The Hidden Costs of Antivirus Software: A Cautionary Tale

It’s not uncommon to encounter surprising situations when sorting through a loved one’s belongings after they’ve passed away. Yet, what I discovered while going through my late grandfather’s computer was nothing short of shocking. Among the many tasks I needed to tackle, ensuring that his digital life was in order became quite an eye-opener regarding the practices of antivirus software providers.

Upon booting up the computer, I was met with an unexpected reality: despite having decent specifications, the machine operated at a snail’s pace. A quick glance at the Task Manager unveiled the culprit—AVG antivirus software was monopolizing the system’s resources while seemingly doing nothing of value. To make matters worse, several processes resisted termination, effectively rendering the computer unusable.

As I navigated through his email to cancel unnecessary subscriptions, I encountered a series of messages from AVG that raised my eyebrows. They suggested that his computer’s sluggishness could be remedied by subscribing to AVG TuneUp for £45 a year—a service that felt more like a veiled admission that their current software was the source of the problem. It struck me as a poor attempt to fix the issues they had, in essence, created.

Compounding my frustration was the sheer number of AVG services my grandfather had unwittingly subscribed to: AVG Security, AVG TuneUp, AVG VPN—something I doubted he ever used—and even AVG Driver Update. This last one particularly baffled me; charging extra for driver updates seems almost absurd in today’s tech landscape. One must wonder, what exactly do we pay for if necessary updates come with additional fees?

To add insult to injury, my grandfather had been using AVG’s Secure Browser, which was consuming every available resource, making it difficult to even access more commonly used browsers like Chrome or Edge. Instead of a functional browsing experience, I was greeted with dire warnings urging him to switch back to AVG’s Secure Browser under the pretense of safety.

As someone who had hoped to explore sports and military history, my grandfather had been unnecessarily ensnared in a web of subscriptions amounting to £120 (almost $150 USD), all while receiving little to no benefit. If someone were to knock on your door and swindle an elderly person out of that much money, it would be considered a criminal act. Yet, in the realm of software, such practices are deemed acceptable, all under the guise of brand reputation.

This experience has left me not