SmallBizResource Blog -- Security

AVG Releases LinkScanner For Safe Internet Surfing

Posted by Gayle Kesten Monday, Apr 20, 2009, 11:03 AM ET

A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure -- especially when said prevention comes free and safeguards your computer from time-consuming and cost-draining viruses.

Enter AVG LinkScanner, released today by security software maker AVG. AVG LinkScanner works in real-time to canvass Web pages before you open them, preventing you from doing so should the tool detect active malware. "As many as 2 million sites are infected every single day, and we have estimated that roughly one in eight users are impacted in some way by a bad Web site page," AVG CEO JR Smith told Computer Business Review.

LinkScanner also checks links in email and instant messages, plus it flags safe and unsafe sites that turn up in search engine results. For example, you'll see a red-boxed X next to a dangerous site, which LinkScanner blocks you from downloading.

Cost to you: nothing. And you don't have to use AVG's antivirus software as part of the package either. LinkScanner works "alongside other major brands of security software," according to AVG, and runs on Windows XP/Vista (32- and 64-bit), as well as Internet Explorer and Firefox. The company is also planning a Mac version, though no word yet on a release date.

Taking a few steps back, how can you tell if your computer has been bit by a bug in the first place? CNET's Dennis O'Reilly offers a baker's dozen worth of red flags; here are the first six:

• Your system slows to a crawl for no apparent reason.
  
• The machine crashes, with or without an automatic restart.
  
• Error messages pop up repeatedly.
  
• Programs or files open slowly or not at all (especially security apps).
  
• You can't access drives or other storage media.
  
• Certain Web sites won't open in your browser, especially those of security software vendors.

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