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Joined: Jan 2006
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2006
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Hi folks, long time lurker who has enjoyed the assistance of the forum in the past. I just puchased a new laptop and would like to install AVG on it. I ran AVG on my previous computer with excellent results. My question is that when I went to install the free download, the web page points me to a "CNET" webpage for the down load. I tried a search under forums and FAQ and couldn’t find anything relevant to this question..
Question--is this a new source to download from, in the past I downloaded direct from AVG. Also I would also be interested in any other good virus checkers out there. Currently I have loaded Superantispyware.com on this new unit, but the software doesn’t automatically review files for viruses, and update older versions of the software the way AVG does.
Thanks DennisD
There are only 3 kinds of musicians: those that can count, and those that can't!
PC AMD A4-5300 APU 3.4 GHz, 8gb RAM, 1T HDD, Windows 10,
Reaper 4.77, BIAB2018, PTPA12, RB2018, Roland VS-880 DAW
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I checked and the version of AVG on CNET is the same one I downloaded from the AVG site. This one is a lot easier to find than the one I Dled! AVG hides the free one!
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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I have been using the free Avast! for home on my home computers for several years now, love it.
Do a websearch for the Avast! Antivirus homepage and find the free download there.
--Mac
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CNET is part of Ziff-Davis publishing, which in turn is part of CBS; definitely legitimate. I have been downloading from them for nearly 10 years.
Like Mac, I have turned to Avast! since AVG went to version 8. Alwil's Avast! takes fewer system resources and is more user friendly than the new AVG.
R.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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i also like avast because it automatically updates in the background every day. once you download the free version they email you a reg key. nice easy GUI too. great little av program. some other freebies that i like are: smart defrag and advanced system care both from www.iobit.comps: smart defrag can be scheduled to run at any time. i often run avast in the background while doing other chores on my system.
Last edited by Don Gaynor; 05/02/09 08:06 PM.
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Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jul 2000
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I have been using AVG and upgraded to 8+ - just bogged my underpowered computer down - 7.5* was OK.
Thinking of trying Avast - the recs here seem to be good.
A good site I've never had problems downloading the big freebies from is filehippo.com - they even list and allow you to access past upgrades.
They generally give you more info than other sites.
Cheers
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I use Avast, have been using it for years, and recommend it to everyone.
In fact, when my bosses asked for a new Anti Virus software two years ago, I told them about Avast, but they didn't want to use it because it's a Czech company. We bought BitDefender instead. Now that BitDefender has bit the dust, license-wise, my bosses are really enthused about Avast, because their son uses it, and he lives with a bunch of IT guys who use it.
Anyway, removal of BitDefender, and replacement with Avast has sped everything on our computers and on our network up by quite a noticeable bit.
I recommend Avast.
Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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Newbie
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Newbie
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Avast, don't leave your computer unattended without it 
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Avast here also.AVG went south at version 8
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How would AVAST work with Spybot and Comodo Firewall installed - too much coverage, duplication of tasks??
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I find that leaving any module of Spybot in memory is too much, so I just use it after the fact. I haven't used Avast! with any but MS's firewall so can't speak to that interaction, but by itself it is far less intrusive than any other AV program I have used (Norton, McAfee, AVG, PCcillin), in terms of noticing its presence.
I tried another AV program who shall remain unnamed, but their initials are Trend Micro. I couldn't get their DEMO working, even after contacting their tech support. Avast! just WORKS, well and unobtrusively.
R.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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I've used Avast with Spybot Search and Destroy in the past. Also with Adaware, a few others.
Sometimes one will find something undesirable that others miss.
No harm in trying, really, if things appear to get too bogged down when doing that, you have options, like turning one of the other programs to manual scanning only, or uninstalling that other program altogether and trying something else.
--Mac
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Avast, Spybot and Zone Alarm co-exist peacefully on my computers. But, since each one does a different thing, there is little overlap. As with any TSR, which I would consider each of these to be (Terminate and Stay Resident) they take up memory resources as well as system resources, so having the memory to let them stay in memory and run is important, especially as the complexity of the OS increases.
Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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I use the following:
1. Avast--virus protection
2. ThreatFire-- behavior detection meant as an add on to virus protection
3. Firewall Plus ---
4. Spyware Doctor---
All running in real time together.
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Journeyman
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Thanks to all of you who were so helpful on my quest for anti virus. I installed the Avast and I like it.
Dennis
There are only 3 kinds of musicians: those that can count, and those that can't!
PC AMD A4-5300 APU 3.4 GHz, 8gb RAM, 1T HDD, Windows 10,
Reaper 4.77, BIAB2018, PTPA12, RB2018, Roland VS-880 DAW
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It's funny how with mixing desks, amps and guitars the general tone of advice on this forum tends to be 'You get what you pay for' but with software utilities this principle does not apply.
..but then as a paying customer of BitDefender (with upwards of 500 days left to run), I would say that!!
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I used AVG for years and was very disappointed with the last release. Half the time their servers seemed to be down when they tried to update. I downloaded a trial version of Kaspersky and it found over 100 different virus's in my pc, apart from that it found 214 spyware & malware programmes. I paid about $56 for the full version and it not just has the anti-virus, but also spyware & malware protection. You can see who emails are from before you download them. I can tell you honestly guys, I noticed an enormous difference in my pcs' performance after I installed it. If you're running a wi-fi modem you don't need a separate firewall programme since most modem / routers have built in firewalls. OK, It's not free, but sometimes I'm quite happy to pay for something if it'll give you better protection.
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Thanks for the advice everyone (even though I didn't come looking for it). I thought I'd give AVAST a try on my music computer - had used AVG for a couple of years (v.7x). I thought all virus updates from the big AV names were created equal. I had scanned my music HD platters with AVG many times and always clean. Put in AVAST 8.x and it pulls up a Trojan-32 nesting in my plugin file. Convinced me. Now I'll install AVAST on my main computer. Thanks all. 
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I just had a weird problem with one of my laptops, the CPU would ramp up to 100% and stay there from bootup on. Couldn't use the thing.
Symptoms were a VERY slow laptop, unusable, very long boot time, more than five minutes (!) and the hard drive running all the time. ctrl-alt-del and look at the processes.
Traced the problem down to the update to Adaware "Anniversary Edition" and a process called, "AAWsystem.exe" which was running wild.
Uninstalled Adaware, rebooted and all was well again.
Same program and version is still working fine on the other machines here, but that lappy is the only one running XP Pro (SP3)...
--Mac
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My versions are paid except Avast.
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