AVG Free Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade - Video Tip

Submitted by Rick on April 25, 2008 - 6:15pm.

AVG released a new version of their popular AVG Anti-virus on Wednesday. An alert web site visitor alerted us to this yesterday, and I immediately downloaded and have been testing it since then. Here are some important facts you need to know about the upgrade.

Do NOT use the Upgrade feature in your current version of AVG Free, as it will take you down the road to their pay version. The pay version is good, but if you plan to stay with the free version, use the link below to get it.
Your current AVG Free version (7.5) will be supported only through the end of May after which you will need to upgrade to this new version 8.0
The new version is only for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista users. AVG will stop supporting Windows 95, 98, and Me later this year. For you folks using the older operating systems, I would suggest uninstalling AVG and using Avast.
The new AVG Free version includes not only their anti-virus product, but also their anti-spyware product. This doubles your protection and helps protect your computer even better. My philosophy for keeping Windows computer safe applies more now than ever: Use Firefox as your browser, keep the Windows firewall enabled, and use AVG Anti-virus, and that should be all most people need.
You do NOT need to uninstall your current version of AVG before installing this one. Watch the video below for complete instructions.

I think that covers the basics, feel free to leave comments below and ask any questions you might have about this exciting new upgrade for AVG users. Click here to download the free upgrade to AVG antivirus 8.0 (for home users), it will bring you directly to the AVG download page saving you time and confusion. Then watch my short video below for exact installation and configuration instructions.

XP won't start after installing AVG 8

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 12, 2008 - 2:41pm.

After upgrading from the Free AVG 7.5 to the free 8.0 my XP computer won't start. It gets as far as the two-toned blue screen that says "Windows is Starting..." and my icons appear and the mouse cursor moves around. I went into Safe Mode and went back to a 7.5 day... worked fine. Updated to 8 and had the same problem. Then I went to Safe Mode and uninstalled AVG 8 Free and my computer works fine! But I don't have any virus protection! What's up wit dat?

XP won't start after installing AVG 8

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 12, 2008 - 3:20pm.

Guess I don't need to wait for a reply. Although my particular problem was not addresed, I used your advice:

DO NOT click the blue button "Download AVG Free 8.0"

INSTEAD click the hyperlink "Download AVG Free 8.0 (AVG server)"

...and now AVG Free 8.0 is working fine! Thanks

AVG asks for restart every time it updates

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 9, 2008 - 7:16pm.

Every time AVG updates, it says to restart the computer. I do so and log back on and it updates and says to restart again. I have restarted my computer like 5 times and it keeps saying restart. I have the version: 8.0.134

Best bet

Submitted by Rick on July 10, 2008 - 7:14am.

You can probably solve this quickly by uninstalling AVG, downloading a new installation file, and then reinstalling.

same here

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 12, 2008 - 9:37pm.

same thing is happening with my system (winxp). (Started after a system restore back to July 9th. Don't know if that is a co-incidence or not.) But uninstalling, and then re-installing AVG8 does not solve the "restart after every update" problem.
Kevin

Not a co-incident.

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 17, 2008 - 1:49pm.

Also my installation started with this behaviour; it worked fine earlier. If I click on the database, I see thaht the latest version of it is from: 9th of July! On the GRISOFT site it says (FAQ):

1444:Repeated restart after AVG updateAfter a recent major program update, you may encounter a repeated request for restart displayed by AVG. This situation occurs when some AVG files can not be updated correctly. The easiest solution in this case is running repair installation of your AVG:

Open the Download section of our website and click on the name of the product you are using.
Click on Download AVG now (paid version).
Choose to download the file to your computer (i.e. do not run it immediatelly) and select a target location, e.g. your Desktop.
After the file is downloaded, please locate it and double-click on it to start the installation process.
Proceed with the installation. When prompted, select Repair installation.
Finish the installation procedure and restart your computer.
In case of any further problems, please contact our Technical Support.

So, does yjs mean that users of FREE cannot use this repair???

AVG Free 8.0 removed Windows Sys Config files

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 7, 2008 - 8:49pm.

Using XP Home with SP2, AVG 7.5 worked wonderfully. Upgraded to 8.0 and it kept finding "warnings" which turned out to be the blocked applications from SpywareBlaster. After ignoring the "warnings" I noticed my computer getting increasingly slower. Last night after an AVG update, I scanned, then noticed that it had moved my Windows/Sys32/config file and several others to the virus vault. It then said that a reboot was needed to finish the process, and did I want to reboot now? I clicked "no" but shortly after, shut down my PC. When I tried to start up this morning, all my config files were gone, Windows wouldn't/couldn't start, I was unable to even repair from the CD. Had to do a complete reformat! Spent all day re-downloading updates & programs (NOT AVG!) Needless to say, I am not at all happy with AVG!!! Users beware! I know of several folks who are now having the increasing slow-down that I experienced before the config files were deleted.

News to my ears

Submitted by Rick on July 7, 2008 - 10:43pm.

Not sure what happened in your case, but I can tell you from using 8.0 since April and installing it on literally hundreds of machines, that is NOT typical. In fact, I think the new AVG, properly configured, works much better than its predecessor. Please keep in mind that the new AVG offers both anti-spyware and anti-virus now...I recommend NOT using any other anti-virus or anti-spyware product with it.

AVG 8 free removes windows/system32/config files

Submitted by Smart Computer User on July 19, 2008 - 10:10am.

Hello! This is exactly what happened after the full system scan was done (July 14). After that WinXP won't reboot. By the way, these system files were NOT infected - they were just reported as LOCKed in the scan log.
They way out is to repair the installation using Windows recovery console, and roll back to a recent system restore point.

I recommend not using system scan until this bug is fixed, and to create system restore points daily - just in case.

Alexander

Isolated issue

Submitted by Rick on July 19, 2008 - 9:22pm.

Sorry to hear that you had that problem with AVG, but it seems to be a unique issue. I've installed AVG 8 on probably 50+ computers since it came out and know that many of my customers and web site visitors have upgraded on their own, and this is the first I've seen of such a serious problem.

AVG Installation Failure

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 28, 2008 - 11:17am.

I have tried to download the new AVG 8.0 and before it finishes, the server shuts down. Any suggestions? I have Juno as my web browser.
Thanks.

Dial-up users cannot complete download

Submitted by Rick on June 28, 2008 - 12:20pm.

Dial-up users will not be able to successfully download AVG because of the size of the file. You will need to download it via a flash drive or CD on a friend's computer or library that has high speed.

Download AVG on dialup

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 28, 2008 - 1:17pm.

Install a download manager that will restart a download from the point of failure. I won't recommend one, because I use the wget program, which isn't a manager. You run it in a cmd window. That may be a little geeky for most people here.

Maybe Rick could recommend a good manager.

Yes, I can

Submitted by Rick on June 28, 2008 - 10:07pm.

Get high speed Internet or download large files using a high speed connection from a friend or public computer like a library. Even with a download manager, dial-up connections would take more than four hours. It just isn't feasible.

I've got a problem. After I

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 23, 2008 - 11:12am.

I've got a problem.
After I click next on the screen where I say 'no' to the AVG toolbar, the installation program asks me to choose the folder where the installation package is situated.

I don't know what the installation package is, as clicking on the Browse button learns me that it should be a file named "files.dat".

I've already searched for that file on my HDD but didn't find anything.

Can you please help me?

Thanks,
Joeri

Uninstall and reinstall

Submitted by Rick on June 24, 2008 - 10:25pm.

I think the best thing you can do is uninstall, and reinstall to save time and insure success.

CRC failed in files.dat unexpected end of archive

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 23, 2008 - 12:30am.

I have read your advice about "CRC failed in files.dat unexpected end of archive". I am not computer smart, but do have moments I enjoy having one. I have not emptied the temporary files cause I am not sure if I know how. I did reboot the XP from a partition back onto the C hard drive when it crashed, using the original burned backup disks.(only needed the first one.)Before the crash I had AVG 7.5 on my computer and it worked beautifully. Now as I go to download it, along with Flash m. and other items, I find I get this message about CRC failed... Since I started with the booting making my computer like it had come from the factory, do I have temporary files that need emptied out? I did have to delete cookies and temporary files to clear out something my web browser company wanted cleared out cause my internet explorer would not go to pages after the reboot. They also had me change remote access help check box and one other item, can't remember what, but then restart. Before they did this I was getting a cannot locate page i.e. message when I would try to download AVG, even while the "Do I want to run box" would still act like it was downloading the AVG. Once the 3-4 hours were up I would get the message above. It takes several hours each time but I have tried to download the AVG four times now. I have delete the shorcut from desktop, and checked under Add/Remove programs each time to see if the AVG were there, but did not find it at all. I one time did a "search" for it in files and folders, yet found nothing to remove, so I could retry hopefully from scratch again. Can anything be done to help me either to empty out those elusive temporary files, or download AVG without getting stuck at this message? Do I need to try to find the cache to remove parts of previous downloads? Thank you.

After install of newest AVG

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 21, 2008 - 3:16pm.

I installed the newest AVG when notified by your weekly newsletter that it was available. My computer keeps resetting itself immediately following my home page and before I can do anything. I have Windows XP SP2.

Minimum Security

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 21, 2008 - 4:33am.

Sorry would disagree with the OP suggesting that leaving security up to the Windows built-in firewall is sufficient. Not much point locking the windows if you leave the back door open.

You need to see what programs are trying to connect to the internet and block most of them - I'd recommend ZoneAlarm also free and reliable.

AVG Free Going Away

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 18, 2008 - 12:04pm.

Hi:

It appears that there is not going to be an AVG Free any longer? Or am I missing something or a web page. Says the Free version will go away in June? So do you recommend AVAST and uninstall AVG??? or is there another good program. Thanks! Kathy

Wow...did you really read the article?

Submitted by Rick on June 18, 2008 - 5:32pm.

Kathy, I hate to make an example of you, but did you really read the article I wrote and watch the video? It explains very clearly that AVG is NOT going away, and will continue to be free and how to get the new version and how to install it. Please take the time to read the article and watch the video. Thanks!

Uninstall AVG 8 completely

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 12, 2008 - 12:04pm.

Try this, reinstall AVG 8, restart, you'll be asked whether to install AVG toolbar, select YES, then you follow dialogs box until it's finished. Use Add/Remove programs, choose remove, follow every instruction, then choose remove AVG 8. This should do it, remove AVG 8 completely! Good luck!

avast locks up my win 2000 computer

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 8, 2008 - 11:01pm.

My Windows 2000 computer, service pack 4, update rollup 1, froze up tight when installing AVAST. I had to figure out how to turn it off, then unistall it, and that took the better part of an hour. I had tried AVG 8.0 previously, but that had no scanning of the hard drive when I tried to use it. This was said by AVG to be the result of FAT32 file allocation, but switching to NTSF seems to be too risky. AVG is presently on there, but it only runs in the background, and I cannot scan the whole computer.

I had an old copy of Etrust Inoculate from Computer Associates, but it is turned off and not running or used. Should I uninstall this anyway? Does a presence in the registry, even if not used, mess things up this bad?

THANKS FOR LISTENING.

Windows 2000??

Submitted by Rick on June 9, 2008 - 8:54pm.

Wow, you really are holding to an older operating system. Windows 2000 was great in its heyday, but I would strongly suggest moving up to Ubuntu or XP. I agree with your apprehension about converting your current FAT 32 to NTFS, but you really should do some upgrading.

IF you decide to stay where you are, I would suggest cleaning all security products off your system and trying the AVAST again. Good luck.

avg

Submitted by Smart Computer User on June 3, 2008 - 2:17am.

while updating avg 8.0 the antivirus and spyware is outdated

AVG upgrade

Submitted by Smart Computer User on May 30, 2008 - 10:09am.

I upgraded the free version of AVG on my computer on 5-22-2008. When I did, it deleted/hid/removed my paid for AVG spyware program. It was due to be renewed this fall anyway, but now I show a different LIC #. Will this cause any problems? Should I contact AVG about this?

is Avast Great?

Submitted by Smart Computer User on May 28, 2008 - 12:30am.

is Avast 8.4 a great anti-virus? i have combined avg 7.5 and avast 8.4 but mostly the avg 7.5 can detect first that there's a virus in my computer...but avast couldn't detect it even spyware avast can't delect it..why?

thanks a lot for the previews answer!...it really help..More power!!!

AVG vs Advast

Submitted by Smart Computer User on May 27, 2008 - 3:03pm.

Hi Rick and Adam. My win XP home is kind of slow now. I have read many comments here and other sites about AVG 8 problems. Some say ver 8 slows their computer and other problems !

Shouls I update to ver 8 or go to Avast ??

Also if I go to AVG 8 should I uninstall ver 7.5 first ? I ahve read many comments saying yea and no !! ??

Another computer has WIN 98. AVG 8 does not work with 98. You suggested some time ago to go to Avast. Should I uninstall AVG first ??

George
GJ, CO

AVG and Avast are both great

Submitted by Adam on May 27, 2008 - 6:09pm.

AVG 8.0 will not run on Windows 98 so you will have to use Avast - until Avast quits supporting 98 too.

As for the slowness issues, everyone who has had me come and see their computer due to slowness after updating to 8.0 has accidentally installed the trial of the AVG security suite. I haven't seen AVG FREE 8.0 slow anyone down. In fact, I think it is even a little faster.

When you update to AVG FREE 8.0 it is very important to do it the way Rick explained in the video. Otherwise you may end up with the trial version and it is very different.

The only gripe I have about Avast is that the interface is a little tougher to interpret. It works great and has some excellent features that AVG doesn't, but overall I think the two are very comparable.