Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

I just updated one of my computers to the Grisoft AVG 8.0 version. It’s working very well. AVG is a free email scanner/antivirus program (they also have a paid-for “pro” version). I’ve been using AVG for many years on various computers and I really like it. This new version looks like a million bucks. They’ve done a good job with their interface (previous interfaces were a little baffling). And the download went smooth and easy.

I have two complaints– one is that the link for the download is rather hidden. AVG is now emphasizing their Pro version, and the links to that are everywhere. I had to be very careful what link I clicked, because I did want to accidentally get the Pro version and have to pay for after 30 days. Here’s a page with the download links. Look for “AVG Free.” If you’ve never downloaded AVG before, there are special instructions with a license key that is emailed to you. Just going to the home page and looking around will show it. Or, you can do a quick search at Download.com and get it directly there.

Secondly, AVG 8.0 has a toolbar (they do ask you first, and give you a choice; I chose yes) you can download with the anti-virus program. I really like the idea behind it (protect you from phishing sites, etc), but it either severely slowed down my Firefox browser or crashed it. And I was unable to uninstall the AVG toolbar, I could only “disable” it. It’s not in my Add/Remove programs, either.

So AVG 8.0 is much nicer, but dump the buggy toolbar and watch which version you download. I do wish software programs would stop trying to overextend themselves. I personally prefer the basic, minimal programs that only do one or two things. I don’t like software that dumps everything under the sun along with baby clothes and free sunglasses.

But AVG is free, and I can’t complain about that! And it’s a good program, to boot.

I haven’t tried this out yet, but it looked so interesting and I have some readers who love graphic design that I thought I’d give you a heads up on this. There’s a little 3D modeling and animation program available for download called the Anim8tor. It looks really nice! I’ll bet kids would have a blast with it. The author says it’s not “professional” grade, but it’s free and it looks like a ton of fun. He put a lot of time into it and I think it’s great when developers offer their creations for free.

There’s texture support for bump maps, soft shadows, spotlights, fog, and more, for graphic files such as .BMP, .GIF, and .JPG formats. It looks like a great beginner’s tool. I know my young son, who loves creating graphics on the computer, would love this. I intend to download it and try it out. Soon. I hope. My son has a math book to finish, and that’s really the only reason why I haven’t tried it yet! LOL.

One quick reminder: when you download files–any files but especially executable files like those that run programs– always be sure to run a scan through your anti-virus. and always make sure your anti-virus is updated. Almost all software is safe, but it definitely pays to check and double-check. hotel deals are nice to have, but you don’t want them popping up in browser pop-ups, all over the place, because you didn’t scan and now you have spyware! Be sure to always scan your files.

There are lots of anti-virus programs out there. I use Grisoft AVG. It is extremely reliable and it’s free! They also have a terrific rootkit detector at the same site.

I haven’t used any other anti-virus but AVG for the last seven years. I am aware that there are others out there (Avast, for one), but I’ve been so happy with AVG that I haven’t shopped around!