Booster4324 Posted December 2, 2010 Posted December 2, 2010 Last patch required a restart which lead to BSOD. Doesn't affect all machines, but they are acknowledging it. Link
UConn James Posted December 2, 2010 Posted December 2, 2010 (edited) AVG is bloatware anyway. It used to slow my old computer to a crawl at startup. I'd uninstall and use Avast. Have had this since May (on a recommendation from Dean, Fez, et al in the TBD Consumer board) and it's worked wonderfully. Edited December 2, 2010 by UConn James
HopsGuy Posted December 2, 2010 Posted December 2, 2010 No kidding. My work PC was destroyed by the latest AVG update. I had to reformat. Thank goodness for Dropbox & Mozy. I too, switched over to Avast.
/dev/null Posted December 2, 2010 Posted December 2, 2010 Affects Windows 7 users. Good thing my Windows box is still running XP. Next time I build a Windows system at home I'm going to switch to Avast
HopsGuy Posted December 3, 2010 Posted December 3, 2010 Affects Windows 7 users. Good thing my Windows box is still running XP. Next time I build a Windows system at home I'm going to switch to Avast Mine was an XP Pro that was taken down. Not BSOD, but froze 20 seconds after boot... EVERY TIME. It was maddening. I tried to kill the AVG processes, but no one can point/click/type that fast. My bp is rising just thing about it.
The Dean Posted December 3, 2010 Posted December 3, 2010 This is not an "I told you so", but I have been recommending dumping AVG for some time. With that said, something like this can happen to just about any software. As far as Avast vs Avira (my two favorite free AV programs), Avira is really the only way to go if are on an older PC with limited RAM. I have been using Avast more than I used to on client computers, but noticed it is absolutely killing machines with RAM issues. If you have a newer PC with plenty of RAM, then either should work fine. Avira has a slightly better detection rate, but it is strictly an AV/Antimalware program. It doesn't have an active email scanner, game mode, etc. The free version also has some updating problems and can go days without an update.
/dev/null Posted December 3, 2010 Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Mine was an XP Pro that was taken down. Not BSOD, but froze 20 seconds after boot... EVERY TIME. It was maddening. I tried to kill the AVG processes, but no one can point/click/type that fast. My bp is rising just thing about it. 20 seconds. That means you missed 19 seconds of pr0n! Edited December 3, 2010 by /dev/null
The Dean Posted December 3, 2010 Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) These links have a recap and links to some solutions: http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/2010/12/avg-update-disaster-impacts-windows.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/212313/avg_free_update_bricks_64bit_windows_7_pcs.html Edited December 3, 2010 by The Dean
BuffaloBud Posted December 3, 2010 Posted December 3, 2010 (edited) Marvelous, just freakin marvelous. But, thanks for the heads up. I will be investigating the other suggested AV software. Edited December 3, 2010 by BuffaloBud
rackemrack Posted December 4, 2010 Posted December 4, 2010 i just updated AVG on my laptop and restarted it... and it still works fine, I'm running vista. but one thing its been doing recently the battery dies very fast if not plugged in.
Booster4324 Posted December 4, 2010 Author Posted December 4, 2010 i just updated AVG on my laptop and restarted it... and it still works fine, I'm running vista. but one thing its been doing recently the battery dies very fast if not plugged in. Well, it did affect a ton of people. I had to eventually re-install as did two people from our IT department. There is talk of a vengeance campaign on their boards with sock puppets etc.
rackemrack Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 Well, it did affect a ton of people. I had to eventually re-install as did two people from our IT department. There is talk of a vengeance campaign on their boards with sock puppets etc. vengeance with sock puppets? I'm down with that even if if didn't destroy my computer!
Jim in Anchorage Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 Why would I be using aviation gas in my PC?
Just Jack Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 Why would I be using aviation gas in my PC? Makes it download porn process information faster.
Jim in Anchorage Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 Makes it download porn process information faster. Fill her up! Check the oil and gimme those free Texaco drink glasses!
linksfiend Posted December 7, 2010 Posted December 7, 2010 This is not an "I told you so", but I have been recommending dumping AVG for some time. With that said, something like this can happen to just about any software. I am speculating the ones that charge (McAfee, Norton) would have more robust quality control/bug-checking than the freeware ones.
Chilly Posted December 7, 2010 Posted December 7, 2010 I am speculating the ones that charge (McAfee, Norton) would have more robust quality control/bug-checking than the freeware ones. Symantec (Norton) has some of the worst QC I've ever seen. AVG isn't completely free either - they just have a free version. McAfee, Norton, etc provide a bunch of features the fre eones don't. Most useless for the home user.
The Dean Posted December 7, 2010 Posted December 7, 2010 (edited) I am speculating the ones that charge (McAfee, Norton) would have more robust quality control/bug-checking than the freeware ones. Avira's free version uses the exact same engine, and virus definitions, as their paid product. Same for Avast, I believe. The paid versions add more bells and whistles, usually a firewall, email scanner, etc. If you look at an independent AV testing site like AV Comparatives, you will see Avira's detection and cleaning rates are consistently among the highest of all tested AV products (typically it is top 3). To make this even more impressive, Avira typically chooses not to use their most recent version, but rather their old version for testing. (Avira's current version is 10, but the tests use version 9.) In the most recently published results (August 2010) for On-Demand Scanning and Detection, Avira received a grade of "Advanced +) and it detected 99.8% of the malware being tested. (Avast also received "Advanced +" and detected 99.3%.) http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_od_aug2010.pdf This is just one example of an AV test. They also have a "Retroactive/Proactive" test. The past test in May, Avira again received "Advanced +" and had better detection rates than McAfee, Norton and most other AV products. And, remember, this is using the out of date Avira product. http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report26.pdf Now there is more to an AV than simply these tests results. Avira free has an updating issue at times, because all the free users are competing for limited server access. This usually happens when there is a very big update and usually only lasts a day or two. It also shows one popup a day (after updating) hawking it's paid version. Anyway, without getting too deep on this, Avira and Avast are fine products and better than nearly all paid AV products. ESET Nod32 is a very good paid AV and GData is getting good reviews, but I have yet to use it. Same for Sunbelt's VIPRE. McAfee is total garbage. Norton isn't that much better, though it has improved from a couple of years ago. Still I would steer clear. Edited December 7, 2010 by The Dean
BuffaloBud Posted December 7, 2010 Posted December 7, 2010 Was able to look at this last night. Seems to be a Win7 / WinVista issue. Computer at home is XP. Ran the rootfix that AVG suggested - all looks good for now. I will be investigating the others you suggest Dean. BTW - thanks for the heads up on this.
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