AVG 2011 Update Causes Widespread Problems For 64-Bit Windows

phx_zs writes "Last night's mandatory update of AVG 2011 Free edition has caused most 64-bit Windows 7 PCs to fail while loading Windows. On their website they have an FAQ with instructions on how to repair the problem using a boot CD or USB device."

Microsoft Security Essentuals

[Enderandrew]

I used to recommend AVG as the free anti-virus solution to people, but Microsoft Security Essentials has a much smaller footprint, it doesn't harass you to upgrade to a paid version, and it has a better detection rate.

AVG isn't particularly great when comparing free or paid products these days.

Re:AVG? Feh.

[JeffSpudrinski]

I've been discouraging my friends/customers from using it for about 18 months now.

Agreed that it was once awesome, but they took a dive when they starting including that crappy IE plugin tool that pre-verifies all the results of your searches.

They also make it nigh on impossible to find the free version on their site (or it was hard last time I looked, which has been a while).

While all AV programs are prone to screwing something up, this one won't help their already soured reputation.

I've been using Avast and Sophos for a while now and had little issues with either of them.

-JJS

Re:Antivirus?

[erroneus]

No. Just no. I'm a Windows hater too, but no. It's simply not THAT bad. It's really easy to catch something, but simply existing on the web isn't enough. You are making "magical" assumptions.

Re:Antivirus?

[GIL_Dude]

If you have Adobe Reader or Flash installed you absolutely DO get them by surfing the web. Go to a site where their ad network has gotten either hacked or just had a bad ad get by their "review" and it is a done deal. Turning on DEP for all processes, installing EMET (video on it here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/ff859539.aspx [microsoft.com]) and configuring it to protect acrord32.exe and your browser, installing Adobe Reader 10, keeping Flash up to date and using something like FlashBlock to control when Flash can run, etc. can all help out in this space. But for the average user who doesn't update Flash or Adobe Reader - they absolutely get infections just browsing the web. My boss and my brother in law both got a fake AV from reputable sites recently - the ad networks had served an Acrobat Reader exploit. I'll recommend MS Security Essentials as a free as in beer, low impact AV product. But I'd look into EMET if you haven't already.

Browsing is it

[SuperKendall]

No. Just no. I'm a Windows hater too, but no. It's simply not THAT bad. It's really easy to catch something, but simply existing on the web isn't enough.

Existing, no, browsing to, yes. What if you simply browsed to a page with a trojan PDF [zdnet.com] for example...

That would be enough.

Re:using a boot CD

[Ihmhi]

Yes, and we'll also never be able to play the majority of PC games ever again.

I really wish people would stop saying "lololol get Linux no more viruses". No shit, I think by now a lot of us know that Linux has far, far less in the way of viruses and malware compared to Windows. The problem is that it also has far less software that some of us want to use.

"...I've never had a virus."

[repetty]

I haven't run antivirus software in years and I've never had a virus.

I've heard that one from Windows users before. You know what happens when I look into that claim? I find viruses every fucking time.