AVG fails

I just discovered why my Google Chrome browser was no longer able to connect to most of the sites that use a secure HTTP connection, otherwise known as HTTPS. It was due to my AVG anti-virus program!

Several days ago, my Chrome browser started acting peculiar. When I would connect to the majority of sites that require an HTTPS connection, my Chrome browser would refuse the connection and cite a certificate error and display "CONNECTION NOT PRIVATE". Chrome would not let me actually continue through to the site.

I discovered, however, that if I used the Firefox browser, or even the new Microsoft Edge browser, then I had full access to all sites without any error messages at all. It seems normal that I would suspect that the Chrome browser was at fault, right?

I visited numerous help forums, but to no avail. I was beginning to believe that I would have to uninstall my beloved Chrome browser and use the Firefox browser, which is bloated and runs slow.

A short while ago, I was again visiting help forums and spotted a suggestion that a forum moderator gave to someone. The moderator recommended uninstalling their particular anti-virus program (which was not AVG anti-virus). I do know that most anti-virus program do install themselves in browsers in order to intercept suspicious code when visiting websites. I was not fully aware that anti-virus programs also intercept HTTPS connections and verify certificates.

I decided to uninstall my (paid version) AVG anti-virus to see whether my connection issues would disappear.

After uninstalling AVG, and rebooting the computer, my connection issues with Chrome have disappeared! This is a great relief to me. However, I still need to have a working anti-virus program installed on my machine. I am debating whether to re-install the free version of my trusted AVG anti-virus, or whether to go with another anti-virus program.

I have been using AVG anti-virus for almost fifteen years. I even paid for a subscription at the beginning of 2015 because I wanted to show the company a little love. However, if this is the way that the program is going to act from now on, then I must abandon them.

If you have any suggestions for a good anti-virus program, let me know!

UPDATE: I installed AVG Free, but without the Web Tuneup. I now have anti-virus protection and my Chrome browser works as it should. 👍