Have Windows 7? Now you need security

As is usually the case with security software and new operating systems, older versions are not likely to work on Windows 7. You'll need to find a new version. Most of the big-name developers, such as Symantec and McAfee, have updated their subscription-based products.

Or, you could reach for the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials, which I reviewed earlier this month (see www.chron.com/mse).

Microsoft insists that Security Essentials isn't designed to replace full-strength suites. MSE lacks many features those products have, including e-mail scan-ning and a software firewall.

The real competition for MSE are other free security programs, led by the wildly popular AVG Free. Now AVG has released a new version. AVG Free 9.0, for Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000. Like its predecessors, it is licensed for use on only one consumer computer — it's not supposed to be used on a PC on a net-work. Given that 80 million people use AVG Free, I suspect this may be one of the most violated software licenses around.

AVG says 9.0 has improved performance and has less impact on system resources, and I can attest that it's fast and unobtrusive. I've put it on a variety of systems, and so far I don't see any difference in machine boot-up times between AVG Free 9.0 and Microsoft Security Essentials. I also see no discernible performance effect on the PC as it runs in the background.

It isn't as impressive, though, when it comes to scanning. It is considerably slower than Security Essentials. The same drive that MSE took only 55 seconds to scan took about nine minutes to scan with AVG Free 9.0 on the “Fast scan” setting. It's possible, though, that the fast scan is more thorough than MSE's. But still, an eight-minute difference is significant.

The interface for 9.0 is almost identical to the previous version — it's simple and easy to navigate. As AVG Free has evolved, the company has unlocked settings for more features that previously were available only in the paid version. You have a lot more control over the program than in earlier versions.

It has more security features than Microsoft's product, including an e-mail scanner and a module that checks links on Web sites to ensure they're safe. However, this much-improved LinkScanner only works in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Earlier versions of the LinkScanner had users racing to turn it off because it slowed down Web surfing. But this iteration is lightning-fast. When you use a search engine, the scanner checks the resulting links and, if they're deemed safe, places a green icon next to each result. If the scanner suspects something nefar-ious, it will indicate that with more ominous orange and red icons, along with details.

It has more security features than Microsoft's product, including an e-mail scanner and a module that checks links on Web sites to ensure they're safe. However, this much-improved LinkScanner only works in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Earlier versions of the LinkScanner had users racing to turn it off because it slowed down Web surfing. But this iteration is lightning-fast. When you use a search engine, the scanner checks the resulting links and, if they're deemed safe, places a green icon next to each result. If the scanner suspects something nefar-ious, it will indicate that with more ominous orange and red icons, along with details.

How effective is AVG Free 9.0? The program has a good reputation for stopping viruses and spyware, and I may have experienced its capabilities shortly after installing it — although it apparently was a false alarm. I went looking for a program that would enable “hot corners” on the PC, similar to the built-in feature in Mac OS X that lets you move your mouse cursor to a corner of the screen to blank the screen or clear the desktop. I found an open-source program called Hot Corners and downloaded a copy from Softpedia, a reputable site for shareware. However, when I installed it, I got a warning from AVG that one of the Hot Corners files was infected. The suspect file was moved into AVG's Virus Vault, where it could do no harm.

I got another copy from the author's site. This one didn't bring up the AVG alert, but a note on the site indi- cates it has a history of trig-gering false positives. When I installed it on a Windows 7 system running Microsoft Security Essentials, there was no alert.

Former users of AVG Free who may have been unhappy with the performance and obtrusiveness of past vers-ions may want to give this a try. It also will appeal to those who switched to Micro-soft Security Essentials but don't quite feel like they're getting all the features they need to feel safe. AVG Free 9.0 has you covered.

dwight.silverman@chron.com

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog

By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 26, 2009, 11:42PM