The new AVG is out. It’s faster and uses less resources which means it uses less of your computer’s limited processing power while protecting your computer.

Here’s the press release from October of this year from AVG Technologies describing the newest version of AVG:

“Amsterdam, October 5, 2009 – AVG Technologies, developers of the world’s most popular free anti-virus software, today announced that its family of free and paid internet security products, AVG 9.0, would be generally available to the market in October 2009. Boosted by significant enhancements in speed and levels of protection, AVG 9.0 is also easier to use and improves end user experience. Additionally, all AVG users in the U.S. will benefit from a groundbreaking identity theft offering, powered by a partnership with Intersections Inc., North America’s leading and most innovative provider of consumer identity theft prevention solutions which has served more than 25 million consumers. AVG’s new technology products ensure that users are safe in whatever online or offline activities they undertake.

“AVG 9.0 will provide home computer users with a more powerful and more streamlined solution that adds protection without impacting user experience, taking us back to our core strength of low impact, high performance security,” said J.R. Smith, CEO, AVG Technologies. “We’ve always believed that everyone has the right to a safe online experience. With AVG 9.0, we are providing first-class assistance to our users in their development of tools and measures for their safety from all of the threats posed by cybercriminals and identity thieves, whether they’re working, playing, banking or shopping on the web.”

I found a great site with all sorts of information about viruses and antiviruses called Virus.gr. The website is from Greece and among many other valuable resources has free virus scans and comparative tests that rank antivirus programs.

Click here for a link to the free virus scans and programs.

According to Virus. gr, the best from recent testing is a little known antivirus program called G Data from a company in Bochum, Germany. Second is F-secure.

Below are the results of the tests, quoted from the website.

Rank

1. G DATA 2009 20.0.2.1 – 98,89%
2. F-Secure 2009 9.00.148 – 98,72%
3. Kaspersky 2010 9.0.0.463 – 98,67%
4. AntiVir 9.0.0.381 Premium – 98,64%
5. ZoneAlarm Antivirus 8.0.400.020 – 98,62%
6. AntiVir 9.0.0.407 Personal – 98,56%
7. Ashampoo 1.61 – 98,48%
8. MultiCore 2.001.00036 – 98,36%
9. Paretologic 6.1.1 – 98,11%
10. TrustPort 2.8.0.2255 – 98,03%
11. eScan 10.0.977.4091 – 97,82%
12. The Shield 2009 12.0.12 – 97,72%
13. BitDefender 2010 11.0.15.297 – 97,61%
14. Ikarus 1.0.97 – 97,15%
15. AVG 8.5.392 Free – 97%
16. BitDefender 2009 12.0.12.0 Free – 96,37%
17. Nod32 4.0.437.0 – 95,97%
18. Avast 4.8.1335 Free – 95,87%
19. Comodo 3.9.95478.509 – 95,57%
20. Trend Micro Antivirus 17.1.1250 – 95,36%
21. F-Prot 6.0.9.1 – 93,03%
22. McAfee Enterpise 8.7.0i – 92,35%
23. McAfee 13.11.102 – 92,32%
24. Norman Security Suite 7.10.0.1 – 90,76%
25. Blink Personal 4.3.2 – 90,17%
26. Vba32 3.12.10.9 – 89,91%
27. K7 Antivirus 7.7.0568 – 89,02%
28. Norton 16.5.0.134 – 87,37%
29. ArcaVir 2009 – 85,09%
30. Outpost 6.7.2957.446.0711 – 83,59%
31. Dr. Web 5.00.4.06300 – 82,89%
32. Rising AV 21.51 – 80,92%
33. Vipre 3.1.2775 – 79,69%
34. Kingsoft 2009.08.05.16 – 79,59%
35. V3 Internet Security 2009.08.10.02 – 79,24%
36. ViRobot Desktop 5.5 – 79,05%
37. Antiy Ghostbusters 6.1.6 – 77,14%
38. Panda 2009 9.00.00 – 70,8%
39. Twister 7.3.3.9983 – 67,14%
40. Virus Chaser 5.0a – 66,54%
41. Quick Heal 10.00 – 65,97%
42. PC Tools 6.0.0.19 – 59,77%
43. ClamWin 0.95.2 – 52,48%
44. Sophos Sweep 7.6.8 – 42,84%
45. Iolo 1.5.3 – 40,14%
46. Net Protector 2009 – 34,34%
47. The Cleaner 2010 Free 6.1.0.2007 – 34,11%
48. Digital Patrol 5.10.102 – 27,29%
49. Trojan Hunter 5.1.875 – 24%
50. Protector Plus 8.0.E02 – 21,61%
51. Solo 8.0 – 11,3%
52. Trojan Remover 6.8.1 – 11,16%
53. VirIT 6.4.71 – 9,01%
54. IOBit Security 360 beta 3.1 – 8,92%
55. PCClear 1.0.8.6 – 8,08%