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Thread: AVG 8 OMG!

  1. #21
    rebmeM roineS enilnOitnA steve.milner's Avatar
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    My goodness this Linkscanner is a pain.

    As of the weekend AVG updates have changed the user agent it was using (which could be identified & filtered) to a standard IE6 user agent which can not be identified.

    It's mucking up webtsats in a remarkable way, to the point that they are becoming useless.

    There's tons written about this out on the net, but I would have to honestly say that I can no longer recommend AVG to anyone.

    The bandwidth implications alone are bad enough for users, but the potential for damage to sites that rank well with good SEO are being hit harder since the scanner probes every search result displayed.

    Has anyone thought that this is now the ultimate get out of gaol free card for people busted by the fuzz for visiting terrorism or kiddie porn related sites.

    No M'lud it wasn't me it must have been my AVG!!

    AND the morons at AVG are defending this, saying they are offering protection to users. Probably in more ways than they realise!!

    Regards,

    Steve
    IT, e-commerce, Retail, Programme & Project Management, EPoS, Supply Chain and Logistic Services. Yorkshire. http://www.bigi.uk.com

  2. #22
    Senior Member C:\Saw's Avatar
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    I can verify that Avast works great with little slowdown on my old Win95 pc--32mb RAM

    I can't remember the video card on it though

    Avast is a great free antivirus that includes a rootkit check and startup items check as well as an option for boottime scanning (much better than safe mode!)

    Just get the free key from their site (they'll send you one through email after you register)

    Also, if you experience slowdown try turning off some its services (it has about 8 i believe-- for instance a web scanner, email scanner, network scanner, etc...). I always turned off web scanner and a few others as the only scanner you really need is resident scanner

    When i used windows i used Comodo firewall, Comodo BOclean, Avast Antivirus, and Spyware Blaster. For periodic scanning i used a-squared antispyware, bitdefender free, nmap, ccleaner, and various rootkit tools such as icesword and gmer

    also, firefox with the noscript and adblock addons are highly recommended, esp when using windows (noscript can block some cross-scripting attacks and java vulnerabilities among others)

    I believe that's all i used...they all worked great and kept my machine secure
    Last edited by C:\Saw; June 30th, 2008 at 09:01 PM.
    "...to give correctly is to give them what they need from us, for it would not be skillful to bring gifts to anyone that are in no way needed."
    --Socrates

    *Einstein Would Be Proud*

  3. #23
    Here's a couple snippets from AVG8's EULA:

    "b. Privacy.

    i. You acknowledge that AVG Technologies collects certain information regarding the users of the Software, including certain personally identifiable information. You hereby consent to AVG Technologies' collection and use of such information, and agree that AVG Technologies' collection and use of such information will be governed by AVG Technologies' Privacy Policy, currently published at www.avg.com, as AVG Technologies may revise the same from time to time.

    ii. BY PROCEEDING TO INSTALL THE TOOLBAR, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THAT, UPON ITS INSTALLATION, THE TOOLBAR WILL MODIFY VIA THE SETTINGS OF YOUR BROWSER THE "DNS ERROR PAGE" AND "ERROR 404 PAGE". FURTHERMORE, ONCE INSTALLED, THE TOOLBAR MAY

    COMMUNICATE CERTAIN BASIC USAGE INFORMATION TO VISICOM MEDIA INC. VIA ("APPLICATIONSTAT.COM") TO HELP VISICOM COMPILE GLOBAL STATISTICS CONCERNING USAGE OF THE TOOLBAR BY USERS (for example concerning the number of installations and unique users, the number of clicks which the Toolbar receives, the number of searches performed by users, etc.). Such statistical information will not include any personally identifiable information regarding users."


    Slightly interesting, just thought I'd point that out.


    Oh, and nothing in there about modifying the installation parameters from outside the installation. Therefore, I will assume that said modification is in accord with the Agreement.

  4. #24
    Senior Member Ouroboros's Avatar
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    http://www.zonealarm.com/store/conte...comparison.jsp

    Still going to shill for ZoneAlarm Security Suite...sure it isn't free, but it works like a charm.

    O
    "entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem"

    "entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity."

    -Occam's Razor


  5. #25
    Senior Member IKnowNot's Avatar
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    Oh, and nothing in there about modifying the installation parameters from outside the installation. Therefore, I will assume that said modification is in accord with the Agreement.
    I would guess it is alright too, since it is included in their
    FAQ "How to install AVG without LinkScanner"
    " And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be" --Miguel Cervantes

  6. #26
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Oh, and nothing in there about modifying the installation parameters from outside the installation. Therefore, I will assume that said modification is in accord with the Agreement.
    Dream on, the only thing I assume about IT and the law is that your chances of getting a case heard by anyone who knows anything about the subject are somewhere between zero and none. The federal judge who ruled that RAM was a permanent document comes to mind.......................

    I prefer to go with the professional advice that I have been given, which is basically that things installed and running on your computer are pretty much yours, so long as you don't violate copyright.

    Steve, I have the free version 8.0 on my wife's and my machines. I have been able to turn it off on both.???

    Has anyone thought that this is now the ultimate get out of gaol free card for people busted by the fuzz for visiting terrorism or kiddie porn related sites.
    Given that "reasonable doubt" and "innocent until proven guilty" don't seem to apply to terrorism or KP, I would say that there is another side to that coin

    I agree about the website aspect. Surely they are going to have to pull this thing?

    As of the weekend AVG updates have changed the user agent it was using (which could be identified & filtered) to a standard IE6 user agent which can not be identified.
    Hmmmm, something on my system seems to be doing it, because I now get an error condition in AVG that the Update Manager has failed. Mind you, that could be because it is trying to run before I have established an internet connection?............. strange though, as I didn't get that to begin with?

  7. #27
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    I will double post because of the time hiatus.

    IKnowNot has made an excellent discovery............... apparently AVG have specifically consented to this amended installation process, albeit in their FAQs.

    That is a bit odd, given that I would have expected you to be given the option on installation?............ you know the usual "standard" or "custom" option?

    However, given the specific authorisation, go ahead.

    Please understand that my reservations are based on working on customer's machines............... what you do with your personal kit is your business.

  8. #28
    rebmeM roineS enilnOitnA steve.milner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nihil
    Steve, I have the free version 8.0 on my wife's and my machines. I have been able to turn it off on both.???
    I have been able to turn off the LinkScanner, but on my paid for AVG I have the facility to ignore the alert the link scanner raises, by right clicking it on the overview screen.

    I can not right click this on my Wife's Free AVG

    Regards,

    Steve
    IT, e-commerce, Retail, Programme & Project Management, EPoS, Supply Chain and Logistic Services. Yorkshire. http://www.bigi.uk.com

  9. #29
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Yes, I have the same, at least in Win 2000 and XP.

    The update thing I still need to look at............... it works manually and after a while the autoupdate cuts in and starts it properly........... it has to be a boot sequence problem on both of these machines?

    I will research this further.

    My conclusions thus far are that the application is still very good.............. shame about the website thing...................?

  10. #30
    Only african to own a PC! Cider's Avatar
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    I dunno if I understand this clearly

    AVG will scan every website or something to that extent. I have been reading this topic but for some reason I have missed the bus!

    Can someone explain it to me in laymans terms before I run it :-)
    The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
    Albert Einstein

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