View Full Version : AVG FREE 8.0 deletes changes made by S&D in Host File
enigma947
2008-04-27, 11:21
i previously had AVG 7.5 installed it only used to tell tht there is a change in the host file which after some research i came to knw tht its not a problem as i checked the host file n the only extra thing it contained was the immunization database of S&D....but now i have installed AVG 8.0 it displays keys from registery conatin not all but some of the entries of immunization database i thought it was viruses or adwares so i let the AVG remove it....it might be possible tht the sponsor adwares tht come along A&D might be taken as "bad" by AVG...as it might be considering them as ilegmitate ad-ons if thts the case then either S&D or AVG has to do something.......apparently the S&D is working alright but i doubt abt it as its setting of database to act might has been changed..
help me please wht to do
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=27264
enigma947
The problem is not to do with the Host file. The new AVG v8 is incorrectly seeing the Spybot IE sofware plugin immunisations as Adware registry entries and listing them as warnings. Providing you ignore the warnings and don't delete them or move them into the Virus vault, the Spybot protection will remain.
I have sent an email to AVG regarding this - will be interesting to see how they react.
drragostea
2008-04-28, 01:05
@tpro1: thanks for bringing up the link.
@greyfox: thanks for reporting the problem to AVG. :bigthumb:
enigma947
2008-04-28, 06:10
enigma947
The problem is not to do with the Host file. The new AVG v8 is incorrectly seeing the Spybot IE sofware plugin immunisations as Adware registry entries and listing them as warnings. Providing you ignore the warnings and don't delete them or move them into the Virus vault, the Spybot protection will remain.
I have sent an email to AVG regarding this - will be interesting to see how they react.
guud dude...lets see how much the AVG ppl value S&D....
i have removed them initially now i am going to reinstall S&D n let the AVG pick it up but ill not delete of move them....
thnx
Whilst I haven't received any official reply from AVG to date (other than an automatic receipt of my email), the post
"Re: Spybot S&D and SpywareBlaster w/ AVG 8
Posted by: rdsok - Moderator (IP Logged)
Date: April 27, 2008 01:27AM"
contained in http://forum.grisoft.cz/freeforum/read.php?12,121766,backpage=5,sv=
in response to a question from someone else in their AVG v8 free forum would not seem to offer much hope for an early resolution of this problem.
Greyfox,
Though I no longer use Spybot S&D's immunizations myself, it's for other reasons such as performance, not conflicts, since no technically competent AntiSpyware product has such issues more than transiently in this day and age.
In truth, the Spybot S&D Immunizations are nothing but large lists of entries that Spybot adds to the Restricted sites & Cookie blocking of Internet Explorer, Windows Hosts file and the less visible ActiveX 'Kill Bits' portion of the registry. None of these are hacks, though they were never intended to contain many thousands of entries, which can result in performance issues under certain circumstances.
The real problem here is that like many attempts at turning a simple AV scanner into 'Anti-Spyware' before it, AVG is dumb. It simply scans for the existence of these entries in the registry and makes no attempt to test whether they are defined to 'block' or 'allow', so if it's there it must be bad. This is dumb because the values that differentiate block from allow are standardized and well documented by Microsoft, so a program that can't tell the difference is simply badly designed.
AVG is simply making the same stand as most suites today, that they have all the protection you need so you should remove all other products that perform the same or similar functions. Though I agree with this in principal, you must closely evaluate how well the suite performs all of its functions, since the fact that it has something that conflicts doesn't mean it necessarily performs the function as well.
The real choice now is between the few remaining products like Spybot S&D that work well with a few stand alone AV and other protection programs or an All-in-One suite. In Spybot's case you can also individually disable or undo most of its protection, so you can simply choose to use it as an on demand scanner if you wish. This means that it can co-exist with even most suites as long as they don't falsely detect portions of it's protection as malware as AVG is doing here.
In this case I think you've made the right temporary choice, but in the long run you'll need to determine how well this combination is protecting you. If you can understand what your programs are telling you and have either avoided or at least been informed when you've experienced malware, that's a reasonable combination. If others use your PC though, you'll need to look at what they require to help them effectively, since what they do will affect you to.
Bitman
In the interest of full disclosure, I am also OneCareBear on the Microsoft Windows Live OneCare Forums, which is another complete suite product that coexists well with Spybot S&D. This proves that it can be done, which is why I support both products.
Thank you Bitman for your detailed post.
My decision to abandon the new version 8 of AVG antivirus and temporarily return to the previous version 7 was not made just because of the problem experienced with the Spybot immunisation entries (even though I agree with you, it doesn't reflect well on AVG), but also because of the lack of user control over some of its functions and because I was not happy with its performance.
Over the years I have used many different brands of Antivirus, Firewall, and Spyware detection products, both paid and free versions, both discreet function products and also multifunction security suites, and in time I have moved on to others as each one no longer gave me the performance, functionality or control that I personally wanted.
It is true that adding detection of any kind will always be at the expense of some reduction in performance and that some software is better than others in this regard. Some detection currently offered in multifunction products is questionable in terms of logic and or the amount of control available, and for me doesn't justify its associated trade off in performance.
I currently use seperate AV and firewall software because that arrangement does what I want. The firewall software is mainly to look after outgoing because the fully cabled network sits behind an SPI enabled firewall in the router.
I currently do use SypbotSD version 1.5.2.20 with both the browser helper and Teatimer active on all of the computers on the home network (as well as another product for additional "on demand" scanning). On my present computers the current reduction of performance from SpybotSD is acceptable for the protection it provides, and I appreciate the amount of personal control it offers. I do expect performance will deteriorate as the number of registry entries and host file entries increases to counter new threats, but that's life.
There are times like now with AVG however when I wish that significant program revisions occurred less often.
drragostea
2008-04-30, 00:04
@Greyfox and bitman. Thank you for the detailed... meticulous explaination, lols. But just a simple question. If you both have "distastes" toward AVG AV because of so and so, what AV and firewall would you recommend. From how I see it, AV's and firewalls are limited theses days. I do not mean functions... but just the number of brands.
@Greyfox and bitman. Thank you for the detailed... meticulous explaination, lols. But just a simple question. If you both have "distastes" toward AVG AV because of so and so, what AV and firewall would you recommend. From how I see it, AV's and firewalls are limited theses days. I do not mean functions... but just the number of brands.
Hey, I've run AVG 7.5 on my machine for a long time, so when I heard about 8.0 - I thought 'I just have to upgrade'. But then, my rational mindset kicked in and told me to wait until they find and fix some bugs before upgrading. I always research my product before deciding to install. Due to various problems (like this one! :rolleyes:), upgrading was a definite NO (for now :laugh:). I kinda still wanted a change though (probably unnecessary) - this caused me to move to avast! 4.8.
Actually it is quite good - the only problem being that :flame: dreadful :devil: music player ui! :sick: (luckily they have different skins)
For now I am happy with avast! 4.8, I haven't seen any decrease in performance
Of course there is always Avira who also recently updated their program (I haven't tested the new one yet. Apparently still has slow updates and that nagging screen though...)
As for a firewall - in my opinion - it just has to be Comodo firewall :eek:
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@Greyfox and bitman. Thank you for the detailed... meticulous explaination, lols. But just a simple question. If you both have "distastes" toward AVG AV because of so and so, what AV and firewall would you recommend. From how I see it, AV's and firewalls are limited theses days. I do not mean functions... but just the number of brands.
drragostea
I actually quite like AVG 7.5 (although I could do without the pop up advert for version 8 that as of a short while ago now takes place every so often)
It is their new version 8 I have issues with. Now that the new version has been released, I'm expecting support for 7.5 to eventually cease so I'm looking at alternatives in advance. I am currently trialling Avast! 4.8 and like bitman has said, it does look quite good (I have turned off the awfull default skin and just use the old fashioned screens).
On the subject of firewalls - as I said in an earlier post, my home network is behind an SPI enabled firewall in the router which has yet to be breached, so the software firewall on each of the PC's is primarily to control outgoing, and for that I use the free Zone Alarm version 6.5.737 (the last release before it ballooned out in size with the addition of other features that I don't use/need) and it suits me fine, but to each his own, Comodo is also a good product.
Actually it was honda12 who originally mentioned avast! 4.8. However, it's interesting that I also use this on one old Windows 2000 system along with Spybot Search and Destroy.
My original reason for switching from AVG 7.0 free version to Avast! last year was the move to bundle AntiSpyware, since I prefer to use Spybot S&D for that. Avast! also includes a Web filter and other sub-features that can be separately disabled, allowing some granular control.
On all more current XP or Vista systems I use either the Windows Live OneCare suite I mentioned earlier or a commercial AV product for business systems. OneCare is designed more for the 'set-it-and-forget-it' group of non-technical users, so I doubt most here whould be interested. I'm involved with OneCare to support my family and friends who have no technical knowledge or interest and simply want protection that does everything for them.
Bitman
drragostea
2008-05-01, 01:27
Ah, well thanks much for your opinions. I would just plan to stick to my AVG Free 8.0 and ZoneAlarm 7.0. However, the sad part is that my Windows Security Center (SP2) was screwed up and my "System Information" file was not found. I think I reformatted one time too many... :(
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=27388
Above is the link about the Security Center program incompatibility.