Can you trust avg free antivirus protection for your pc? Even if you consider yourself to be a non-expert home computer user, you need to power your computer with decent protection against the threats of the internet.

Did you know that avg is widely accepted as a decent antivirus solution and that there still is a free edition available for home and non-commercial use? I have to admit it: sometimes it can be just a little bit tricky to find your way to the correct download link for the free version, but if you know where to look, you can still benefit from complete virus protection for your home computer at no cost.

This article will help you to locate the avg free antivirus download, give some interesting installation tips and clear up the confusion around the different versions available.

AVG free antivirus download location

Here is the avg free antivirus download. Just make sure to look for the “free basic protection” version, because on the download page you will also find a link to a more complete internet security product (called AVG internet security).

The difference between AVG antivirus free edition and AVG internet security lies in the fact that their more complete package offers protection against root kits, e-mail scams and other forms of malicious activity on the internet.

Basic protection “light” or a full-fledged sealed-down security fortress?

My personal opinion is that when you use common sense when surfing the internet, and you take into consideration a number of basic security tips, you don’t need to charge your computer with every last piece of security technology.

Please keep in mind that the more automated security scanning you request from your computer, the more processing time this ongoing security scanning will demand and the slower your computer will become. Interestingly enough, one of the main reasons we want security software on our computers is to avoid viruses and spyware slowing down our computers. That’s why I believe in finding a good balance between some common-sense virus protection and choosing a solution that’s “light” enough to keep your computer running smoothly.

You would be surprised by the number of people reporting serious performance decreases after installing complete internet security software packages. Furthermore, what I sort of dislike about some “total security packages” is that they often change the standard windows behavior like windows update mechanisms or windows firewall protection.

While I agree that non-technical computer users don’t want to know about all the technical nitty-gritty of how a windows firewall works, I also strongly believe that the typical home pc users don’t want to be bothered with some piece of software asking for their attention all the time. Maybe you already are familiar with the in-your-face messages from certain security packages that want to know if you are really sure that you want to view a particular website or if you want to allow your mail program to connect with the internet.

Of course you want your mail program to talk with the internet. How else do you expect the poor thing to deliver your mail message to your recipient?

The worst part of it is that most of the time when these sophisticated security programs are nagging and asking for your attention, you don’t even know whether you should allow or disallow the action. What would the average home computer user do with the following message?

AVG free antivirus tips

Of course I am not saying that YOU are an average home computer user. You are a well-informed windows-help-central.com visitor who knows better than to deal with annoying messages that don’t add anything to your productive time 😉

Again, some common sense, combined with a number of basic security tips and a decent basic protection solution are your best guarantee for a care-free computing experience.

avg free antivirus / avg paid antivirus?

If you are still confused about the AVG download page and the difference between avg free antivirus, avg antivirus and avg internet security, I’m here to tell you: you are not alone.

You’d be surprised how many people are uncertain about what version is right for them. A lot of people are worried that the avg free antivirus won’t enforce sufficient protection on their home computer. Of course the makers of avg free antivirus promote the paid version with a number of benefits over the the free version (hey, it’s only natural that they are trying to be financially compensated for the efforts they put in their online security solutions), but again: the free version offers the same level of virus protection as the paid version.

If you are a home user (or non-commercial user), it’s perfectly o.k. to pick the avg free antivirus solution. Some of the major differences are the availability of the software in multiple languages (trust me, English is always available) and the fact that you can get technical support in the paid version. Again, if you ever need technical assistance in the event of a computer crash by a virus, chances are that the support level that you can expect from a commercial antivirus solution is way too limited so that you will need a separate computer specialist after all.

As long as you just make sure that you have a sound backup strategy in place, you will have your system back up and running in no time in the event of a system crash. No need to call a computer expert whatsoever.

AVG free antivirus installation tips

The avg free antivirus setup wizard is pretty straight-forward and easy to follow. Here are just a couple of interesting installation tips.

Tip 1: One of the first dialogs during the setup wizard wants to know from you is whether you want to perform a standard installation or a custom installation.
I suggest that you select a custom installation, since that will give you more control about a number of options that make your antivirus life with avg free antivirus more enjoyable afterwards.

Tip 2: AVG security toolbar. During the install procedure you will see a dialog box with a check box next to the option to install the AVG security toolbar.

AVG security toolbar

One of the benefits of the AVG security toolbar (which nests between your internet browser toolbars) is that it offers additional protection while surfing the internet by inspecting the links that you click on. While this may offer some extra confidence while exploring the web, it is also known that these “browser enhancements” can sometimes cause problems when used in combination with certain software packages. I suggest turning off this option.

Tip 3: Daily scans.
While there are things to be said for organizing a daily system scan for viruses, the truth is that in most real-life situations this daily scan contributes to user frustration and annoyance. During the process of scanning your entire computer for viruses and internet threats, your processor is loaded so heavily that your computer seems to come to a screeching halt. Since avg free antivirus features live protection, scanning files as they’re downloaded via the web or e-mail, it’s not necessary to have a daily scan on top of that.

If you suspect that your computer already is infected by some virus during the time when you install avg free antivirus for the first time, it’s a good idea to do one full scan immediately following the installation. You may also need to do an online virus scan.

No need to perform a daily scan afterwards, so clear that check box during the set up process.

Final words

A lot of people are confused about the level of antivirus protection they need in order to have a safe computer experience. Common sense, combined with AVG free antivirus and a few very effective “safe computing” tips and tricks will come a long way when it comes to a more enjoyable computing experience.