AVG is particularly well known for its free anti-virus offering, but the company also produces a comprehensive and fairly well received internet security offering. AVG Internet Security 2011 is here to ensure that your complete Web-surfing experience is a safe one, with a raft of features that now extend to the increasingly murky waters of social networking.

One of the major features of its 2011 offering is its real-time threat detection, courtesy of the company’s LinkScanner technology. With thousands of new threats popping up daily, and 99% of those existing for one day only, traditional signature databases can be outdated in a matter of minutes. A few minutes is all it takes for particularly nasty malware to infiltrate your system, so it’s good to know that AVG 2011 won’t rest on its laurels. It’s also worth noting that AVG Internet Security 2011 placed first in threat-detection testing conducted by independent testing lab AV-Test.

AVG 2011 will also automatically scan any links you might encounter during your Facebook and MySpace browsing. As dodgy behaviour is becoming more and more common (not to mention convincing) on social networks, it’s a thoroughly welcome level of protection; you’ll never again fall victim to one of those scams where you unwittingly re-post a “free iPad” promotion.

Like any good security suite, AVG 2011 is rather unobtrusive, although you will encounter plenty of pop-up windows early in the post-setup process so you can authorise trusted programs with internet access. Once you’re past the teething stages, though, you’ll barely notice that it’s running. System scans are fairly quick; reportedly three times faster than previous versions. It took roughly an hour to scan my entire system.

PROS: Real-time threat detection. Social-networking protection. Light and painless installation process.

CONS: Some of the settings may be confusing and overly advanced for many users. There are plenty of firewall pop-ups in the early stages.

VERDICT: While AVG already offers an excellent free anti-virus product, Internet Security 11 provides a few extra bells and whistles to ensure that all the holes in your system are plugged.