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Avg internet security full 2013 |
Anti-Virus Guard (
AVG) is a family of
anti-virus and
Internet security software for the
Microsoft Windows,
Linux,
Mac OS X, and
FreeBSD computing
platforms, developed by
AVG Technologies, a
publicly traded Czech company formerly known as
Grisoft.
[1]
History
The brand AVG comes from Bernard Schwartz's first product,
"Anti-Virus Guard", launched in 1992 in Czechoslovakia. In 1997, the
first AVG licenses were sold in Germany and UK. AVG was introduced in
the U.S. in 1998.
[2]
The AVG Free Edition helped raise awareness of the AVG product line.
[3]
In 2006, the AVG security package grew to include anti-spyware, as
AVG Technologies acquired ewido Networks, an anti-spyware group. That
same year, Microsoft announced that AVG components would be available
directly within the
Windows Vista operating system.
AVG Technologies acquired Exploit Prevention Labs (XPL) in December
2007, and incorporated that company's LinkScanner safe search and surf
technology into the AVG 8.0 security product range released in March
2008.
In January 2009, AVG Technologies acquired Sana Security, a developer
of identity theft prevention software. This software was incorporated
into the AVG security product range released in March 2009.
According to AVG Technologies, over 106 million users have AVG Anti-Virus protection, including users of the Free Edition.
[4]
Multimi
A joint project of AVG and Israeli start-up Zbang, Multimi is a free
Windows desktop and iPad app for organizing and sharing content between
multiple inboxes, social networks, calendars, and media albums.
AVG PC TuneUp®
AVG PC TuneUp is an application designed to speed up the computer by
removing files that may slow down the operating system and optimizing
some of its settings.
Features
AVG features most of the common functions available in modern
anti-virus and Internet security programs, including periodic scans,
scans of sent and received emails (including adding footers to the
emails indicating this), the ability to "repair" some virus-infected
files, and a
quarantine area: "virus vault/chest" in which infected files are held.
A handy & clear (if somewhat misleading) feature / product comparison table is at Free vs Paid.
[12]
LinkScanner
The patent pending LinkScanner technology acquired from Exploit
Prevention Labs and built into most AVG products, provides real-time
updated protection against exploits and drive-by downloads. LinkScanner
includes: Search-Shield – a safe search component that places safety
ratings next to each link in Google, Yahoo! and MSN search results; plus
Active Surf-Shield – a safe surf component that scans the contents of a
web site in real-time to ensure it's safe being opened.
[13] Concerns regarding web analytics have made Link Scanner a controversial component (see "Link Scanner Concerns").