AVG free virus protection-should I buy PC Tuneup?

[dennis thompson]

I am not very computer savvy. I have been running AVG Free and it has worked well. I get popups but they don't bother me too much. They offer a PC Tune-up but I need to buy it for About $40 for a year. It just gave me a message that some programs are running that are slowing down my computer (one was Turbo tax 2011) I don't mind the $40 but I'm just wondering if these type programs work?

[Lee Schierer]

Why do you have Turbotax 2011 still on your computer? Unless you use it for some reason remove the program. If you are using it to review an old tax return, the newer versions should do that for you or print out your 2011 return and then scan it as a PDF.

[Art Mann]

I use it and it helps. However, for best results, you need to know something about the software on your computer. It will allow you to "put to sleep" programs which would normally execute all the time in the background. Most of the time this is a good thing but sometimes it cripples or disables the program. You can always fix it back but you have to watch what you are doing. It is very good about finding useless temporary files. It supposedly straightens out you registry but I haven't seen much improvement doing that. I could go on and on but I will just sum up by saying it is a good tool if you know how to use it.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have always used the free version.

The more it does, the more it slows things down. There is also a question about what you do on the machine from a risk profile perspective. I have never bothered looking at what the extended versions offer, so I will take a look:

http://www.avg.com/us-en/all-products

So, for an extra $69.99 a year, you add:



Encrypt for private stuff. I do not need them for encryption and would probably actively avoid their probably proprietary encryption that locks me in to paying them.
Detect fake websites for safer payments. Well, maybe useful, but where are you buying your stuff and how to do you link there? If you follow links from email, probably never a problem. Even when I receive a link from say a medical service provider, I generally go find that link myself rather than using what was sent to me by email because you just never know.
Includes phone and chat support. This is what you are really paying for right here. The ability to call someone or chat with them online.
Includes unlimited Android version


So, how often have you thought "boy, I sure wish I could chat with someone about this"?

I have relatives that use Comcast, and the gives them free access to Norton:
http://constantguard.xfinity.com/

Wait, you say that you have Time Warner Cable?
https://www.timewarnercable.com/en/support/internet/step-by-step/mcafee-antivirus-and-family-protection.html

My point is that you may have access to other packages free already.

This has pretty good coverage on if you want AVG free or paid

http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/articles/why-buy-avg-anti-virus-when-you-can-use-avg-anti-virus-free/

They say the pro version will slow down your computer, but provide more protection while surfing the internet and using social media.

Typically, I just stick with Windows Defender, which is also free

Read this, they review and rate four free products. I have used with no problems Windows Defender, AVG, and Avast (free versions). My Father just wants his Norton, so that is what he uses.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/best-free-antivirus_round-up

[dennis thompson]

Thanks for the info, I think I'll just stay with the free version.
I keep all the years of Turbo Tax on my computer, I guess I should delete them

[paul cottingham]

I struggle with this. When I owned my networking (and computer servicing) company, many of our new clients came to us because a "free" version of AV had failed. You can spend a lot of money getting virus damage reversed or repaired. YMMV of course, but I stand by what I say here, and used to tell all my students this. I've had a lot of them email me, and tell me they should have listened.

[Jim Becker]

For Windows "cleanup", CCleaner free version does an acceptable job in my experience for cleaning and as I've mentioned before, the native Windows AV works just fine, too. I have found that most paid programs of that ilk don't really provide enough value to warrant my money. Same goes for Mac utilities (which is my primary environment) where I use native tools or those that cost little or nothing.