I am somewhat sad today. Today is the day I replaced my anti virus program from my long time favorite Avg anti virus . It was like having to say goodbye to an old friend. Why did I replace something that has proven itself to be dependable and reliable after all these years? It is because the latest version Version 8. Just isnt up to AVG's usual high standards. For starters the memory usage has increased dramatically. version 7.5 used to use about 2 megs while idle and version 8 uses over 30. Their new link scanner which seems like a good idea has caused slowdowns and browser crashes, and it has compatability issues with another favorite program I use called Threatfire from PCtools . A google search has revealed that I am not the only one having these problems. My search for a free replacement brought up many possibilities but the one that consistantly got good reviews was Avira free and I am pleased to say it has been working flawlessly. I must admit I miss my old friend and found comfort in seeing that AVG icon in the taskbar; ,so Avg please give us a nice lean new version of AVG free so I can once again welcome my old friend back into my system.