How we recommend installing AVG

[sc123]

Many of our users have been having problems installing AVG, and many more have experienced performance issues after installation. There are a few suggestions we usually make that we believe provide the security you need without compromising nearly as much performance as is sacrificed in the default installation.

It should be noted that we are not affiliated with Grisoft, the makers of AVG. We make these suggestions based on countless installations and our experience troubleshooting issues.

These recommendations apply to AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security.

-Prior to installation, uninstall all other security programs. This includes things like Spybot and Adaware. Having multiple security programs installed at once does not increase your level of protection, it simply bogs down your computer and they often conflict with each other.
-Disable any firewalls loaded on your computer, such as Windows Firewall or ZoneAlarm. Uninstall them if you intend to use the firewall in AVG Internet Security. We always recommend using a hardware firewall like a Linksys WRT54G over any software firewall, including AVG's.
-Always download the latest version of the installation file from AVG.
-Make sure your system meets the minimum requirements. Though the requirements are quite low, some people will try to install on Windows 98, which is no longer supported.
-When installing AVG, do so in custom mode. Just execute the installation as normal, and choose Custom mode rather than Standard. This will give you the option to uncheck Web Shield and LinkScanner. We recommend that you do not install these components, as they provide little additional security and cause numerous issues which will be further discussed below.


Why do we recommend NOT installing Web Shield or LinkScanner?

Web Shield does two things - scans code on websites to see if they contain anything dangerous, and provides instant messenger protection for ICQ and MSN. The latter is pointless for most people, as the threats from an IM attack are minuscule. The former is also a negligible risk, since most modern browsers provide built-in protection for these types of threats.

LinkScanner scans search results and web content for malicious code. This functionality is integrated into most modern web browsers, which usually implement it better. There are also other problems with LinkScanner that keep us from recommending it at this time.

In general, it is our opinion that Web Shield and LinkScanner provide no measurable benefits while considerably slowing down both web browsing and general PC performance. We can only hope that at some point in the future Grisoft will either improve or remove these components from their products, but right now we recommend installing AVG without them.

[philippo]

If we just...um..."happened" to install already in "Standard" mode and also -- did not remove Spybot S&D before installing, would you recommend uninstalling AVG and then reinstalling it following your guidelines?
Thanks

[sc123]

If we just...um..."happened" to install already in "Standard" mode and also -- did not remove Spybot S&D before installing, would you recommend uninstalling AVG and then reinstalling it following your guidelines?
Thanks

Yes.