The product itself is free, but AVG really, really wants you to launch a 30-day trial of their full security suite. You get that option during installation, and a banner across the bottom of the main window repeats the offer each time you launch the antivirus. As I stepped through the product's features, I found quite a few marked "Upgrade to activate." I'll look at those features when I review the full suite.

One row of big buttons on AVG's main window let you access components like computer protection and Web browsing protection. Another row links to an array of other solutions from AVG. You can launch a one-time performance-fixing scan, and optionally install AVG's tune-up solution. There are links to the company's mobile apps, and to a partner-licenses app for ensuring you have the latest drivers. And a whole separate "More from AVG" page displays the company's entire line of products, most of which require separate purchase.

But don't worry. You really can have free antivirus protection. You just need to resist the temptation to purchase the various optional add-ons.

Rough Time at InstallationOn exactly two of my twelve malware-infested test systems AVG installed and scanned without any problems. The installer crashed on another two, but worked OK when I retried the installation. In several cases the full scan halted with an "unspecified error"; trying the scan one or two more times fixed most of these.

Like most security companies, AVG offers a Rescue CD for situations where the antivirus can't install. The Rescue CD is a blast from the past, with a totally text-driven interface, but it offers a full collection of tools, not just an antivirus scan. It wiped out ransomware on one test system and cleared up a malware infestation that actively blocked the installer on another.

I went back and forth with tech support, supplying diagnostic logs and running the tools they supplied. The toughest problem was a system that lost all connectivity after AVG's scan; they eventually tracked that one down. Ten of twelve test systems encountered some sort of problem and a few needed days of back-and-forth with tech support. They all got sorted in the end, but I'm giving AVG two stars for installation experience.

Effective Malware RemovalOnce I got past the installation difficulties, I found that AVG did a good job cleaning up my messy, malware-infested test systems. It detected 78 percent of the samples and scored 6.4 points, narrowly beating Norton AntiVirus (2014)$49.99 at Norton's 6.3 points. Of products tested using my current malware collection, only Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (2014)$39.95 at BitDefender and the cleanup-only Jumpshot tool did better, with 6.6 and 6.5 points respectively.

Looking at antivirus products tested using my previous malware collection, the free, cleanup-only Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.70 beat all the competition, earning 7.1 points, and it did so without a hint of difficulty installing or scanning for malware. $19.99 at Webroot also did well, with 6.6 points. For an explanation of how I gather malware samples and perform this test, please see How We Test Malware Removal.