McAfee vs. AVG

AVG is a relative newcomer to the antivirus software market, having been around for only about twenty years. AVG is taking aim at one of the best-known malware defenses in the world, McAfee. Both anti-malware applications offer similar protection against threats to your computer, so we're comparing McAfee vs. AVG.

Both applications offer a 30-day free trial with a similar buying price at the end of the 30 days. The free trial is a full version of the software with no restrictions during the trial period. When the trial ends, McAfee costs $49.99, while AVG costs $59.99. Both applications have added additional malware protections in newer versions.

The user interfaces for both applications are simple. Installation is easy, and you can adjust the settings with few problems. You can schedule scans and updates as necessary without significant technical experience, which is important for home users.

When considering the detection capabilities of McAfee vs. AVG, both use heuristic detection. McAfee adds signature files as an additional malware-detection method. Both McAfee and AVG scored high marks from antivirus testing organizations for identifying and removing malware. McAfee, however, has a history of inaccurately flagging safe files and finding false positives, which can be a problem for many users. In tests, AVG had no false positives and an above-average removal rate. Both applications left behind traces of removed files after clean up, and AVG missed phishing sites during testing.

Both AVG and McAfee scan your computer's files quickly and accurately. Both applications run in the background with minimal problems, and McAfee has a feature that will stop a scan while you are working, and then start it again when you stop. This feature keeps other applications from slowing down while the scan is running. Both of these antivirus software applications provide a firewall, automatic updates and system monitoring. When updating, McAfee will stop the update if you are working, just as it does during scans.

One feature offered by McAfee is a digital file shredder that allows you to shred, or obliterate, deleted files. McAfee and AVG both offer features that rate websites' safety. AVG offers free identity theft recovery and checks social-networking links to protect your computer against malware. Both applications also offer download protection and do a good job of controlling spam.

Both McAfee and AVG are good antivirus software applications that are comparable in terms of ease of use and their ability to protect computers from malware. They provide website ratings, firewalls and fast scanning, and both applications ranked high in test results for catching threats to computer systems. AVG has a slight edge in that it doesn’t find false positives as often as McAfee, but McAfee has a slight price advantage. Overall, McAfee vs. AVG is a difficult comparison because both systems do an excellent job of protecting computers from the threat of malware.

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