AVG Scanner Blasts Internet With Fake Traffic

AVG is certainly getting a fair amount of coverage these days, but not in a manner that company management likely appreciates.

• The first topic that received a lot of attention was the inclusion of the search bar pre-checked and disguised as a "Security Toolbar".

• Next, we find as described by AVG as an Infection detected in "ActiveX Compatibility" registry key, that AVG is incorrectly detecting the immunize functions of Spybot Search and Destroy and Spyware Blaster. (See Wilders topic spyware blaster not compatable with AVG 8.0.)

• Yesterday I reported that AVG included a false/positive of "sbautoupdate.exe", a legitimate component of SpywareBlaster 4.1. (Side bar: Update the SpywareBlaster 4.1 update provides compatibility with Firefox 3.0.).

What is the latest AVG news?

As originally reported by OSBlues, AVG Destroys Web Analytics. The problem is caused by users who have the AVG Linkscanner installed. Linkscanner automatically scans links to ensure they are free of malware before they are clicked and regardless of whether you plan on clicking those links. This process is resulting in popular websites being slowed down by the extra traffic as well has getting double of their normal bandwidth usage. This extra bandwidth usage can end up being costly to small websites.

See LinkScanner for instructions on how to install AVG without the LinkScanner.


References:

• OSBlues: AVG Destroys Web Analytics

• The Register: AVG scanner blasts internet with fake traffic

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