Many people have used a free antivirus program from Grisoft known as AVG Free.
For the most part it has been a decent free antivirus program, although not a complete internet security suite.
With version 7.5, Grisoft made the program harder to find. Now with version 8 they are adding a “feature” that kind of helps you but only by “phoning home”.
When you upgrade to AVG version 8, you have the option to install the AVG Security Toolbar which comes with Yahoo! search box (I have written about the default addin crap that previously trusted vendors were polluting our machines with in this post).
With the AVG Security Toolbar you get another “bonus” whether you want it or not – LinkScanner.
When you search, LinkScanner “phones home” to check the sites returned by the search, much like McAfee’s SiteAdvisor (the only offering from McAfee that I recommend) except that it leaves your IP address on Grisoft’s servers which could potentially identify you in conjunction with the search.
Virus Bulletin has stated that in the process of checking out a site, LinkScanner emulates actually going there!
You can turn off LinkScanner, and I recommend you do so. Double click the AVG icon in the system tray. Under Tools, Advanced settings you can choose LinkScanner and uncheck “Enable AVG Search-Shield”.
You will have to restart your browser, but then you should be good.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,
just a correction – the statement about IP addresses and ‘phone home’ is incorrect. Only if the user chooses to join the prevalence network (which is an opt-in, with all relevant explanation about privacy issues), the infected pages are reported back to AVG infrastructure.
The SafeSurf component (available in the Pro and IS editions) actually analyzes the site content when it being downloaded and – unlike SiteAdvisor, that only relies on a static database – it protects the user in realtime, against real existing exploits.
Thanks for the clarification.