You've got to hand it to AVG. Rather than let its hugely popular AVG Free become a pale imitation of the full retail package, it's just getting better.
Freshly baked today is AVG's latest free edition, AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5, which includes a better version of the LinkScanner technology which now includes "Active SafeSurf".
The software checks Web links when you click on them, in theory preventing you from visiting unsafe Web sites (on a sidenote, the LinkScanner issues that reportedly ticked off webmasters are apparently a thing of the past, though if anyone's had trouble, please let us know).
UPDATE: Lloyd Borrett from AVG has contacted us with a more detailed explanation of what's changed in regards to the LinkScanner technology in AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. As he explains:
In AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0, only the Safe Search part of LinkScanner was active. That is, in a search page, or when you clicked on a link, you were advised how safe the page is based on past results.
In AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.5, the full features of LinkScanner are included.
· Safe Search. LinkScanner Search-Shield checks Google, Yahoo! & MSN search results as you search and places safety ratings next to each link.
· Safe Surf. LinkScanner Active Surf-Shield scans each and every web page for active threats when you click on the link or enter the page into the address bar to ensure the web page is safe.
So now in a search page you get a verdict as to how safe the page is based on past results. But if you click on a link in search, or in any other web page, a real-time check is done as to how safe the web page is right then and there. A warning is displayed if a threat is detected. The page is passed to the browser if no threat is detected.
All this is good news if you're worried about your friends, Mum, grandparents accidentally copping a virus, or worse - a credit card bill - thanks to a dodgy Web site. Don't laugh, it happens.
While not everyone is comfortable relying on free anti-virus, thousands do. It's advisable to spend on a fully featured retail suite if you want the best protection. That said, if you can be trusted to use a bit of common sense about Internet security it's good to know AVG Free covers some of the basics.
If you really don't trust your family or significant other with credit card details online, then consider AVG's full protection AVG Internet Security 8.5 with Identity Protection. The new behaviour based technology blocks things like passwords, bank details and card numbers.
Announced today, AVG Internet Security 8.5 with Identity Protection is priced on the AVG site at $79.99 for 1 PC for 1 year.