Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus now can protect Vista Beta 2

by Greg Shultz | Jul 27, 2006 12:21:00 PM

Tags: Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Viruses and worms, SECURITY, Operating systems, Greg Shultz, AVG, antivirus, AVG Anti-Virus, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Vista, Grisoft

Takeaway: A programming error in Windows Vista Beta 2 that was preventing the installation of all Grisoft security products has been fixed by Microsoft.

A few years ago I was tasked with quickly and inexpensively upgrading a peer-to-peer network for a medical office and ended up purchasing 11 generic white box computers from a local computer shop. The techs at the shop imaged the systems with Windows XP Professional and a few basic utilities. I was going to install a medical database clients and Norton AntiVirus on each system as I set them up. To my surprise, the techs had incorporated a freeware antivirus program in the images and it was one that I had not heard of before--AVG Anti-Virus.

At first I was a little upset thinking that having to uninstall this software before installing my antivirus program of choice would eat into my timeline and put me behind schedule. However, I respected the techs and knew that they wouldn't install any piece of software on their systems unless they thought it was a value add. So, I decided to do some reconnaissance.

I soon discovered that AVG Anti-Virus did indeed look like a very good antivirus package--it was packed with a lot of nice features and appeared to offered satisfactory protection from viruses. Since then I've used AVG Anti-Virus quite a bit and have come to value it as much as I do my trusty Norton AntiVirus.

So I was very frustrated when I attempted to install AVG Anti-Virus in Windows Vista Beta 2 and discovered that Setup would not run. No amount of coaxing would make Vista allow Setup to run--it appeared to be blocked

Then, last week I discovered a press release on Grisoft's Web site stating that there was a programming error in Windows Vista Beta 2 that was preventing the installation of all Grisoft security products, but that the bug had been fixed by Microsoft. It also stated that Beta testers could acquire the update via the Automatic Updates service for Windows Vista. The release went on to say that once the update has been downloaded and installed, AVG products can be installed and used without any further problems or restrictions. I decided to cover the procedure in this week's Windows Vista Report.

The first step

After reading this press release, I immediately accessed Windows Update from Windows Vista Start menu and proceeded to download the most current updates, as shown in Figure A. Once that was complete, I headed back to the Grisoft Web site and downloaded AVG 7.1 for Windows Workstation.

Figure A

Windows Vista's Windows Update tool makes the task of updating the new operating system a very simple one.

As soon as the download was complete, I launched the installation file and encountered an Open File Security Warning dialog box, which was immediately followed by the UAC dialog box shown in Figure B.

Figure B

This UAC dialog box prompted me to allow the installation of AVG Anti-Virus.

I then was pleased to see the AVG Anti-Virus Welcome dialog box--even though it was a bit out of whack, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

After the bug fix was installed, I was finally able to start the AVG Anti-Virus Setup program.

The installation then went off without a hitch. As soon as the installation was complete, Windows Security Center displayed a pop-up balloon to alert me that AVG Anti-Virus might be out of date, as shown in Figure D. At the same time, the AVG First Run Wizard prompted me to connect to the Grisoft Web site and check for updates.

Figure D

Windows Security Center let me know immediately that AVG Anti-Virus might be out of date in order to make sure that I take the necessary steps to safeguard my computer.

Incidentally, the AVG Update procedure caused Windows Vista to display the UAC dialog box shown in Figure E. Once I clicked Allow, the update proceded normally. However, I must report that the UAC appeared on subsequent manual update operations.

Figure E

The AVG Update procedure brings up a UAC dialog box.

Once installed and updated, AVG Anti-Virus makes itself right at home in Windows Vista. It even moves into the Windows Security Center along with Windows Defender, as shown in Figure F.

Figure F

Once installed, AVG Anti-Virus moves into the Windows Security Center along with Windows Defender.

Windows Vista is dog food?

In the "I couldn't resist" department, I have to share this link to an article by NateMook and Tim Conneally at BetaNews about Microsoft being the biggest corporate beta site in a program Microsoft calls "eating its own dog food. Check it out!

Conclusion

As I experiment with AVG Anti-Virus Windows in Vista Beta 2, I'll let you know if I encounter any addition pertinent information. If you are beta testing Windows Vista Beta 2 and are using AVG Anti-Virus or another antivirus program and have comments or information to share about your experiences, please take a moment to drop by the Discussion area and let us hear.

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