[64-bit] Install AVG free and pro anti-virus for Ubuntu 64-bit

[Artificial Intelligence]

Tested: Ubuntu 7.10 • 8.04 64 bit - Gnome

This guide show you how to install AVG Professional Edition for Ubuntu 64-bit.

1. F.A.Q. - Please read - Important
2. Guide - AVG Professional Edition for Ubuntu 64-bit
3. Guide - AVG Free Version for Ubuntu 64-bit
4. Links


1. - F.A.Q.

Q: Are viruses, trojans and malware a threat to a linux system as in Windows?

A: No, there's a very few viruses to linux and the few are not out in the wild. The way a Linux/unix is build up makes it difficult to do any serious damage to the system, in fact I've never heard from people who got their Linux/unix system infected.

Q: So why install an anti-virus application/program?

A: For an ordinary Linux Home user with only one OS system their's no need for Anti-virus, but people who's running network, server or dual booting with win OS this tool can be very handy to scan for virus.

Q: I'm a home user only running Linux do I need it?

A: No, a firewall is way better as protection in that case.


Please also read; Ubuntu Security and Are firestarter and clamav really necessary ??



2. AVG Professional Edition for Ubuntu 64-bit

Before Installation

First you need some tool to edit/build .deb packages. To the terminal;

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude upgrade
sudo aptitude install build-essential dpkg-dev fakeroot

Installation

Download avg75lms-r49-a1124.i386.deb and avggui-1.0-4.i386.deb from here to your Desktop.

Fire up the terminal;

cd ~/Desktop
mkdir avg75ms
dpkg-deb --extract avg75lms-r49-a1124.i386.deb avg75ms
dpkg-deb --control avg75lms-r49-a1124.i386.deb avg75ms/DEBIAN
nano avg75ms/DEBIAN/control

Under Architecture: change i386 to amd64

Save [ctrl]+[o]
Exit [ctrl]+[x]

Then;

dpkg --build avg75ms
sudo dpkg -i avg75ms.deb

If it fails - Double click the newly made .deb package.

sudo avgscan -register

Insert your registration code.

Now to the AVG Gui;

mkdir avggui 
dpkg-deb --extract avggui-1.0-4.i386.deb avggui
dpkg-deb --control avggui-1.0-4.i386.deb avggui/DEBIAN
nano avggui/DEBIAN/control

Under Architecture: change i386 to amd64

Save [ctrl]+[o]
Exit [ctrl]+[x]

Then;

dpkg --build avggui
sudo dpkg -i avggui.deb
sudo nano /usr/share/applications/avggui.desktop

Change: Exec=avggui to Exec=gksudo avggui
Change: Categories=GNOME;KDE;Application;Utility; to Categories=GNOME;KDE;Application;System;

Save [ctrl]+[o]
Exit [ctrl]+[x]

AVG is now ready to be used.
You can start it by Applications tab ---> System Tools ---> AVG for Linux Workstation



3. AVG Free Version for Ubuntu 64-bit

Before Installation

First you need some tool to edit/build .deb packages. To the terminal;

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude upgrade
sudo aptitude install build-essential dpkg-dev fakeroot

Installation

Download the .deb file here to your Desktop.

Fire up the terminal;

cd ~/Desktop
mkdir free-avg
dpkg-deb --extract avg75fld-r49-a1130.i386.deb free-avg
dpkg-deb --control avg75fld-r49-a1130.i386.deb free-avg/DEBIAN
nano free-avg/DEBIAN/control

Under Architecture: change i386 to amd64

Save [ctrl]+[o]
Exit [ctrl]+[x]

dpkg --build free-avg
sudo dpkg -i free-avg.deb
sudo nano /usr/share/applications/avggui.desktop

Change: Exec=avggui to Exec=gksudo avggui
Change: Categories=GNOME;KDE;Application;Utility; to Categories=GNOME;KDE;Application;System;

Save [ctrl]+[o]
Exit [ctrl]+[x]

AVG is now ready to be used.
You can start it by Applications tab ---> System Tools ---> AVG for Linux Workstation



4. Links

F-Prot (anti-virus) for Ubuntu 64-bit
Build the latest of Pidgin + Plugins
Build the latest of Audacious

[be4truth]

I have used earlier the free version on Windows machine but found after one year of usage that AVG free doesn't catch quite a number of trojans. I don't know about the professional version.

[Artificial Intelligence]

Guide updated - Now also containing the free version.

[pedro_cesar]

When I try to run:

sudo dpkg -i free-avg.deb

I receive this error message:

pedro@pedro-desktop:~/Setups$ sudo dpkg -i free-avg.deb
(Leyendo la base de datos ...  
122312 ficheros y directorios instalados actualmente.)
Desempaquetando avg75fld (de free-avg.deb) ...
dpkg: error al procesar free-avg.deb (--install):
 intentando sobreescribir `/opt/grisoft/lib/libgcc_s.so.1', que está también en el paquete avg75lms
dpkg-deb: el subproceso paste fue terminado por la señal (Tubería rota)
Se encontraron errores al procesar:
 free-avg.deb

This is the translation (which might not be 100% acurate)

pedro@pedro-desktop:~/Setups$ sudo dpkg -i free-avg.deb
(Reading Data Base ...  
122312 Files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking avg75fld (from free-avg.deb) ...
dpkg: error while processing free-avg.deb (--install):
 trying to overwrite `/opt/grisoft/lib/libgcc_s.so.1', which is also currently in the package avg75lms
dpkg-deb: the subprocess "paste" was terminated by signal (Broken Pipe)
Errors were found while processing:
 free-avg.deb

P.S.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am dual booting with Windows Vista, and already have FireStarter installed, I wanted to know how strong is the AVG FREE edition's protection? Do I need to/should configure some other things to make my system more secure? Which things? Is it enough with what I already have (assuming I do install AVG AntiVirus)?

[Artificial Intelligence]

Try doubleclick the .deb instead.
If it doesn't work;

delete libgcc_s.so.1 in the /opt/grisoft/lib folder. Then try again.

Anti-virus application is not really needed. It's used for scanning for Windows virus.

[pedro_cesar]

I did so, and then it gave me the same error for the other file in the folder, so I erased it too (I didn't erase the /lib folder) and then it gave me the same error but for

/opt/grisoft/avg7/bin/avgqrtctl

I don't how smart will it be to erase a bin file.

[Sukarn]

pedro_cesar, seems to me like you already installed avg once. if that is so, and you're trying to re-install or to install a new version, then you should just remove the old package and install the new one, or else delete all the files manually and install the new one.

[Herman]

I had the same problem as pedro_cesar and I did 'sudo rm -rf /var/lib/dpkg/info/avg75*', and I was able to install AVG alright after that.

sudo rm -rf /var/lib/dpkg/info/avg75*

Regards, Herman

[vnpenguin]

thanks! It worked very good!

[stellar22]

thank you this works perfectly.

Q: when i install WinXP on another partition, will AVG Linux be able to scan and clean those drives?