5 ms·

Why I Removed AVG from my Computer: A tale of abusive anti-virus-ware

35 points by CalmQuiet 17y ago

bporterfield 17y ago
This is an old article. I also removed AVG after seeing this ridiculous behavior, but after updating it on a different machine I realized they had seen the error of their ways and fixed this issue. They have since removed the error sign when the link checker is disable, and as far as I can see remember they now allow (at least custom) installation w/out the link follower at all (as my installation doesn't even have it!). I do notice issues when AVG does it's weekly scan - the computer runs quite a bit slower - but besides that I've got no problems. I was upset when they released the version with the noted problems, but since they quickly released an update with fixes I'm happy enough to continue to use AVG. Everybody makes mistakes!
- msc 17y ago
  Thanks for the clarification. I tried AVG some months ago, and I did notice the link checker. I found the idea useful, but it wasn't for me, so I disabled it. I didn't notice a change in the tray icon, so I guess I was using a fixed version.
- praptak 17y ago
  Do they still hijack new tabs in Firefox so that they show some crappy search page? Because that was the deal breaker for me.
  - bporterfield 17y ago
    Not in my install, at least. I will admit the scanning is more obtrusive than I would like, but besides that there are no irregularities like that that make it an annoyance.
  - JacobAldridge 17y ago
    Yes, did that for me until I disabled it (after swearing at both AVG and Yahoo for the intrusion). Would have been a deal breaker - I like my blank tabs, they represent the limitless possibility of the internet.
- revital9 17y ago
  It IS old. I am really surprised I got this link. Sorry you can't comment on it on this site. The original post actually came from my Blogger blog. Thanks :)
hwked 17y ago
This is making me rethink about installing AVG on my fresh Win 7 install.
- bbsabelli 17y ago
  Don't
- mhansen 17y ago
  Do yourself a favor: Turn UAC all the way up, and forget the antivirus. Your system will still be fast and snappy, but you'll still be notified every time tries to do something it shouldn't
- lurkinggrue 17y ago
  If you do remember to hit custom install and remove the link scanner.
arange 17y ago
AVG has all sorts of other problems including obtrusiveness (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdrunkagainx/3652625815/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdrunkagainx/3652625815/sizes/o...), insane advertising, and generally buggier and worse since its 7.5 release.
tmitchell 17y ago
She boldly declares, "Grisoft just lost a customer, and I'm guessing it won't be the last." It seems an overstatement to call a free AV user a "customer". Those looking for a free A/V solution should check out Avira, though you'll have to disable the annoying upgrade popup.
- andrew1 17y ago
  I think 'customer' is a somewhat fair term. The fact that I use the free version of X makes it more likely that at some point I might buy the non-free version of X if I've built up a level of trust with the company, and/or that I'll recommend the product to others/at my work and they will get more users/corporate bussiness. For example I use DropBox and have almost hit the 2GB free limit. I will definitely upgrade as I really love the service, unless Dropbox do something annoying like AVG have done in this article in which case I'll find a different solution.
  - msc 17y ago
    She used it for years according to her blog, and doesn't mention buying a non-free version of any of their products. Becomes unhappy with the product, and doesn't mention contacting the vendor about it. Writes on her blog about how it sucks, and recommends another freeware product. I definitely wouldn't call her a customer.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      You can't really blame the user for the (lack of a) businessmodel by the vendor. If the price is 0 it does not reflect on the user at all. Even at pricelevel '0' you can be a customer.
- nreece 17y ago
  Those looking for a free A/V solution should check out Avira, though you'll have to disable the annoying upgrade popup. Avira AntiVir Updates to Version 9 – Make It More Usable: http://www.tipsfor.us/2009/03/18/avira-antivir-updates-to-version-9-make-it-more-usable/ http://www.tipsfor.us/2009/03/18/avira-antivir-updates-to-ve...
seldo 17y ago
I too uninstalled it. I have a ridiculous multi-core system with more RAM than anybody really needs; I have been unable to even mildly slow it down since I built it -- until I installed AVG, which slapped ridiculous scan bottlenecks on every disk read, every download, every link click, every application launch, every thing I could do on my box. It's almost worse than actually having a virus. At least you can uninstall it. Now my machine is back to it's usual, quick self.
- bartl 17y ago
  Oh yeah, it's a pig. But most anti-virus programs are pigs. My experience: my XP computer got very slow over time: just booting Windows took 20 minutes. I kicked off AVG and now it boots in about 2 minutes. If that is not a pig, then I don't know what is.
tomjen 17y ago
I don't run antivirus, instead I configured a secondary account and then removed the admin privileges on my primary one. This has the added effect of preventing Skype from installing annoying browser toolbars.
johnnybgoode 17y ago
Maybe I'm going against the grain here, but I'm glad Microsoft is going to release free antivirus software. I don't want to worry about choosing one of these third-party products and having my browser hijacked or whatever.
- troels 17y ago
  Agreed. This is one of those things that really should be dealt with on an os-level. They could push updates through the same channel as the os security patches.
  - shrikant 17y ago
    Yep, it's not like Microsoft has ever hijacked any other software to shoe-horn in their own useless stuff. </sarcasm> See <a href="http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=.net+framework+assistant+firefox>.NET http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=.net+framework+as... Framework Assistant in Firefox</a>.
    - troels 17y ago
      Of Microsoft and Symantec, I'm not sure who I trust least. In any case a Microsoft virus checker wouldn't have to - indeed wouldn't benefit from - seeking attention. That, in it self, would probably lead to a better product. There are other technically sound arguments for letting Microsoft deal with security issue, such as the fact that they know how the system is built (At least in theory).
    - bep 17y ago
      This was corrected: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=cecc62dc-96a7-4657-af91-6383ba034eab http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=...
manish 17y ago
I used clamwin, the windows version of clamav. That is after I used AVG for a while and went through the same experience. One good thing about using open source application is that they wont ask you to upgrade to some paid version later.
- deimos 17y ago
  ClamWin is ok, but the scanning time is very slow.
paraschopra 17y ago
I use free A/V Avast and I love it. It is very good and I would recommend to anyone considering a free A/V.
Gupie 17y ago
It is lucky she didn't get round to noticing the AVG (Yahoo) toolbar that appears in your browser. You hide it then next time you start up you get a helpful "I have noticed you have disabled the AVG toolbar, I have re-enabled it for you so that your system is fully protected." message.
- akamaka 17y ago
  This was the last straw for me. I've purchased more than 60 licenses of AVG for business computers, after being impressed by how well the free edition of version 6.0 worked on my home computer. With each subsequent release, they've just added more crap, and gone same way Symantec did. Aside from updating their virus database, I haven't noticed a single useful improvement in years.
juliob 17y ago
Why are we seeing this kind of crap on Hacker News? This belongs on digg.com
mikeyur 17y ago
I stopped reading in the second paragraph after this: "A freeware is a software"
Serveto 17y ago
We have AVG 8.5 at work and it’s killing our machines.
makecheck 17y ago
This isn't unique to AVG, but it does make you wonder what goes through the heads of corporate managers who decide how to "improve" their products. Products seem to follow this cycle: - 1.0 - neat idea, needs more - 2.0 - wow, nice! - 3.0 - okay, I can only use some of those new features, but not bad - 4.0 - um...I suppose it's nice for people who do that kind of thing - 5.0 - okay, at least they're supporting $NEW_OS_VERSION now; wait, that's odd, someone's added a toolbar - 6.0 [read: 5.1] - where did these ads come from, and who said I needed an auto-updater? - 7.0 [read: 5.2] - web integration? and where's all this extra CPU usage coming from? - 8.0 [read: 5.3 beta 3] - I can't tell what the new features are...but now I have to go for coffee while it starts up
ilitirit 17y ago
I uninstalled AVG ages ago. The resource consumption was what did it for me. As for the other complaints, they're not really such a big deal once you learn how to deactivate features that you don't need, and to set it so that AVG doesn't notify that you've deactived them.
tybris 17y ago
Just stop using anti-virus? What's the point>
jtneal 17y ago
I just installed AVG's latest version after reinstalling Windows 7 (to upgrade from Beta to RC.) I remembered from using AVG during Windows 7 Beta that they included that link checker, and I hated it as well, so I did a custom installation instead of the default/recommended installation, and I was able to not even install the link checker. Now I do not have the exclamation mark thank god. Also, I didn't install the AVG toolbar either, so it's not nagging me either. Usually when you have an issue with software installing things you don't want, it's simply because you didn't do a custom install.
- lurkinggrue 17y ago
  I do find it amazing how many people don't hit custom on installs like that.
lurkinggrue 17y ago
Never ran into those problems but I did do a custom install and never installed those components. I run Opera as well so would never the link scanner to begin with. I do agree those parts of the AVG are horrible.
heresy 17y ago
I haven't had anti-virus software on any of my personal PCs since MS-DOS 6.22. Number of virus/spyware infections: 0. Performance gain when compiling/building: Immense.

35 points by CalmQuiet 17y ago

This is an old article. I also removed AVG after seeing this ridiculous behavior, but after updating it on a different machine I realized they had seen the error of their ways and fixed this issue. They have since removed the error sign when the link checker is disable, and as far as I can see remember they now allow (at least custom) installation w/out the link follower at all (as my installation doesn't even have it!). I do notice issues when AVG does it's weekly scan - the computer runs quite a bit slower - but besides that I've got no problems. I was upset when they released the version with the noted problems, but since they quickly released an update with fixes I'm happy enough to continue to use AVG. Everybody makes mistakes!

msc 17y ago
Thanks for the clarification. I tried AVG some months ago, and I did notice the link checker. I found the idea useful, but it wasn't for me, so I disabled it. I didn't notice a change in the tray icon, so I guess I was using a fixed version.
praptak 17y ago
Do they still hijack new tabs in Firefox so that they show some crappy search page? Because that was the deal breaker for me.
- bporterfield 17y ago
  Not in my install, at least. I will admit the scanning is more obtrusive than I would like, but besides that there are no irregularities like that that make it an annoyance.
- JacobAldridge 17y ago
  Yes, did that for me until I disabled it (after swearing at both AVG and Yahoo for the intrusion). Would have been a deal breaker - I like my blank tabs, they represent the limitless possibility of the internet.
revital9 17y ago
It IS old. I am really surprised I got this link. Sorry you can't comment on it on this site. The original post actually came from my Blogger blog. Thanks :)

hwked 17y ago

This is making me rethink about installing AVG on my fresh Win 7 install.

bbsabelli 17y ago
Don't
mhansen 17y ago
Do yourself a favor: Turn UAC all the way up, and forget the antivirus. Your system will still be fast and snappy, but you'll still be notified every time tries to do something it shouldn't
lurkinggrue 17y ago
If you do remember to hit custom install and remove the link scanner.

arange 17y ago

AVG has all sorts of other problems including obtrusiveness (http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdrunkagainx/3652625815/sizes/o/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdrunkagainx/3652625815/sizes/o...), insane advertising, and generally buggier and worse since its 7.5 release.

tmitchell 17y ago

She boldly declares, "Grisoft just lost a customer, and I'm guessing it won't be the last." It seems an overstatement to call a free AV user a "customer". Those looking for a free A/V solution should check out Avira, though you'll have to disable the annoying upgrade popup.

andrew1 17y ago
I think 'customer' is a somewhat fair term. The fact that I use the free version of X makes it more likely that at some point I might buy the non-free version of X if I've built up a level of trust with the company, and/or that I'll recommend the product to others/at my work and they will get more users/corporate bussiness. For example I use DropBox and have almost hit the 2GB free limit. I will definitely upgrade as I really love the service, unless Dropbox do something annoying like AVG have done in this article in which case I'll find a different solution.
- msc 17y ago
  She used it for years according to her blog, and doesn't mention buying a non-free version of any of their products. Becomes unhappy with the product, and doesn't mention contacting the vendor about it. Writes on her blog about how it sucks, and recommends another freeware product. I definitely wouldn't call her a customer.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    You can't really blame the user for the (lack of a) businessmodel by the vendor. If the price is 0 it does not reflect on the user at all. Even at pricelevel '0' you can be a customer.
nreece 17y ago
Those looking for a free A/V solution should check out Avira, though you'll have to disable the annoying upgrade popup. Avira AntiVir Updates to Version 9 – Make It More Usable: http://www.tipsfor.us/2009/03/18/avira-antivir-updates-to-version-9-make-it-more-usable/ http://www.tipsfor.us/2009/03/18/avira-antivir-updates-to-ve...

seldo 17y ago

I too uninstalled it. I have a ridiculous multi-core system with more RAM than anybody really needs; I have been unable to even mildly slow it down since I built it -- until I installed AVG, which slapped ridiculous scan bottlenecks on every disk read, every download, every link click, every application launch, every thing I could do on my box. It's almost worse than actually having a virus. At least you can uninstall it. Now my machine is back to it's usual, quick self.

bartl 17y ago
Oh yeah, it's a pig. But most anti-virus programs are pigs. My experience: my XP computer got very slow over time: just booting Windows took 20 minutes. I kicked off AVG and now it boots in about 2 minutes. If that is not a pig, then I don't know what is.

tomjen 17y ago

I don't run antivirus, instead I configured a secondary account and then removed the admin privileges on my primary one. This has the added effect of preventing Skype from installing annoying browser toolbars.

johnnybgoode 17y ago

Maybe I'm going against the grain here, but I'm glad Microsoft is going to release free antivirus software. I don't want to worry about choosing one of these third-party products and having my browser hijacked or whatever.

troels 17y ago
Agreed. This is one of those things that really should be dealt with on an os-level. They could push updates through the same channel as the os security patches.
- shrikant 17y ago
  Yep, it's not like Microsoft has ever hijacked any other software to shoe-horn in their own useless stuff. </sarcasm> See <a href="http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=.net+framework+assistant+firefox>.NET http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=.net+framework+as... Framework Assistant in Firefox</a>.
  - troels 17y ago
    Of Microsoft and Symantec, I'm not sure who I trust least. In any case a Microsoft virus checker wouldn't have to - indeed wouldn't benefit from - seeking attention. That, in it self, would probably lead to a better product. There are other technically sound arguments for letting Microsoft deal with security issue, such as the fact that they know how the system is built (At least in theory).
  - bep 17y ago
    This was corrected: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=cecc62dc-96a7-4657-af91-6383ba034eab http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=...

manish 17y ago

I used clamwin, the windows version of clamav. That is after I used AVG for a while and went through the same experience. One good thing about using open source application is that they wont ask you to upgrade to some paid version later.

deimos 17y ago
ClamWin is ok, but the scanning time is very slow.

paraschopra 17y ago

I use free A/V Avast and I love it. It is very good and I would recommend to anyone considering a free A/V.

Gupie 17y ago

It is lucky she didn't get round to noticing the AVG (Yahoo) toolbar that appears in your browser. You hide it then next time you start up you get a helpful "I have noticed you have disabled the AVG toolbar, I have re-enabled it for you so that your system is fully protected." message.

akamaka 17y ago
This was the last straw for me. I've purchased more than 60 licenses of AVG for business computers, after being impressed by how well the free edition of version 6.0 worked on my home computer. With each subsequent release, they've just added more crap, and gone same way Symantec did. Aside from updating their virus database, I haven't noticed a single useful improvement in years.

juliob 17y ago

Why are we seeing this kind of crap on Hacker News? This belongs on digg.com

mikeyur 17y ago

I stopped reading in the second paragraph after this: "A freeware is a software"

Serveto 17y ago

We have AVG 8.5 at work and it’s killing our machines.

makecheck 17y ago

This isn't unique to AVG, but it does make you wonder what goes through the heads of corporate managers who decide how to "improve" their products. Products seem to follow this cycle: - 1.0 - neat idea, needs more - 2.0 - wow, nice! - 3.0 - okay, I can only use some of those new features, but not bad - 4.0 - um...I suppose it's nice for people who do that kind of thing - 5.0 - okay, at least they're supporting $NEW_OS_VERSION now; wait, that's odd, someone's added a toolbar - 6.0 [read: 5.1] - where did these ads come from, and who said I needed an auto-updater? - 7.0 [read: 5.2] - web integration? and where's all this extra CPU usage coming from? - 8.0 [read: 5.3 beta 3] - I can't tell what the new features are...but now I have to go for coffee while it starts up

ilitirit 17y ago

I uninstalled AVG ages ago. The resource consumption was what did it for me. As for the other complaints, they're not really such a big deal once you learn how to deactivate features that you don't need, and to set it so that AVG doesn't notify that you've deactived them.

tybris 17y ago

Just stop using anti-virus? What's the point>

jtneal 17y ago

I just installed AVG's latest version after reinstalling Windows 7 (to upgrade from Beta to RC.) I remembered from using AVG during Windows 7 Beta that they included that link checker, and I hated it as well, so I did a custom installation instead of the default/recommended installation, and I was able to not even install the link checker. Now I do not have the exclamation mark thank god. Also, I didn't install the AVG toolbar either, so it's not nagging me either. Usually when you have an issue with software installing things you don't want, it's simply because you didn't do a custom install.

lurkinggrue 17y ago
I do find it amazing how many people don't hit custom on installs like that.

lurkinggrue 17y ago

Never ran into those problems but I did do a custom install and never installed those components. I run Opera as well so would never the link scanner to begin with. I do agree those parts of the AVG are horrible.

heresy 17y ago

I haven't had anti-virus software on any of my personal PCs since MS-DOS 6.22. Number of virus/spyware infections: 0. Performance gain when compiling/building: Immense.