2013 Antivirus Software Reviews

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AVG Internet Security 2013 Overall Score: 75%

AVG Internet Security 2013 offers the same virus protection as AVG Antivirus plus additional security features. AVG has earned respect by their unique offering of a free and effective antivirus software for several years. Their paid version is also good and their internet security performed well in our tests once again this year, though with a few notable concerns.

AVG missed a few key threats during real-time scanning and their phishing protection isn't top notch.

We are also not a fan of any program that doesn't immediately scan the system after installation.

While the user interface is refreshingly simple and clean, we actually found it rather inefficient.

While not perfect, AVG Internet Security 2013 is worth investigating and still performs well, overall.

Certified by:

• Anti-Malware Test Lab
• AV Comparatives
• AV-Test
• ICSA
• Malware Research Group
• PC Security Labs
• VB Bulletin
• WestCoast Labs

AVG Internet Security generally performs well with real-time antivirus protection and malware scanning.

However, it missed one well-known scareware program, locking up our test computer. It also wasn't current on its antiphishing database, causing us to question its effectiveness. These are critical issues to master for any internet security software.

We also found the split in scanning options confusing — the "Whole Computer Scan" was separate from an "Anti-Rootkit Scan". We'd prefer a "Whole System Scan" to do just that — offer a comprehensive scan, including rootkits.
Resource usage for AVG was pretty low. CPU was around 1% when idle, with only 52% memory usage.

During a full system scan, CPU usage was average — about 47%.

Memory usage during a manual scan peaked every so often, but stayed around 82%.
The user interface is clean with good graphics and looks easy to use.

However, we found the navigation inefficient and annoying. After choosing a destination from the "Overview" page, and completing settings on that next page, there are no breadcrumbs at the top or menu options to move to the next section. You are forced to start over from the Overview page, taking more time than it should.

In addition, the "Advanced" page is really too advanced for most users and just adds to the confusion.
Technical support is our primary area of concern with AVG.

AVG does offer free support in the form of FAQs, online forums, and chat and phone support. The free phone support, however, simply guides you through the self-support options.

Additional, useful help is available for a fee — $19.99 for one-time help or $199 for a year's work of assistance (or $299 for a Family plan). Considering other companies offer all of their help for free, we are not happy with this setup.

In addition, while we found the forums and chat useful, the FAQ pages were cumbersome and not very helpful.
AVG downloads updates regularly, ensuring up to date protection.

We couldn't find a way to adjust the update intervals or find out what the intervals are, but can see a record of the date and time of last update.



AVG offers several useful extra features.

AVG offers an online backup, storage, and file sharing package called "LiveKive." You can backup all of your files, photos, and other media to AVG's online storage servers. You can access these files anywhere, on any computer, and you can share any files you choose.

There's a free, 30-day trial. After that, it's $49.99/year with 25GB of storage space. $59.99/year with 50GB, or $79.99/year for unlimited storage space. Overall, LiveKive is a nice feature that's easy to use. It all depends on how much storage you need.

AVG's parental controls are fee-based. As of this writing, they're offering protection for up to 3 PCs for $0.99 (reg. $19.99 -- then it goes up from there depending on how many devices you want to protect).

All of the standard features apply: web monitoring, PC scheduling, activity reports, social network monitoring, etc. All of these seem fairly effective and adequate. AVG also offers parental controls for mobile devices like phones and pads/tablets.

Android Protection protects your Android device from viruses and malware attempting to sabotage calls, texts and downloads.

AVG has rightfully earned respect in the marketplace with it's solid antivirus products — both from their free antivirus and the paid version that offers some useful extra features.

We have some concerns, however. Their basic virus protection is not rock solid, which really is the most important criteria.

The user interface nice looking, but clunky. And, their technical support isn't idea.

Overall, it'll do the job just fine, but there are better products out there.