AVG "secure upgrade" nag messages. Ignore?

[TheLurker]

A friend of MrsLurker sends this, "I use Windows 10, and AVG free security on my laptop.  I keep being informed by AVG that everything I do is open to anyone who wants to access it.  I am then 'offered' a secure upgrade at a considerable cost."

I'm a Win10 refusenik and use McAfee so can't offer an opinion.

What does the team think?  AVG chancing their arm or is there a missing setting that should be set?

[Polar Bear]

I use AVG and ignore the nags as a matter of course.   It's all about the money...

However, if I did online banking I'd have a considerably more cautious and paranoid approach to these things.

[Kim]

A friend of MrsLurker sends this, "I use Windows 10, and AVG free security on my laptop.  I keep being informed by AVG that everything I do is open to anyone who wants to access it.  I am then 'offered' a secure upgrade at a considerable cost."

I'm a Win10 refusenik and use McAfee so can't offer an opinion.

What does the team think?  AVG chancing their arm or is there a missing setting that should be set?

Indeed.  That's either lies, or a serious misconfiguration issue, surely?

Either way the solution probably isn't paying money to AVG.

[Kim]

However, if I did online banking I'd have a considerably more cautious and paranoid approach to these things.

Online banking is just the tip of the reasons-to-secure-your-computer iceberg (although I admit I'm wary of using it from anything but my familair Linux machine, and I'm avoiding the smartphone app on general principle).

There are things on my computer that are more valuable or inconvenient to lose than just money (chiefly because they're the product of large amounts of Hard Work).  This isn't unusual any more.  Security (and perhaps more importantly, proper backups that malware can't get to) are the solution, not not using a computer for things that computers are useful/essential for.

[DaveJ]

I think the "upgrade" is a vpn service.  Kaspersky have been doing something similar for a while.  It looks like with AVG you can choose the endpoint, though its not clear where it would be by default.

Having the vpn end point somewhere in Russia for example, would seem to be worse than not using one at all if you were accessing a British bank.

[TheLurker]

I think the "upgrade" is a vpn service. 

Ahhhh.  And the 20w bulb in my bonce glimmers a little.  That makes sense.  Thanks.  Now how the blazes do I explain that to two determinedly non-techy people?

[ian]

I solved it by switching to Windows Defender (if I recall, it was McAfee rather than AVG). I doubt, on balance, it's any better or worse but doesn't require an annual subscription (not especially cheap either). Security is mostly the product of commonsense, though I'll admit, if it's my parents, that's easier said than done. I lost the will to live just trying to explain the padlock 'secure' option next to the URL. Mind you, these are people that leave the doors open because they're just taking the dog for a walk/going to the shops etc.

[frankly frankie]

Is it not just saying "you've got our AV software, but you haven't got our firewall".  Win 10 has its own firewall I think, and if for some reason there's no firewalling active Win 10 will do the nagging, never mind AVG.