Tag Archives: Sandro Villinger

AVG

What’s New in AVG PC TuneUp?

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In our last blog post, we’ve shown you our new killer feature for cleaner for AVG PC TuneUp, which is part of our all-new AVG Performance 2015 package. But that’s not all. AVG PC TuneUp also got an all-new Disk Cleaner which removes even more clutter from your Windows PC, laptop, and ultrabook:

Improved AVG Disk Cleaner

Our new “AVG Disk Cleaner” includes significant new and improved cleaning definitions to help remove the wasteful files of 39 additional programs.

This year we’re cleaning out unneeded files from:

  • Origin & Steam
    Wasteful log files & telemetry data hidden within the two gaming platforms.
  • Windows®
    We’re now cleaning even more temporary files, caches, log files, and leftover 8.1 Apps cookies from all built-in Windows 8 apps.
  • Skypeâ„¢
    Cache files, temp files and backup installation files from Skype.
  • All Cyberlink® products
    Leftover log files, temp files, trace files and also backup installer files from more than 25 Cyberlink products, such as Cyberlink® PowerDVD.
  • Apple® software
    Unfinished and broken downloads, such as videos or music, from iTunes (on Windows) and many locations in which Apple products, such as QuickTime or the iCloud client store backup installation files and updates, which are no longer necessary once they were installed.
  • nVidia, ATI and Intel
    Leftover data that gets created by installing and running Intel, AMD and nVidia software drivers, such as cache files for nVidia Shadowplay.
  • Windows UAC
    In order to protect Windows and users data from harm, the User Account Control (UAC) redirects files from programs which require administration rights, such as older Windows XP programs. AVG Disk Cleaner remove wasteful files that were created by these older applications.
  • Windows Upgrade Files
    All leftover files from when a user has upgraded to a newer version, such as Windows 7 to Windows 8.1 right within the new category:

  • Screenshots
    This new Disk Cleaner category shows screenshots that an application or the user has takenwithin applications such as BS Player or VLC
  • Flash and Java
    In addition to cleaning Flash and Java cookies, AVG Disk Cleaner now cleans temp files leftover temporary data, too.

 

In addition to that, we now clean up leftover data and improved existing cleaning algorithms from the following applications: Multiple Ashampoo programs, Avira, Amsn, Ad-aware, Auslogic programs, Audials tunebite, AIMP, Avast software, BS player, CleanMyPC, Comodo programs (CertSentry, PaintShop, VideoStudio), Cyberlink programs (PowerCinema, YouCam, Downloader), CleanMyPC Registry Cleaner, Drivermax, Google Talk, IMVU, Java, Jukebox, Jdownloader, Microsoft Office, Nero Programs, Norton antivirus, Picasa, Roxio, Starmoney, Skype, Spybot search and destroy, Ultraedit, WPFFont, Yahoo! Messenger, ACDSee, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Corel AfterShot Pro, Corel PaintShop Pro, GIMP, Google Nik Collection, Paint.NET, PhotoPad, Photomatix, Snagit, Zoner Photo Studio

 

Step by Step: Here’s How You Clean Up

  1. Download and install AVG PC TuneUp trial version here. Finished? Then move on to the “Cleaning” category. AVG PC TuneUp now scans your entire hard disk for invisible data crud:

Example: On this 6 year old desktop PC, we found 68 GByte of worthless data!

 

  1. To open AVG Disk Cleaner, click on “Clean up Windows and programs”. You should find a list of things you may not need:

Note that AVG PC TuneUp doesn’t delete any files that are actively used by any of your programs – so  your precious files should not go missing. However, it may be worth going through the list and looking at the help pane on the right to confirm that you really don’t need any of these files.
Ok that’s it for now: Have you tried it out? Let us know how much you were able to clean up on your PC with the new AVG PC TuneUp.

AVG

Get rid of clutter from your Android devices now!

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We all have way too much unnecessary clutter on our phones and tablets – things that eat away our storage, waste mobile data and drain battery life. Some of this is caused by the apps we use on a daily basis, like games or social media– but much is also caused by apps we no longer use or that are running constantly in the background.

Our new AVG Cleaner for Android 2.2 makes it quick and easy to identify (and remove) such unwanted apps but also helps you clean the clutter from your phone, such as cache, history, and call logs.

Video

Introducing AVG Cleaner for Android

So what’s New in Version 2.2?

  • Large file finder: Our all-new version 2.2 app scans your Android tablet and phone for massive files, such as downloads, app packages, videos, music files or other data that you may have downloaded or copied over to your device – and perhaps forgotten about.

  • Caller History Cleaner: AVG Cleaner for Android helps you clean up all calls or even one specific entry in your call history.
  • Check up on your Android from your PC: You can remotely check up on your Android smartphone or tablet from your PC. In this example, I added a Galaxy S5 to my AVG Zen network and monitored it right from my PC.

 

Now the really cool thing is that you can’t just check up on your AVG Zen network from your PC – but also direct from your Android. That’s right, you can even check up the Performance and the Security status of all your AVG Zen connected devices, such as PCs or Laptops running Windows and Mac computers right from your phone. To do that, fire up your Google Play store and download AVG Zen Admin console:

Once you’ve signed into your AVG Zen account, you can even check up on your devices from wherever you are!

 

AVG

Introducing a cleaner for iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch! 

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Yes, this is not a typo for the first time, AVG PC TuneUp will also include an all-new AVG iOS Cleaner feature to help users get rid of the hidden leftover files, which can amount to thousands, from both iOS itself as well as apps used on a daily basis.

In this and the next blog post I’d like to talk about what’s new for our PC utility AVG PC TuneUp. Let’s jump right in?

AVG Cleaner for iOS – Wait, an iOS Cleaner for PCs?

That’s right. We know that a lot of users out there are struggling with disk space on their iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch). They’re getting messages like this when snagging a photo or downloading apps:

Also, iTunes seems to explicably show that there’s a lot of stuff in the “Other” or “Documents & Data” category. Well, if you’re running out of disk space, hidden clutter may be the culprit. That’s why we came up with AVG Cleaner for iOS. Since it’s technically not possible to have an app delete hidden temporary files and other unneeded files (more on that below), we’re doing that right from our PC and it’s the reason it’s part of AVG PC TuneUp.

 

How exactly does it work? (Step by Step)

Open up AVG PC TuneUp and select “Dashboard”. Then, go to the “Clean up” category.

Connect your Apple device to your PC and click on ‘Clean Up iPhone, iPad or iPod touch’.

 

Hit the ‘Clean Now’ button. Have a look at the results.

 

How much did we clean up?

I was as surprised as you will be when I first laid my hands on an early version of our AVG Cleaner FOR iOS months ago: It found a LOT of unexpected files on my iDevices. I guess the biggest surprise was my iPad:

7.5 GB on my iPad. Another 500 MB on my iPhone 5S and more than 700 MB on my iPod touch. So how’s that even possible?

I found that rather incredible, and even more so after my iPad showed another 1 GB just a few weeks later:

Digging deeper, I found that many of the daily apps I use create a lot of temporary files without deleting them. For example, after 2-3 days of Spotify streaming, its offline cache grew up to 655 MB on my iPad. But what is all this stuff? Let’s find out:

 

What AVG Cleaner for iOS cleans up

Download Cache & Temporary Files

Most apps create a “Cache” and “Temporary Files” folder to store data that’s needed while they are running. Unfortunately, many apps tend to forget to clean out these hidden downloads, which may result in your iOS device running out of space soon.

AVG Cleaner™ for iOS cleans out these hidden cache folders. Even according to Apple’s official guidelines, the cache folder is safe to delete as it includes data that can easily be renewed or downloaded again by the app – so we’re not doing anything harmful to your device. In fact, it may help even solve some problems when one of these cache files gets corrupted or damaged by a bug in the app.

 

Thumbnail Cache

Every time you browse a photo related app, it creates thumbnail files to display the little previews (see image above), but may forget to delete them even if they’re no longer necessary.

AVG Cleaner™ for iOS cleans out all thumbnail files from 3rd party apps. It gets rid of all thumbnail files that are no longer being used and will only recreate the ones you need. Don’t worry, your stored photos will not be touched.

 

System Logs & Crash Reports

Every time an app crashes or an error occurs on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, a crash report and logs will be created. If you want to, these can be sent to Apple or the maker of the app. However, these reports take up valuable storage and may even contain personal information.

AVG Cleanerâ„¢ for iOS helps users delete system logs and crash reports, free up more disc space and the protect your privacy by removing personal information within these cookies.

Ok that’s it for now: Have you tried it out? Let us know how much you were able to clean up!

AVG

The Ultimate ‘Alien Isolation’ Performance Guide

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Once Alien Isolation got announced a few months ago, I immediately went back and rewatched the 1970s Ridley Scott classic movie “Alien”. No AlienS, no Alien 3, no Alien 4. The plain old Alien! And it still holds up as one of the scariest sci-fi movies ever, dealing with the struggle of one women versus one alien.

With the blockbuster game, Alien Isolation, by Sega and The Creative Assembly, that very spirit of one versus one is back big time. Set 15 years after the events of Alien you play Amanda Ripley, the daughter of famous alien hunter Ellen Ripler from the movie. And while it’s set in probably the most beautiful graphics out there right now, it mimics the 1970s wonderfully:

Alien Isolation

It’s all about cassette decks, monochrome monitors, and wonderful sci-fi furniture art of that decade.

However, you need a fairly powerful system to run Alien Isolation but – lucky you – we’ve played the game over the course of the past couple of days and found ways to improve the performance of the game and even unlock some hidden features to make it run significantly faster on slower PCs. Here’s how:

 

#1 – Basic PCs and Laptops

Before you start tweaking performance settings for Alien: Isolation, I recommend that you follow the 9 essential steps to boost your PC or laptop speed that I published a while ago. This covers the basic steps to get your machine in top shape, including how to:

  • Upgrade your graphics drivers and even use beta drivers
  • Overclock your graphics card (safely!)
  • Use our AVG Zen Performance to turn off all performance-sapping background activity
  • Defrag your hard disk
  • …and more!

As Alien Isoluation takes its toll on your hardware, you got to be sure that it’s tweaked to its absolute limit before you jump into the game-specific settings.

 

 

#2 – Enhanced 2k/4k/8k and Level of Detail

Gamers have immediately found a way to increase the visual quality of the game greatly by increasing both the level of detail level beyond what’s possible in the “in game” settings menu as well increase the resolution of the shadows. Now instead of using shadows with a 1k resolution, they managed to crank that up to 2k, 4k or even 8k resolution.

We’ve done the tests and the visuals are noticeably better. Click on the before and after images:

Before:

Alien Isolation

After:

Alien Isolation

It’s relatelively easy to see the difference between the shots: the shadows appear much crisper and clearer. However, while it’s easy to see in bright spots, it’s relatively tough to differentiate in other more darker scenes. We noticed a drop of 20% in performance, though that was on a relatively “weak” mobile GeForce 650M. If you feel it’s worth the drop, it should be enabled.

All you have to do is download the tweaked “ENGINE_SETTINGS.XML” from this page. Put the XML file right in your Alien Isolations “Alien IsolationDATA” folder and overwrite the existing file with it. For example, if you purchased the game on steam, the file sits under: C:Program Files (x86)SteamSteamAppscommonAlien IsolationDATA

To enable the setting, launch the game and go to “OptionsVideo”. Make sure to set the “Shadow Map Resolution” to “8K”.

 

Alien Isolation

 

#3 – Enhance Reflections

Another great addition that comes with the enhanced engine file (see #2) are enhanced reflections that the developers turned off. Now while these may look significantly “nicer”, they also have a shiny look to them which some gamers feel disturb the overall atmosphere of the game:

Before

Alien Isolation

After

Alien Isolation


Source: Steam Community

To enable it, you set the “Planar Reflections” to “Alternative” – see how you like it. If you want to go back, you can always set it to “On” (which is the game’s default setting). In my tests I noticed no drop in performance whatsoever with the reflections enabled or disabled.

 

#4 – Increase the Level of Details for Distant Objects

Some objects tend to pop up out of nowhere. In order to prevent this rather annoying (and tension breaking) effect, you should increase the level of detail for distant objects. This, too, can be done by applying the hacked file (#2) and enabling it under the “Level of Details” – simple go for the “Ultra” setting once you’ve enabled the tweak!

 

#5 – Skip the Videos

The introduction videos are somewhat annoying and they can’t be skipped at a push of a button. Here’s how to get rid of them. Simple solution: Delete them! Here’s how: Navigate to your Alien Isolations “DATAUIMOVIES” and delete or rename the files “AMD_IDENT.USM”, “FOX_IDENT.USM” and “CA_IDENT.USM”.

Alien Isolation

 

 

#6 – Get Smoother Mouse Movements

We’ve talked about VSync in the past and it still holds true, especially with Alien Isolation. With the vertical synchronization turned on you may get some delays. That’s why we recommend turning it off either completely using the in-game setting or via the NVIDIA or ATI control panel:

NVIDIA: To get to the NVIDIA Control Panel, right-click on your desktop, select “NVIDIA Control Panel” and head over to the “Manage 3D Settings” category on the left. Go to Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames first: This controls the number of frames that the processor prepares before transferring them to the graphics card. Increasing this value results in smoother game play, but you may notice a lag when using the mouse and keyboard. To eliminate the lag, try the “1″ setting. Next, move over to VSync: It synchronizes the frames that your graphics card renders with the refresh rate of your monitor. If you disable it, you will notice that Alien Isolation may not lag as much or not at all anymore.

ATI/AMD: You’ll find the Wait for Vertical Refresh feature in your 3D settings control panel. Disable Vsync for Alien Isolation and you may find it to run smoother.

Alien Isolation

 

 

 

#7 – Fix Your SLI RIG (Nvidia)

Got yourself a gaming rig with two (or more) graphics cards? Then you may in for a negative surprise as Alien: Isolation could completely crash on you at any moment or run even slower than with a single GPU. Here’s how to solve the problem: Download nVidia Inspector from this place and run the tool. Go to the SLI Compatibility form and change it to x080912F5. Done.

 

#8 – Enjoy!

As I’ve been super-busy as of late I couldn’t really play more than a few hours but I can tell you that the enhanced graphics tweaks really made the game more immersive and enjoyable. Now I can’t wait for the weekend to hit so I can crawl under a blanket, light up a candle and get hunted down by an Alien.

 

Zen Performance

 

 

AVG

Cleaning Up Your Right Click Menu

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In this blog post, we’ll show you how to easily clean up your context menu in no time. It requires a little bit of tinkering with Windows, but if you follow our instructions you’ll find it easy to follow. Let’s do it:

All entries that show up under your “Right-click menu” or “Context menu” are stored in a rather secret location, called the Windows registry. Here’s how to open it:

  • Hold down the “WINDOWS” key on your keyboard and then press the “R” button. This will bring up the following screen:
Command Menu

  • Type in “regedit” and hit Enter.


I recommend creating a back up before making any changes

 

  • To create a backup, simply click on “FileExport” and type in the file name.
  • Next, open the following folders: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT*shellexContextMenuHandlers. All the folders you see below represent entries in the right-click menu:

 

OK, let’s move on to actually getting rid of that folder. So, for example, the “AVG Shredder Shell Extension” folder represents the following item:If you like to get rid of it, simply delete that entire “Folder”.

  • In this example, I want to get rid of the entry for a nice desktop organization tool called “Fences” that I use a lot. Click on “FencesShellExt” (don’t touch the OpenWith or WorkFolders entries, though!) and hit the “Delete” key on my keyboard.

 

Now, once I cleaned it up, my context menu looks very clean:Plus, you may even be able to solve problems related to the context menus and delays when working with files.

 

Pro Tip:

If you’d like to add or remove items in your “Create New…” menu there’s a great (and much easier) solution for you. All you need is AVG PC TuneUp:

  • Once installed, go to “Personalize” and click on the “Personalize and behaviors”.
  • Head over to “File Types” and “New”
  • In this area you can easily get rid (or even add!) items that appear under the “New” menu, which I personally like to keep very clean as I only create a few files that way.

 

Got any questions? Let us know!

 

AVG

Games hit by massive outage: Sony PSN, Blizzard, Riot and more affected

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Gamers, you better dig out your good old offline games: some of the most popular online gaming networks are getting attacked by hackers. On Sunday, August 24th2014, a group which calls themselves the “Lizard Squad”:

lizard squad

 

They have started attacking Sony’s PlayStation network (PSN) though which the company sells all of their online games and which serves as a hub for all multiplayer games. The method used: DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service). Sony, being burned in 2011 by a massive hack attack, immediately issued a statement saying that no customer data was stolen this time and that it’s back up since Monday August 25th.

Riot, Blizzard, Xbox Live affected too

On Monday, however, the group moved on to Blizzard, the makers of World of Warcraft, and Riot Games, the ones behind games like League of Legends and continued to attack other sites. Here’s the latest:

PSN Network: Is back online, according to their statement on Monday, August 25th. Lizard attacked PSN for what they perceive to be a lack of PSN customer service: “Sony, yet another large company, but they aren’t spending the waves of cash they obtain on their customers’ PSN service. End the greed.”

Blizzard: Battle.net, the online service behind World of Warcraft, seemed to be heavily affected on Sunday, but was in the process of stabilization on Monday. But other than the fact that Battle.net was a target, the group doesn’t seem to offer any reasons for hacking – other than their typical “lulz” by asking users to write the groups name on their forehead while playing Hearthstone and Dota 2 on Twitch.

Xbox Live: in addition to the networks above, Microsofts Xbox Live network has been hit, too – users should regularly check the status here:

 

XBL

 

 

However, the negative “icing on the cake” came when the group announced that they’ve seen “reports of explosives” on board an American Airlines flight from Dallas to San Diego carrying Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley.

 

Flight362

American Airlines immediately redirected the plane, which just goes to show how much of an impact this series of DDoS attacks and its publicity just had on people.

Should you be worried?

For now: no! DDoS attacks are not traditional hacking attacks, but rather “clogging the Internet toilet” by which a server gets hits with hundreds of thousands of requests. So far, there appears to be no evidence of an actual hacking attack. We will keep you posted, but other than the major inconvenience for gamers, there seems to be no data compromised!