Slashdot Mirror
Avast Acquires AVG For $1.3 Billion To Create Security Software Giant (venturebeat.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from VentureBeat: Security software giant Avast Software has acquired rival AVG Technologies. Avast will pay $25 in cash for each of AVG's outstanding ordinary shares, in a deal amounting to around $1.3 billion. Avast said that it's acquiring AVG to "gain scale, technological depth and geographical breadth" and so it can "take advantage of emerging growth opportunities in internet security as well as organizational efficiencies." The combined company will have access to "400 million endpoints" -- that is, devices that have some form of Avast or AVG application installed. Almost half of those are mobile too, which is key in a world that is increasingly shifting away from the desktop. With access to more devices, this will serve the joint company a bigger pool of data on malware, meaning it should be better positioned to offer better security products. "We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers," said Vince Steckler, CEO of Avast. "Combining the strengths of two great tech companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a common culture and mission, will put us in a great position to take advantage of the new opportunities ahead, such as security for the enormous growth in IoT." The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition. However, AVG's shareholders still need to approve the deal, which Avast expects to happen between September and October 2016.
is called "Avavg"
Why would you pay for it?
It's rather appalling that there even exists a multibillion dollar anti-virus industry for Windows. Although I'm not entirely blaming Microsoft here, since almost every single one of these shite companies are snake-oil salesmen that poach upon Windows' reputation for being insecure (it still is, but avast or AVG aren't going to fix it).
Avast and AVG's free products are both dedicated to the notion that they can harass and annoy you into giving them money. Does that work on people?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I got to find a new free AV solution, fuck.
I'm an AVAST user. For years, AVG has been well-known to bring good computers to their knees. I specifically remember an entire classroom of computers slowing to a near stand-still because AVG initiated a scan. Presentations had to be halted, etc... For years afterward, every computer that had AVG was very slow and when switched to AVAST, speed up immensely. If Avast even hints at becoming slower after this buyout, I'm finding a new antivirus. I have no loyalty.
AVG used to be good and then it got very bloated.
AVG has sucked for years, both in resource utilization and questionable behavior. Avast likes to spam for paid subs, even though the last I looked they had a decent catch rate.
I don't see myself using or recommending them ever unless something changes. My current recommendation to customers is BitDefender free. Lightweight, quiet, and works. That is if they don't want to spring for our managed product (which uses a customized version of bitdefender for the AV portion of the service).
Silence is a state of mime.
If half are mobile, does that means those run on windows phone?
This is great news. Now when I'm comparing AV test suites, I now only have to skip past one column of wasted space rather than 2. That will leave more room for AV software that isn't substandard.
Avast is pretty much on par with AVG for pop ups and bloat.
First off, all virus come from the internet nowadays. Yeah there's USB stick, but, in most case, you plug them between stuff at your house.
Add a good browser paired with ad-block kinda remove all threat from your usual website. Now even Chrome block you from entering website with reported attack. Even sending virus through email seems like a challenge with build-in antivirus check scanning the crap out of every byte in your attached file.
And, as a final layer of security, there's the new Microsoft antivirus (Defender, ex. Microsoft Security defender) that seem to give a decent security. And it's got the most importing feature that all others antivirus seem to lack, it's not a virus itself.
How many time I have checked a slow laptop only to uninstall Norton and see it running fine again? And what about the other free antivirus? When they don't put adware and trick you into giving them money, they just simply sell your data : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/...
So, back to my initial question, are antiviruses still relevant today?
Elok
I don't think they've been relevant for about 10 years.
Of course I prefer proper hygiene on a computer than raw dogging hookers in Thailand and then hoping penicillin works.
And proper hygiene isn't even AV or condoms - just don't be stupid with what you connect to. pine for email, don't visit random sites, ad-block things, etc.
It's like they've merged two crap commercial scanners into one, hoping you'll pay for the privilege.
I had the same thought, and I assumed someone in here would say it before I did.
In an enterprise environment running Windows desktops and servers, etc, I feel that unfortunately a third party AV is still relevant, even with all the resource usage issues as you mentioned.
With that being said however we see that as more and more users are primarily on mobile or tablet platforms, the question there is more of a concern with people like AVG/Avast.
The Windows desktop/server AV market appears to be shrinking and I would assume less and less crumbs are falling off the table.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
You assume the average computer user in a corporate environment has the forethought to be "hygienic" on their windows desktop computer.
That's asking a lot.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
Two craptastic dinosaurs merge to form a larger, even more craptastic dinosaur.
Stand back so ya don't git splattered by the "innovation".
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
If half are mobile, does that means those run on windows phone?
Yep, all 237 of them.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
"We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our
current and future customers," said Vince Steckler, CEO of Avast. "Combining the strengths of two great tech companies, both founded in the Czech Republic and with a common culture and mission, will put us in a great position to take advantage of the new opportunities ahead, such as security for the enormous growth in IoT."
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Definitions-based antivirus is on its way out for a simple reason: The viruses that make it to your endpoint do so because there is no definition for them yet. They aren't new or clever, they're simply re-hashed versions of the same viruses you saw five years ago.
Cylance is an algorithmic (definitions-free) agent that is apparently quite effective. I suspect however that if they ever gain a dominant market share, malware authors will adapt and find ways to evade their "math power." And even worse, their product does no remediation. Once something gets through the gates, it could be months before there is an update that detects it.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Far below industry average. So yes AV is still relevant. For more data, try here: http://www.av-comparatives.org...
Silence is a state of mime.
Windows defender sucks ass. See here: https://www.av-test.org/en/ant...
Far below industry average. So yes AV is still relevant. For more data, try here: http://www.av-comparatives.org...
And other website are saying defender is getting quite decent, especially for a free/no installation AV : http://www.pcworld.com/article...
Furthermore, the core of my point is that no virus are supposed to reach that last layer of defence. Unless you are dependant on animal porn?
Elok
User training and good web and spam filtering should always be the first line of defense, but when determining security, there are much better free options than Defender.
Also, you are more likely to get a virus from a religious site than a porn site, my proclivities for donkey sex be dammed. http://irregulartimes.com/2013...
Furthermore, you know where most of our infections come from? For businesses it is targeted spam, and occasional drive-by malware. For home users it is free streaming sites (download this updated flash player to watch GoT), or kids trying to get the newest free mod/cheat for minecraft (sometimes other games, but mostly 9-12 year olds and minecraft).
Silence is a state of mime.
I uninstalled AVG about 2 months ago after it once again rebooted my system during an "upgrade", crashing my VMs and losing my work for the last hour. I had it for years, even used to recommend it, but the fact that I had to "temporarily" disable AVG (typically until reboot) just to get anything done (performance and resource issues), combined with the daily nag messages, were already getting on my last nerve. Now I'm on MalwareBytes and getting my job done without interruption.
Avast can eat AVG and poop out little money balls to its heart's content. I'll be over here not caring because AVG sucked so bad I already moved on.
*** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
I'm not sure I follow; just because a piece of malware comes from the internet doesn't mean your only diligence must be in your web browser (... and email client, torrent client, ...). Nowadays, we're more plagued than ever when it comes to zero-day malware, meaning that A/V misses it the first time around. You need a local A/V scanner that regularly evaluates potential threats, ideally upon each execution.
Ad blockers only protect you from malvertising, not straight-up malicious web sites. These days, they're as important as A/V (and often more effective), but you really want both. Microsoft has in the past caught fewer viruses than even ClamAV (Windows Defender is lauded as "better than nothing, but it’s not a whole lot better. Most of the popular antivirus [solutions] can do better." I'd happily take the free solutions from Avira, Avast, AVG, or Panda over it. I currently suggest Avira to my friends and family, though I don't run Windows.
See also this security question on Stack Exchange, which shows how a similar misconception (protecting only filesystem edits) is similarly risky.
Use my userscript to add story images to Slashdot. There's no going back.
AVG is a cesspool these days. We'll soon see if Avast quality drops also. In the meantime. Avira and 360 Total Security with Bitdefender and Avira engines installed, both are excellent free AV programs, as long as you don't install tool bars or click on any free "opportunities" or recommendations.
Seriously.. two of the worst AV programs I've ever used.. next to Panda which keeps false positiving on .NET apps.
AVG used to work fine, even when it became somewhat bloated. I recommended it quite a few times over other products and was generally thanked for my suggestion. I stopped using or recommending it last year when they changed their privacy policy and stated they'd sell whatever data they can gather from AVG anti virus installs. Back then, I thought that this wasn't just a bad move, but that they also might get swallowed up by a competitor pretty soon. Go figure.
I hope I didn't brain my damage.
Not to forget all the jobs that will be lost after the merger. There is absolutely no good that will come from this from an end user, employee and competition stand point.
AVG used to have a good product until it became a resource hog so one can only hope Avast will remain Avast.
Personally I care about my hardware since wiping the OS after a malware infection is no guarantee that it has been removed. Not all AV is bloated and ineffective, and so it is worth it to pay next to nothing for a decent solution if it lessens the odds that I have to deal with malware at some point. Also, you might not have noticed that MS has turned completely user hostile anyway and has been turning their OS into an adware platform that also spies on you, so I don't even want my machine to be connected to MS if I can help it let alone rely on their 'free' av solution.
If I must browse the web with windows, I use ad-blocked chromium in linux in a virtual machine on top of EMET and antivirus in a non-privileged user session. Some would say even that isn't good enough.
Avast is a respectable, capable antivirus and AVG is a malware toolbar-making, slow, ineffective, spammy piece of shit. Wow, what a great merger.
Enjoy the constant barrage of in-app advertising folks! Also, security software is largely just facade - deal with it.
semi related:I believe the 'Czech Republic' is now called simply 'Czechia'