For those who have used both, do you prefer AVG or Avast anti-virus and why?

I’ve happily used both. In my opinion neither is sufficient by itself, but I believe that to be true for all such security programs. I run Comodo, AVG, Spyware Dr., Malware Bytes Adaware and a couple of others design to ferret out root kits.

@pdworkin Do you keep all those programs on your computer, or use and delete as needed? I downloaded Malware Bytes, and my system ran so slowly I had to ditch it.

I haven’t had that problem.

I have used both, and don’t like either. I prefer PC Tools array of anti-virus and malware software programs. They update automatically and so far, no problems after six months of use.

AVG works fine for me.

I have used both, and many others. In my opinion Avira (http://www.free-av.com/) is the best of the free ones – it’s faster, uses less system resources, and picks up many viruses that the others don’t find.

Avast is known for having a high amount of false positives. Plus the scan times are ridiculously high – there’s no reason a scan on my 500gig HD should take 6 hours. It also uses more system resources than necessary – too many bells and whistles that you really don’t need, and are more likely to confuse the layman rather than help him.

AVG is decent, I guess. Their interface is clean and easy to use. They also flag too many harmless files as infected, but better to be safe than sorry I suppose. Be ready to google items you suspect are safe before deleting – make use of the quarantine function if you’re unsure and don’t have the time to google file names.

If I had to choose between the two I’d go with AVG, but I still wouldn’t feel sufficiently protected/informed.

After spending countless hours testing both the free and paid versions of dozens of programs, I have settled on the following combination – using these in conjunction with each other gives me peace of mind despite the shitload of sketchy, pirated files and programs I download from unknown sources (50–100 minimum per week).

Nod32 (eset) anti-virus. Has performed consistently better than any other AV program over the past 10 years. You haven’t heard of them only because they’re a small Euro company – internet pirates and other computer geeks swear by it. Uses relatively few system resources and updates itself every few hours. Excellent AV.

Winpatrol – essential program for staying abreast of all the behind the scenes stuff your comp is involved in. Lets you control startup applications, active tasks, hidden files, etc. I can’t say enough about this program – the paid version is worth every penny.

Outpost Firewall Pro – definitely the best firewall in existence. If you’ve never used this program you have yet to experience what a firewall can do for you – absolutely essential.

Peer Guardian – freeware that blocks millions of “bad” IP addresses. Use this to block URL’s known for spyware, adware, government organizations, etc. Highly customizable. If you do any amount of torrenting, load this up and watch the stream of “bad file sharer”, “anti-p2p organization”, “known scammer/hijacker IP”, etc stream by.

I also use MalwareBytes, Hijack This, Trojan Remover and Task Catcher for back up protection and staying informed in general.

I haven’t used AVG, so maybe this response won’t count for anything, but I do use Avast and it is way better than non-free anti-virus that I have used (Norton).

I’ve used AVG, haven’t Avast.

AVG removes many viruses. It has got a good firewall, if you purchase it. However, free edition has anti-virus, anti-spyware, resident shield (checks for viruses at the time of booting up), e-mail scanner, link scanner and can be updated through internet or from update files.
Only thing that annoys is that it takes a lot of time to scan your whole computer.