The Hidden Costs of AVG: A Cautionary Tale from a Grandfather’s Computer

In today’s digital landscape, where technology intertwines with our daily lives, it’s crucial to be vigilant about the software we install and the services we subscribe to. Recently, while sorting through my late grandfather’s belongings, I stumbled upon a troubling situation involving his old computer and AVG antivirus software that left me both shocked and frustrated.

Upon booting up the computer, I immediately noticed its sluggish performance. Considering the hardware wasn’t outdated, I delved into the task manager to investigate. What I discovered was alarming: AVG was monopolizing the computer’s resources while seemingly doing nothing productive. Some processes were persistent, refusing to shut down or be removed from the startup list. It became painfully clear that AVG had entrenched itself in a way that significantly slowed down the system.

As I sifted through the emails, my disbelief grew. I found messages from AVG stating, “We’ve noticed your computer is very slow; for just £45 per year, our AVG TuneUp service can optimize your performance.” Reading this felt like a thinly veiled admission: pay us to mitigate the damage we’ve inflicted on your CPU with our software.

To make matters worse, I discovered multiple subscriptions under his name: AVG Security, AVG TuneUp, AVG VPN (which I doubt he ever actively used), and even AVG Driver Update. Really? An additional charge for driver updates? It raises the question of what a subscription is even for if basic updates aren’t included.

In searching for alternatives, I noticed he had been using AVG’s “Secure Browser,” which seemed to devour every ounce of available resource. When attempting to open Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, I was redirected to AVG’s warning pages, which cautioned me about the dangers of non-secure browsing. It felt like a coordinated effort to corral him into using their products under the guise of protection.

The most disheartening part is that my grandfather was simply an everyday man, not particularly tech-savvy, who just wanted the ability to enjoy some sports and read about military history. Instead, he had unknowingly subscribed to nearly £120 (around $150 USD) worth of software that did little more than slow his computer down and push for further purchases.

Imagine if someone had knocked on his door and scammed him out of that amount? We would have called the authorities. Yet, because this is done through a well-known brand, it seems