I've just had a look at the AVG free forum and 8 is causing a lot of slowdowns. Also noted is that support for 7.5 is 'extended' until the end of the year.

Thanks for the info BOAC :ok: One of the main reasons that I have always used AVG was the lack of any "speed hit" to the OS. Maybe Grisoft will tweak v8. Certainly hope so.

I wish I'd known about the extended support for version 7.5 earlier! I deleted the crawling AVG 8 and downloaded the paid version of Kaspersky 7.0, which had glowing reviews. The first thing it did was tell me that my (also paid-for) version of Zone Alarm Anti-spyware was incompatible and had to be removed. This included the latest version of their firewall. I tried to load an earlier version of the firewall but it repeatedly failed because of a corrupted ZA file from their download section (as I found out from the experiences of others on a web search) Downloaded ZA version 6-something from Oldapps and now everything seems fine.
A shame about AVG 8 because I've been using Grisoft products for several years without cause for complaint. No point in griping too much because it's always been free.

- AVG8 is in the middle now of picking up significant numbers of 'threats' in Mozilla/Firefox having done the same with IE.

Don't forget to disable the 'scheduled scan' if you are having speed issues as on a large system it will run for hours!

I can, happily, report that I have now uninstalled v8 and re-installed v7.5 with instant results to the good and benefit of my computing experience.

This will also have an adverse impact on AVG's 'paid' product image. I have not found any way other than the forum to 'report' this experience. They need to know. Has anyone got access to 'The Register' and has that spotted this?

Re my comment about the 'scheduled scan' - I had not realised it was taking such a long time, and with it disabled, everything appears to be running better. Might be worth a check if you are 'suffering'?

I have stayed with AVG8, and I can't say that I've seen any noticeable performance hit from it. However, I wouldn't class myself as a power user. I don't use the PC for games (Not even MS Flight Sim!), just internet browsing and emailing. I use my PowerBook G4 mostly, and I'm considering etting rid of the PC soon anyhow, probably with a view to rationalising all my IT bit s of kit down to a MacBook Pro.

Until that happens, I'm happy for AVG8 to stay there. I did notice another thing the other day. When you use a search engine like Google, AVG8 puts a little spinning grey disc between each link on the results page. When AVG8 has filtered the link, all the "OK" ones get a little green tick next to them. This is a great plus for me, as I can say to the wife to use these little markers, rather that try and explain to how to spot safe and unsafe weblinks!:ugh:

Agreed MacB, it's a very good addition to the software. Unfortunately, it also canes my internet speed.

I am confident though that Grisoft will solve these teething troubles quickly.

I have always been impressed with the speed that the Grisoft boys come up with signature updates. I remember one particular case, the SQL Slammer that nearly shut down the "BIG" company for whom I was working at the time, (started with "C"... ended with "Q"... doesn't exist any more...), the corporate AV was N*****s who took nearly 28 hours to come up with a signature update. Grisoft, on my home network was updated in 6 !!

Interesting that the update support for v7.5 has now been extended - Grisoft have obviously been stung by all the negative comments regarding v8.0
I've changed to Avast! 4.8 on my laptop, it does take a bit longer to boot now, but would seem to offer better protection, and it's very configurable. I was intending to swap my parents desktop as well, but I will compare the two for a while longer now.

I upgraded (paid for) AVG 7.5 to 8.0 about three weeks ago. Have not noticed any performance hit at all and I'm very satisfied with it.

In Taipei yesterday at the Computex show and asked the AVG rep about this and was told no major issues regarding speed with most systems.

Picked up a demo CD so will give it a go :eek:

Rather at odds with the numerous posts from users on a whole range of forums....
And although they have said that support for v7.5 will now continue till the end of the year, I've started getting automatic reminders again, but saying the end of June!

I updated my AVG 7.5 to AVG 8 on the 30th April.
I have not found any problems with the speed.
I like the new AVG Centre Layout.Everything simplified and easy to use.
I have AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5 ,but the only decision to make is whether to keep it running or uninstall it and just use AVG 8 which incorporates its own Anti-Spyware component.

ILS32

AVG 8
 

Moved from AVG Free 7.5 to 8.0 a couple of weeks ago.
Has worked OK for me: no obvious increase in memory usage or degradation of system performance - but the PC (AMD 64 dual core 4400) is only used for WWW/office, not games etc.
Regards
Martin

I have recently read that the reason that AVG8 can be slow in some cases is its latest system for protection against rogue websites that somehow manage to inject viruses on your computer. The idea is that AVG 8 pre scanns any web page you click on for nasties before allowing your browser to display it and this takes time and bandwidth. There is one called "Active search shield" only available in the paid for version of AVG 8, and the rest of us get "Search Shield" which appears to do the same thing but slower and possibly requires more bandwidth. It is possible to turn "search shield" off as follows:

1. Open the AVG Anti-Virus control window.
2. Choose Tools -> Advanced Settings.
3. Click LinkScanner on the left.
4. Un-tick Enable AVG Search-Shield.

Apparently this facility can also cause certain websites to accuse you of trying to infect them with a virus!

I would be interested to learn what our real experts have to say about this.

P.P.

Just installed Firefox 3 and the AVG8 search shield does not work with it!

Wonder if Mozilla will sort that out?

AVG 7.5 Support Ends
 

When I originally upgraded to AVG 8 I had some problems opening large files (e.g. VFR scenery files for MS FS). Following advice on Pprune I went back to Version 7.5 with no problems.

I am now told that Grisoft will not support Version 7.5 after July 25.

Presumably I will still get the original problems if I upgrade to Version 8 again.

Should I look for another antivirus or can I use P Pilcher's idea to cure it (18th June)?

pulse1,
I don't think that's likely to work in your case, unless the scenery files are stored online, as it's most likely the resident (access) scanner to be interfering with the files. Wouldn't hurt to try it, though.
You may have to suspend the resident shield while playing.
Or you could try another AV. Avast and Avira both very good.

Well, the 25th July deadline has come and gone and my v7.5 has just updated itself ok, and no more messages saying upgrade to v8....

Was it all just a ploy to get people off v7.5 I wonder?

The v7.5 installation on our desktop updated this morning. I've just tried doing a manual update and it's still saying that it's fully up to date. I used to find that there were 2 updates per day, so if it doesn't find a new definition file tomorrow then AVG gets removed, and Avast! goes in....