AVG Version 8 - Wots UP?

[bob3160]

Erm, so, it basically turns the LinkScanner into a HTTP scanner with limited functionality (i.e. without stream scanning, and only on websearch results)?

That might be good for advertising hype but sure doesn't do much towards protection. 

[FreewheelinFrank]

At least it saves websites thinking they have six quadrazillion hexabillion new visitors when it's really just AVG ringing the bell.

[igor]

I should note that I really have no idea what changes were made (if any, actually) - I'm just speculating according to the descriptions posted in this thread.

Personally, I don't think the LinkScanner idea can be fixed anyhow - either it works (protection wise), but then it simultaneously floods the Internet, destroys statistics, and wastes bandwidth - or the mentioned problems are solved somehow, but then it just can't work (or can be easily bypassed). Only my opinion though.

[FreewheelinFrank]

I think we're all just going on what is dodgily eluctable logically deductable.

Hasn't it just become like Webshield now, except that Linkscanner reports back to AVG any links that are bad so that if those links turn up in future searches, AVG users will see a warning without any scanning going on?

That's my best guess.

[SBSP]

UPDATE
AVG have released a new SP1 to stop Link scanner interogating all the search results such as on a Google page.
Now there appears to be a similar problem in FIREFOX 3 !!

QUOTE [Thanks to Sirikan: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1007329&p=13#r256 ]

Ok round 2..sorry for the long post.

This time I made the most of the mistake I made the first time and tested the old version, the new version and also a install without AVG on there at all.

Ok the Environment I was using:
Vmware Workstation 6:
Fresh copy of windows xp sp2 (x86)
Logged in as a local admin account

Installed Firefox 2.0.0.15 – Default options selected during install

Installed wireshark 1.0.1 – Default options selected during install

First time around I loaded:
Installed AVG from avg_free_stf_all_8_100a1323.exe which was downloaded from avg web site – Default options selected during install and allowed update agent to run.

Second time around I loaded:
Installed AVG from avg_free_stf_en_8_138a1332.exe which was downloaded from avg server directly – Default options selected during install and allowed update agent to run.

Tests conducted:
Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox:
Google Search for "AVG" (use their bandwidth)
Google Search for "AVG" Right after first test
Google Search for "Whirlpool"
Google Search for "Whirlpool" right after first test.
Google Search for "Microsoft"
Google Search for "Microsoft" right after first test.
Close and open IE.
Repeat above tests.

What was found:
Well the results found from this test are allot more positive then the first round. To give you an idea of the magnitude of improvement the log file for before the upgrade on Firefox is 858 KiB and after the upgrade it is now only 18.5 KiB (which remember contains the entries for Firefox searching google itself).

As for sending requests to every page in a google search result I have found that AVG now doesn't send any request to web pages, it appears to just rely on information it retrieves from dns requests.

The one thing I did find strange though was the Firefox tests do create a TCP connection with some of the pages in the search results which I thought was originally caused by AVG but I couldn't see the traffic in IE6 tests. So I also included a test without AVG installed on the system at all (not uninstalled I rolled back to a clean install of windows using vmware snapshot) and I can confirm the traffic is in fact there. Meaning the traffic is caused by Firefox not AVG.

Recommendations:
If you are an AVG user upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible. Not only will it speed your browsing experience up it will reduce the load on web pages.

Well done AVG and sorry for jumping the gun with my inital test on the wrong version.

Wireshark logs for whirlpool google search only:
http://www.sirikan.net/download/AVG_Wireshark.zip

Wireshark (tool needed to view them):
http://www.wireshark.org/ (opensource)

AVG older version:
WP_Firefox_AVG_8_100a1323.pcap
WP_IE6_AVG_8_100a1323.pcap

AVG New Version:
WP_Firefox_AVG_8_138a1332.pcap
WP_IE6_AVG_8_138a1332.pcap

No AVG Installation:
WP_Firefox_No_AVG.pcap
WP_IE6_No_AVG.pcap

[drhayden1]

Recommendations:
If you are an AVG user upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible. Not only will it speed your browsing experience up it will reduce the load on web pages.

no thanks...a week of AVG was enough-just was trying it out-don't know why i did-but the little blue A spinning icon is back in my taskbar spinning again

was just trying out AVG and guess what's back on that computer
Also know as a temporary lapse of memory.....
Nice to see you got your memory and avast! back on your system.

don't know what happen Bob-i think Garfield put AVG on the computer

[Marc57]

Don't ask me, I don't work for AVG!

I'm not an AVG employee, I just play one on TV.   

Tekzilla just did a show where they recommended AVG, And I had to tell them what I think.

 http://revision3.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20398&page=2

[SBSP]

I think it means that it no longer scans all 10-20 links on a search results page, but only any link that is actually clicked.

Yeah, the scanner intercepts the click and does a crafty scan before the page is loaded.
[/quote]

Correct.
Can you imagine a site such as a forum with multiple page links [from the one index page] getting DDOS'd by users of AVG8 ?

BTW: AVG now released an update to stop it "pre-scanning" [but you could have disabled the feature with a few but not so easy steps for the non computer vegies out there].

Yet to try AVAST but apparently suffers complaints of poor user interface.
Will have see some screen shots.

[drhayden1]

http://www.grisoft.com/us.94201
guess the problem has been fixed i guess-but have avast! back to stay

[SBSP]

Yes, but the damage is done.
Let that be a lesson to Avir/Avast.

Trialing Kaspersky now.

[YoKenny]

Yes, but the damage is done.
Let that be a lesson to Avir/Avast.

Trialing Kaspersky now.

I didn't like Kaspersky as it decided McAfee SiteAdvisor was malicious

I'll stick with Avast.

[Lisandro]

I didn't like Kaspersky as it decided McAfee SiteAdvisor was malicious

McAfee SiteAdvisor has privacy concerns... maybe this is why Kaspersky is complaining and detecting it...

[YoKenny]

McAfee SiteAdvisor has privacy concerns

What are they

Do you have a site reference documenting the privacy concerns

[Lisandro]

McAfee SiteAdvisor has privacy concerns

What are they

Do you have a site reference documenting the privacy concerns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiteAdvisor#Privacy_concerns

[YoKenny]

Privacy concerns
SiteAdvisor, while protecting a computer, is known to keep anonymous logs of sites visited in order to prioritize those sites for retesting. [8]
^ McAfee SiteAdvisor Privacy Policy. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.

McAfee SiteAdvisor Privacy Policy
The really big picture:
Your privacy is protected when you use the McAfee SiteAdvisor Web site (www.siteadvisor.com, the "Web Site") and when you use McAfee SiteAdvisor software. We won't sell or rent your personal information to outside parties. We won't share your personal information with outside parties except to comply with a legal order or to allow our suppliers to fulfill your request to purchase our software. It's that simple.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/privacypolicy.html

McAfee SiteAdvisor uses these stats to provide a page ranking.

I bet FireTrust SiteHound do the same.