AVG antivirus software receives great reviews not only because it is free, but because it delivers to user expectations

AVG antivirus 6 starts automatically with Windows and runs in the background, providing real-time virus protection. It has a very low overhead and seems to be extremely inconspicuous.

Consensus appears to suggest that at no time did the systems it was installed on seem to run slower or exhibit any problems with AVG running in the background which is something that cannot be said about some commercial antivirus software.

We have all heard it said that the best things in life are free. Well, when it comes to AVG antivirus software, that saying seems to hold true. The vast majority, who use AVG, use it as their antivirus software of choice. While some may even argue about it being "the best", particularly when you consider it is free.

It has all of the features you need, from manual or scheduled scans to make sure your computer's memory and hard drives are virus free, to real-time scanning to make sure they stay that way.

The AVG software includes email scanning that protects Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express mail. For additional peace of mind it can attach a visual certification to each sent and received e-mail, verifying that the e-mail has been scanned and found to be virus-free. For convenient access AVG antivirus adds itself to your e-mail program.

This software will keep itself updated with the latest virus definitions, which it can automatically download from GRISoft at the time and frequency you specify. But most importantly, AVG antivirus is also good at cleaning or stopping viruses.

As is the case with most if not all antivirus software, AVG has received some criticism, as is the case for almost every anti virus product.

Among the negative comments is the suggestion that according to vendors, the free edition is only updated once a month. If true, this could be a serious shortcoming. Another observation is that while it may be slightly better than average for viruses, it is weak for script viruses, trojans & other malware.

Most computer users wish to compare more than one brand of computer security product. If you are one of those comparison shoppers, be sure to check out the features that the good folks at panda-software have in store for you.