Do NOT install AVG 8.0 at this time

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 15 Jun 2008 10:30 am

Wiz Feinberg wrote:... It is possible to disable these toolbars, if you have the know-how, or gain it from the AVG 8 Link Scanner FAQs. I have learned that there is a means of installing AVG 8 without these modules being present at all, which to me is a better solution. .....
Code: Select all
c:\avg_free_stf_*.exe /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch
The AVG installer will run, but the SafeSurf and SafeSearch features will NOT be installed at all.

Unfortunately this does not eliminate the annoying slowdown when I load a page that contains many links. For example, a Google search returns a page of results, but often (not always) my browser is disabled while each link icon, one at a time, changes from a "waiting, working" appearance to a "green, OK" appearance. During this time, up to 20 seconds or so, all instances of the Firefox browser are disabled, and clicking the mouse has no effect.

One solution seems to be to use Internet Explorer for Google searches, and Firefox for everything else. It seems that I can use Firefox, while AVG has disabled IE.

Wiz, do you think that these slowdowns while it checks each link are caused by some different feature besides the "the SafeSurf and SafeSearch features" which I supposedly disabled by uninstalling AVG 8.0 and reinstalling from the command line as directed?

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 15 Jun 2008 11:28 am

Thanks Wiz for that GW info. Altho, I now have the dreaded VISTA, I eliminated many of those security/admin warning flags. I'm still "the master of my domain", just like George Kastanza, and rarely, if at all, run into 'administrator' problems.

BUT - this is not to say I'm just thrilled with Vista.
I don't know what scenic outlook MS had in mind when they misnomered this OS; but VISTA certainly was a poor choice of words. Something like "London Fog" would have been a better choice.

I'll go and check out the GW website. I guess I can delete the file from the AVG virus vault? Safely?

Isn't this a great place? I think so. Thanks b0b, and all moderators.

Chip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 15 Jun 2008 12:09 pm

I just went out and read what Goldwave had to say.
I then checked all the files in my GW folder, and could not find a UNSTALL.exe.

The only file UNSTALL listed was a text file.

So what's this mean?

How and where do you go on the AVG Control Center to report something like this? I looked around for about 2 minutes, and gave up.

Well let's have a bowl of buttered popcorn now, because
I'm cornfused.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 15 Jun 2008 12:10 pm

Chip;
Update the AVG definitions, then open the Virus Vault and right click on the quarantined Goldwave uninstaller and select "Restore."

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 15 Jun 2008 12:15 pm

CHIP FOSSA wrote:I just went out and read what Goldwave had to say.
I then checked all the files in my GW folder, and could not find a UNSTALL.exe.

The only file UNSTALL listed was a text file.

So what's this mean?

How and where do you go on the AVG Control Center to report something like this? I looked around for about 2 minutes, and gave up.

Well let's have a bowl of buttered popcorn now, because
I'm cornfused. 8)

Chip;
Open the AVG Control Center and look for a line calling itself Virus Vault, or open Test Center and look for a button to the Vault. When you find and open the Virus Vault you should see the deleted file, if AVG quarantined it. If it has been totally deleted you will have to reinstall the Goldwave program.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 15 Jun 2008 12:22 pm

Earnest Bovine wrote: Unfortunately this does not eliminate the annoying slowdown when I load a page that contains many links. For example, a Google search returns a page of results, but often (not always) my browser is disabled while each link icon, one at a time, changes from a "waiting, working" appearance to a "green, OK" appearance. During this time, up to 20 seconds or so, all instances of the Firefox browser are disabled, and clicking the mouse has no effect.

Wiz, do you think that these slowdowns while it checks each link are caused by some different feature besides the "the SafeSurf and SafeSearch features" which I supposedly disabled by uninstalling AVG 8.0 and reinstalling from the command line as directed?

Earnest;
If you reinstalled AVG from the command line, then the Link Scanner and Search Scanner modules should not be installed at all. When you see the icons that change color right click on one and see how it identifies itself. If it is indeed Search or Link Scanner, your procedure failed to accomplish your goal.

It could be a search results scanner plug-in from McAfee, Google, Yahoo, ZoneAlarm, or forces beyond our comprehension. These days eveybody is trying to get into the protection game. When you learn the name of the company that owns the offending scan you should find a place to disable it or quiet it down. I had to do this with the Firefox plug-in for McAfee SiteAdvisor.

John Cipriano · Post by **John Cipriano** » 15 Jun 2008 4:24 pm

Earnest Bovine wrote:One solution seems to be to use Internet Explorer for Google searches, and Firefox for everything else. It seems that I can use Firefox, while AVG has disabled IE.

Like Wiz said, it sounds like the link scanner got installed after all. Check this site:

http://blog.drale.com/how-to-disable-avg-linkscanner/

Summary:

In the AVG Control Panel Overview double-click LinkScanner.
Check “Enable AVG Search-Shield” and uncheck “Enable reporting of exploited websites to AVG”
Open Firefox and go to Tools > Add-ons and disable AVG Safe Search.

In Internet Explorer go to Tools > Manage Add-ons > click AVG Safe Search, then Disable.

That last bit would be the most important for our purposes.

If the frustration persists, you can try one of the other free AV programs out there. Avira and Avast are popular, but apart from that I don't have any experience with them. I do know that it is possible to install AVG without link scanner (but it must be done on a computer that doesn't have AVG 8 installed), and AFAIK the command line options Wiz posted are the only way to do it with the free edition. Good luck.

Mark White · Post by **Mark White** » 15 Jun 2008 4:48 pm

Thanks John. It never dawned on me to disable Safe Search in Internet Explorer. $:\$

John Cipriano · Post by **John Cipriano** » 15 Jun 2008 5:09 pm

Great, glad if it helped.

The disadvantage of that method is, from what I've read at least and others here are saying, is that Safe Search is still running in the background, and though not technically active, it could slow things down ever so slightly.

But if you disabled the add-on and saw a performance increase, then that may be all you need.

I'm glad the network edition allowed me to bypass all that where I work

(AVG's license does not allow the use of AVG Free at a business, and I try to stay legit in these matters)

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 15 Jun 2008 8:20 pm

OK, Wiz...

I followed your instructos, and now there is a new icon in the Goldwave folder that has the large yellow "W" (Goldwave) with a red circle & diagonal slant bar over it that says UNSTALL and APPLICATION.

And in AVG's Virus Vault, the Trojan Horse is still listed; just as it should, right?

I'm still running AVG 7.5

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 15 Jun 2008 10:48 pm

CHIP FOSSA wrote:OK, Wiz...

And in AVG's Virus Vault, the Trojan Horse is still listed; just as it should, right? :wink:

I'm still running AVG 7.5

The file that is in the Vault is not a Trojan horse. It is the legitimate uninstaller file needed by Goldwave; a false positive detection by AVG. You can delete the file in the Vault, or leave it there in case AVG goes crazy and redetects the replacement as a virus.

It's a good idea to keep all of your setup files in storage, for such cases.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 17 Jun 2008 10:28 pm

If the already discussed slowdowns in browsing aren't enough to discourage you from upgrading to AVG Free 8.0, maybe this blog article by IncrediBill will make you think twice. In it, Bill outlines how AVG's new Safe Search link scanner is overloading web servers and putting AVG Free 8.0 users at risk from exploits.

While there take time to read some of Bill's many rants. He is a friend of mine, a long time member of Webmaster World and a major figure in computer security issues.

John Cipriano · Post by **John Cipriano** » 19 Jun 2008 7:56 am

Regarding false positives in AVG, I recently noticed at the office that on computers where Spybot-S&D was installed, and the "immunization" feature was used, AVG will give lots of false positives in the warnings section. The warnings section is not a big deal anyway, and I can't really blame AVG here since that is how the Spybot immunization works, and other anti-spywares (correctly IMO) flag it as bad.

Notice the name, "immunization". Think of how when you get a flu shot, they're actually giving you the flu.

As long as you don't manually delete the stuff in the warnings section, you're OK, and even then, I'm guessing you can always re-immunize from Spybot (haven't had to test that theory though).

Should you choose to remove Spybot, be sure to disable immunization first! In any case, I read somwhere that AVG said that they plan on fixing this in the next service pack.

--

Wiz, the points made in the incrediBill article are good ones. People simply should not enable the link scanner, it's bad news and doesn't seem to have any benefit (other than to AVG's marketing people).

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 29 Jun 2008 10:53 am

Any updates on AVG? I've been in Poland on a work trip for a month, with only my work laptop here. I left on the 23rd, and was still using version 7.

I've used AVG for a long time, and hope I can still do so when I get back.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 29 Jun 2008 11:13 am

Jim Smith wrote:Any updates on AVG? I've been in Poland on a work trip for a month, with only my work laptop here. I left on the 23rd, and was still using version 7.

I've used AVG for a long time, and hope I can still do so when I get back.

According to the AVG Free Forum, version 7.5 will continue to be updated until December 31, 2008.

DEADLINE FOR AVG 7.5 FREE UPDATES 31/12/2008

This is the official date that support and updates for AVg 7.5 Free will end.

If the date changes we will give you good forward notice.

I have also read that if you update to AVG Free v7.5.526 the pop-up notice regarding the bad expiration date will be gone. You have to update via the icon in your System Tray. AVG is not making any v7.5 programs available in plain sight.

Since I dropped AVG a month ago I cannot vouch for the above claim.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 29 Jun 2008 11:23 am

In case any of you still using AVG Free 7.5 are confused by the multiple cutoff date pop-ups and announcements, this page contains an official statement from an AVG Free company representative concerning the end of support for AVG 7.5.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 30 Jun 2008 10:11 am

John C.,

Where in AVG do you uncheck link scanner? I looked all over but couldn't locate it.

Also, in RESIDENT SHIELD, "scan infectable files" is checked off. Shouldn't "scan all files" be checked off, instead?

Thanks.

Cipri

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 4 Jul 2008 10:33 am

BUMP^ $:\$

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 4 Jul 2008 11:42 am

CHIP FOSSA wrote: Also, in RESIDENT SHIELD, "scan infectable files" is checked off. Shouldn't "scan all files" be checked off, instead?

Check that option and watch you brand new Vista computer grind to a roaring halt. Every file you download, save or open will be scanned by AVG. This includes images, music. videos, text files. applications and shortcuts.

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 4 Jul 2008 3:09 pm

Wiz,

Thanks so much for all your help with this program and the steps you have outlined to correct problems caused when AVG version 8 is downloaded by some people .

I have not --and will not, download AVG V/8 until you have recommended that we do so . Since you have changed to another virus program , will you be able to follow the corrective patches ( if any) that Avg will be using to correct their current problems? Those of us that are using current AVG version ( 7.5 ) don't know when to change to the new V/ 8 (if ever) without your advise .

Once the support in Dec. ceases with AVG 7.5 --what would be your recommendation ? Should we change to the program you are now using if you have found it to be a good application or what ? Maybe my questions are premature . I would assume I am not the only one on the forum that is wondering about the situation .

It is really confusing to a PC "dummy" like me!

Would appreciate your update regarding this when it is convienant for you to do so.Maybe start a new thread since this one is is now getting to be a lot of reading and your future always great advise may be overlooked. I have read all your recomendations on both pages but this is something that I wanted to ask about . Sorry for the long "book"

Thanks and a very happy 4th to you and your family .

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 4 Jul 2008 11:09 pm

John;
I hate to get into the position where you guys only do what I say should be done. There are lots of options out there and people need to try them out for themselves. That said, AVG 8 was designed with Windows Vista computers in mind. Many of those PCs will have more than 2 or 4 Gb of high speed RAM and very fast processors. Those computers can take the extra load imposed by the new security modules used in AVG 8.0. XP computer owners, typically with 1 Gb of RAM, or less, are having problems with the program bogging down their systems.

Avira AntiVir is doing a good job, with only one false positive so far. However, it has the nasty habit of opening a very large red window advertising the paid version, in Italian, at random times. It takes focus and I have to click OK, or X to close it and it agravates the hell out of me, but I didn't pay to use it, so I have to endure the sales pitch (in a foreign language I can't read). Also, AntiVir has received strong ratings from test groups who compared it to AVG and Avast!. AVG rated lowest of the three in detections of multitudes of known viruses.

I am still watching and waiting for Trend Micro to refine the cloud based anti-malware definitions and the program that will use them. If successful, it could prove to be the Giant Killer.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 5 Jul 2008 4:54 am

Thanks Wiz,

I'm sure glad I asked; first.

Also, any reason why you decided on Avira over Avast?
I used to use Avast. It seemed OK; but I do recall "something" was quirky with it, and that's when I went back to AVG. I originally went from AVG to Avast, because AVG's auto download wasn't working right, at one point. Simply could not download the latest updates. $:\$

John Hawkins · Post by **John Hawkins** » 5 Jul 2008 7:21 am

Wiz,

Many thanks ! I sure appreciate you detailing your views on the different virus protection programs. As I said, I will do nothing at this point but wait it out to see what happens as we get closer to Dec.

Your good advise is always appreciated by me and the forum members!

Regards,

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 5 Jul 2008 7:55 am

CHIP FOSSA wrote:Thanks Wiz,

I'm sure glad I asked; first.

Also, any reason why you decided on Avira over Avast?
I used to use Avast. It seemed OK; but I do recall "something" was quirky with it, and that's when I went back to AVG. I originally went from AVG to Avast, because AVG's auto download wasn't working right, at one point. Simply could not download the latest updates. :\

Avast! had a weird control panel and I found it awkward to use, so I ditched it for AVG. That was several years ago and I haven't seen Avast! in action since.

As regards the AVG updater, it always worked for me. I even wrote an AVG Task Scheduler script to automatically check for updates on an hourly basis. The same parameters in that script also work in AVG 8.0, but the path is different than in v 7.x.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 10 Jul 2008 9:22 am

I just read a report about AVG 8.0's email scanner module garbling HTML newsletters. The problem is caused by a coding issue in AVG when it scans incoming messages and is set to "certify" that the mail is safe. Doing this is messing up the layout of some HTML messages. If this happens to you and you are using AVG 8.0, do the following:

To disable e-mail certification in AVG, click Tools, Advanced settings, choose E-mail Scanner on the left side of the window, and disable Certify e-mail for incoming messages.

The "certify" option does nothing more than add text at the bottom of the e-mail to show that it's been scanned and found safe, so it doesn't reduce the effectiveness of the scanner, just the intrusiveness of it.