AVG are celebrating their 10th birthday in style. Last week they invited their top Superfans and a few tech bloggers - myself included - along to celebrate with them in Prague, where they've just built some rather grand offices, and discuss what's going to big in the world of anti-virus in the upcoming months.
The Superfans who claim the title as the top AVG geeks around, are the most involved and knowledgeable users on the Facebook page. They act as little pillars of the fanpage, solving problems within the community to be rewarded with software.
AVG are an interesting brand as a relative newcomer with a simple and good belief that everyone with Internet access should have 'the right' to free virus software, and they set themselves apart in the market by focusing on their free software. As something I used heartily on my Windows PC and really liked as a product, I'm a bit of an advocate of their free software ethos. With only 8% of computer-owners toting Macs though, it's easy to see why they've focused on an in-browser solution for non-PC users, which could come across as a somewhat less attractive solution. Whilst I was sad, though, I was unsurprised to hear that there aren't changing to focus on the Mac minority, I was interested to hear about their thoughts on security problems. One of the first things they mention is that more money is made from cyber crime than drug dealing worldwide. This sticks in my mind. The descriptions of hackers lined up spending 9-5 specifically trying to hack into people's computers paints a worrying picture many rarely think about.
So what advances in protection can we expect from AVG in their 10th year in this changing landscape?
"We're very interested in the cloud." says Ambassador of Free Tony Anscombe immediately. "It's where businesses are headed." And when mobile browsing comes up, Duzan Zabrodsky, SVP of Operations, launches energetically into an engaging diatribe, describing how we've become more heavily reliant on mobile-browsing, and how it's definitely something they're thinking about heavily.
For example, beyond the plethora of passwords hidden behind a simple swipe-pattern entry code, I would in emergency, for example use my phone to access online banking (in no way wise, but some things are emergencies). Whilst this is fine on a protected computer we regularly do things we hardly think about as important on our mobiles. How often do you change your password? Probably not enough - security never crops up as much of an issue. Talking about finding solutions more appropriate than the 'Where's my Droid' app for phone relocation was great, and their enthusiasm to the way web is changing was contagious.
In the Czech Republic AVG are also celebrating their birthday with a massive charity gig and so, after a taste of the city we were invited to sample the best of Czech Funk, Monkey Business.. With songs like 'Allah ate my Tartar sauce' they're a bit unusual, and the live gig was lovable and unusual as they bounded out in Native American costume. At one point, fans leapt around on stage, to which a folded-armed bouncer leapt out. (Try out a little taster of their sound over on YouTube).
It will be good to see what comes of the next year for AVG - they're clearly very keen and aware of what's going on - and Czech funk was certainly a curious experience.