a pretty damn fast computer.) AVG on the other hand seems more of a passive program and only really makes itself known when there is something suspicious going on/during scans(which I do while i'm asleep.)

Either one is fine to use, AVG is just my preference.

[Cephius]

Noscript is great, there is no doubt about it. Everyone should use it.


For the rest, I can't agree. It's true for a good gaming pc if you don't install a lot of crap, but the difference is very noticeable on many 2 years old pc/laptop (especially the non gaming pc you buy on dell, futureshop..etc). But either way, just like anything running in the background, it's going to use ressources and slow down your booting sequence. Antivirus, althought more useful I suppose, are going to hog more ressources than most application running in the background.

Also, the belief that you're safe with an antivirus running has never been true. Safer? Maybe, but most virus are going to hit you anyway, and there is a good chance the free antivirus won't be able to remove it either. The best exemple I can give you is how many time my family got virus on their pc, after I installed avg or avast, while mine has been clean for years using noscript.

I'm assuming that most people who game seriously aren't running a P4 with 512MB Ram. On most modern machines, antivirus apps don't use enough resources to have a noticeable effect while gaming. And really, do we care about boot times so much that we aren't willing to add a few seconds to it in the name of security?

As for your second point, obviously anti-virus doesn't stop you from getting viruses. But what it does do is let you know that you're infected, and quarantines the threat before it can make too many changes to your system. This is especially crucial for gamers who don't wish to be keylogged or otherwise have their information compromised. If you know you have something, you can work on cleaning it before you risk logging in. Without AV, you'll never know. That's my point. I'm not acting like AV is the be all end all of security, but it's part of the package along with common sense and smart browsing.

[Mayareira]

Agree with Cephius here. Last time I got a serious virus on my computer was....15~ years ago when I was much less experienced and I still use an anti-virus, even on my older computers.

If they become a serious problem for your gaming performance you can simply disable it temporarily and turn it back on when you get back to browsing, etc.

[bechyni]

I just temp. disable while gaming and return it when browsing but I use AVG+noscript