AVG LinkScanner Free Edition 2011 10.0.1375

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CNET Editors' review

by: Seth Rosenblatt on April 20, 2009

AVG has resurrected LinkScanner as a free plug-in for Firefox and Internet Explorer. AVG Anti-Virus fans shouldn't fret, though; LinkScanner is still included in the AV suite. The new LinkScanner works much the same as the original one did. AVG's "Search Shield" returns search results from both Google and Yahoo with flags next to them. Green flags on Google indicate a result is safe to click through to, while Yahoo-safe results display no flags. This might have been a configuration error, although rebooting the browser didn't change the results. Links that are unsafe on both search engines will return red flags.

Hovering over a flag provides further details. Green flags show the IP address, the amount of time the scan took, and the date and time of the most recent scan. Red flags highlight the same information, as well as the risk category and the site name. Attempting to click through to a red-flagged page will take you to a warning screen that repeats most of the red-flag information--AVG calls this the "Active Surf-Shield." A small link at the bottom of the red-blocked screen will let you click through, although it cautions users that it will continue to block potentially harmful content.

LinkScanner also offers two "slow down" warnings. The first is yellow with one exclamation point in it, while the second is orange and has two exclamation points. A link at the bottom of the pop-up takes you to the AVG product comparison page. It's notable that LinkScanner didn't slow down search results or click-through page loading times in any perceptible way, and that the new independent version functions just as well as the old independent version.

Publisher's Description

From AVG Technologies USA:

The most dangerous page on the web may be the one you are about to click on. AVG LinkScanner provides an advanced layer of security against fast-moving, invisible web threats, and hacked web sites. It verifies the safety of web pages you visit, and of links returned from web searches (Google, Yahoo! and MSN), so you know how safe/unsafe a page is at the time you attempt to click on it. It works alongside most current consumer AV and security suite products, delivering an additional layer of security they do not provide. Highlights: Real-time scanning of links you click on, so you can be sure you are protected from the latest hacked or exploited websites. Emphasis on analysis of each web page you visit instead of the web site. Automatic upgrades whenever the threat intelligence network finds a new threat. AVG LinkScanner is available as a free download for single computer, home non-commercial use.

What's new in this version: Version 10.0.1375 is a maintenance release.