AVG Free

AVG Free is free antivirus software.

Characteristics

• Detection and elimination of viruses, threats and malware
  • Компоненты: AntiVirus, AntiMalware (резидентная защита AVG), AVG Anti-Rootkit, AVG Email Scanner, AVG Protective Cloud Technology, AVG Community Protection Network, AVG LinkScanner Surf-Shield и AVG Social Networking Protection.

AntiVirus

• Blocks and deletes viruses, hearts and "trojan horses" and interferes with their distribution.

AntiMalware (Resident protection of AVG)

• Protects from the malware and interferes with possible infection.

AVG Anti-Rootkit

• Detects and deletes dangerous rootkits behind which the programs trying to catch control over the computer are.

AVG Email Scanner

• Detects and blocks the infected or fraudulent investments capable to do harm to the computer. Microsoft Outlook 2010, or the scanner of mailboxes for work with the POP3, SMTP and IMAP protocols functions as a plug-in for applications of e-mail, for example.

AVG Protective Cloud Technology

• Identifies the appearing "cloud" threats and prevents their distribution, using automatically updated antivirus software.

AVG Community Protection Network

• Constantly analyzes new threats which associates face adequately to react to them. It constantly improves antivirus protection for all community AVG.

AVG LinkScanner Surf-Shield

• The intellectual technology preventing visit of the infected and fraudulent websites. This technology assumes the active analysis of web pages and the termination of loading at detection of suspicious objects.

AVG Social Networking Protection

• Verification of links which you exchange on social networks, for example Facebook and Twitter, for ensuring protection.

Privacy

Компоненты: AVG Do Not Track, AVG Identity Protection, Anti-Spyware, AVG WiFi Guard

AVG Do Not Track

• Allows to reveal websites which are engaged in collection of data on your actions on the Internet and to solve, whether to allow them it. Such opportunity exists if you use AVG Security Toolbar from the delivery or in the form of a separate plug-in. Supports Internet Explorer®, Mozilla Firefox® and Google Chrome®.

AVG Identity Protection

• Not only provides protection of your personal data on the Internet, but also protects your computer from actions of cyber-criminals.

Anti-Spyware component

• Reliably saves credentials from espionage and advertizing programs which imperceptibly collect important personal information.

AVG WiFi Guard

• Warns about the access attempts from the user's computer to fraudulent access points of Wi-fi used by malefactors.

Lack of traces from remote files Reliable removal of the most confidential information

File Shredder

• Normal removal is not always enough for total disappearance of data. The File Shredder component reliably deletes data with the help of the processes preventing to them access and recovery by other users.

Performance

Provides the optimal capacity of the PC

Components: AVG Turbo Scan, mode "During the Game", AVG Smart Scanner

AVG Turbo Scan

• Considerably reduces scanning duration thanks to a rational technique of scanning at which files are checked as their emergence on the hard drive.

During the Game mode

• Reduces priorities of scanning and updating during the game in order to avoid hangup and deceleration. It also reliably protects your game profile from the malefactors trying to steal and sell your game achievements.

AVG Smart Scanner

• Scans the computer, only when it is not used. Passes into the mode of a low priority at activation of a mouse or the keyboard. For acceleration of scanning ignores files which were already checked and whose safety does not raise doubts.

Support

Free support by phone - employees of the Center for customer service are ready to help always, when necessary. Qualified specialists of a technical support team are always ready to answer questions — round the clock, without days off and is absolutely free.

Screenshot of a window of the program, 2013

2015: AVG collects information as Windows

On September 21, 2015 it became known of the statement of the CEO of AVG Technologies company in which the beginning of collecting by an antivirus of AVG Free of all available data on users and sending of copies of some files is announced. Date of H -^[1] on October 15, 2015^[1].

Screenshot of a fragment of the user agreement, 2015

After implementation of Microsoft of the list of espionage functions in Windows 7 — 10, other developers drew a conclusion on a certain permissiveness concerning the clients given on computers. If earlier the antivirus of AVG Free sent only data on the infected files and search queries of the user, then now the list of information which is flowing away in network extended many times.

Now at each start of an antivirus or visit of a developer's site information will gather:

• Client's IP address;
• information on other applications which are installed on the device, and feature of their use;

data on the malware (hacker utilities, key generators, emulators of the server of activation, etc.) detected potentially;

• copies of the files and e-mails marked with a virus scanner as the containing viruses or potentially malware;
• names suspicious (based on check in the heuristic analyzer) files, their hashes and properties, attributes and the connected registry keys;
• information on how you use the products AVG, including features of behavior (number of repeated installations, usage time, settings, firmness of the entered passwords and the used enciphering levels);
• information on that, products and services of AVG are used where exactly (including approximate location of the device, the zip code of the region, the city code and the time zone).
• URL from which redirection on loading of the AVG Free distribution kit was executed.
• the identifier of the consumer of the personalized advertizing (it is tied to the device);
• the history of search and the visited websites;
• name of Internet service provider or cellular operator;

On mobile devices data will be added to these data:

• IMEI and MEID (identifiers of devices);
• IMSI (SIM Card ID);
• mobile phone number;
• ID devices (serial number and code of the producer);
• the geographic location according to GPS and a cellular network.

According to the developer, all sensitive data undergo the procedure of depersonalization on the server. For example, at the IP address the last octet can disappear. "We collect not personal data to earn money from use of our free products and also that we could continue to provide them free of charge", – it is told in the text of the statement. The phrase about desire to earn money contradicts a statement: "We will never transfer your personal data (PD) to the third party, including advertisers".

In the note it is mentioned that AVG reserves the right to transfer certain PD to the divisions and branches in other countries and also to affiliated firms, suppliers of search services, certain distributors and partners. Under this determination upon any organization can get.

Besides, PD are transferred at the request of the authorities (including other country) and to the different organizations in exceptional cases. Prevention of spam sending, liquidation of botnets and other actions increasing the general security from the point of view of AVG concern them.

Before the antivirus worked mainly locally and performed function of determination of the malware, now it will have properties of the Trojan. The company focuses attention that it does not collect confidential data, like credit card numbers and social insurance. At the same time, it recognizes that "such data can accidentally be included in the sent files" because of features of work of OS and applications.

Notes