Tech: My mother-in-law's computer

Subject: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 May 10 - 12:56 AM

So, my mother-in-law has a computer that she uses for email and doing a bit of internet-surfing but she's not very computer literate, so she depends on me to figure things out for her a lot.

I visited her over the weekend (she lives 3 hours from here) and she told me she had received an email and she couldn't figure out what it meant, so she wanted me to look at it.

The email was from AVG, the ant-virus software company. They were telling her that, although she had paid for their software, she hadn't downloaded & installed it yet.

Here's the background: On one of my previous visits, I had downloaded and installed the free version of their software. I have used their free version for years. It's a great piece of software. I see no need to upgrade to any non-free version.

I have only one complaint about the company. They are always trying to get you to upgrade from their free version to a paid version, and some of their advertising is downright misleading. I remember being fooled once myself. I thought they were telling me that their free version was going to be discontinued, and the only alternative was to switch to the paid version. Well, that wasn't true. There has always been a free version available, although they seem to be trying to hide it.

To illustrate my point: go to their home page ( http://www.avg.com/ ) and see if you can figure out how to navigate to the page that tells you about their free version ( http://www.avg.com/us-en/free-antivirus ). Note that the free version is not the same thing as a 30-day free trial version.

So, my mother-in-law was fooled into thinking she had to pay to upgrade, so she paid. This was several weeks ago. But she never downloaded and installed the version she had paid for. I guess she didn't understand that she had to do that.

Well, I checked and found that her free version was still functioning just fine.

I pondered what to do next. I figured, since she had already paid, she might as well get what she paid for, so I went ahead and downloaded and installed the new version. (The email contained the activation code.)

During the installation process, it told me it had to uninstall the free version. This was the point where I began to have doubts that I had made the right decision, but I clicked "OK." Later, it told me that in order to activate AVG's firewall, it had to deactivate the Windows firewall, because you can't have 2 firewalls working at once. At this point, my doubts became stronger, so I clicked "No"—keep the Windows firewall; do not activate the AVG firewall. Then I began to wonder, without the firewall, is she getting any advantage to having the paid version?

The upshot is: with the new version up and running, it looks exactly like the free version (as far as I can tell) except that there is a message at the bottom of the screen: "You have *90* days until your paid subscription expires."

So now I wonder what's going to happen 90 days from now? Is she going to be stuck with no virus protection at all? Should I let her continue to pay for subscription renewals? (She's not poor.) Or should I, on my next visit, uninstall the paid version and reinstall the free version?

Even if you don't have any software advice, I would appreciate your sympathy. I must not be the only Mudcatter who has to maintain an older person's computer.

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 May 10 - 01:14 AM

Hi, Jim-
Yeah, uninstall the paid version and install the free one. I wish AVG hadn't bought into the deceptive practices of the corporate world. I used to think they were different.
You may want to try Microsoft Security Essentials, if her computer has enough power to run it. I've read really good reviews of the program, and it's free.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 28 May 10 - 03:20 AM

I stopped using AVG (free version) about 9 months ago.

I use Panda Cloud Antivirus. It's free. http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/
Play the video to understand the concept.

I haven't had any problems whatsoever.

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Tootler
Date: 28 May 10 - 06:20 PM

This site does a useful set of reviews of free AV software.

Martin Lewis the site owner regularly appears on breakfast TV in the UK with tips on how to make the most of your money.

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Amergin
Date: 28 May 10 - 07:41 PM

I use both Avast and AVG....have you verified the email is actually from AVG? This whole thing sounds fishy....

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: Bill D
Date: 28 May 10 - 10:34 PM

I used AVG for years, and because of the high-pressure sales and tricks, I reluctantly switched to Avast....and now am glad I did. It is quiet and routine so far.

(and AVG is an anti-virus, not a firewall. There should be no problem using it with any firewall. I used it with Kerio firewall all the time I had it.)

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: EBarnacle
Date: 29 May 10 - 12:35 AM

Lady Hillary and I have Avast on all of our machines. They run faster from boot up to scanning to shutdown. It is a less intrusive and therefore, less annoying program.

Subject: RE: Tech: My mother-in-law's computer
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 29 May 10 - 10:13 AM

Did your mother-in-law pay using a credit card? Go to the credit-card company and dispute the charge. They will probably reverse it.