I cannot even see AVG on the list.
Well Windows Firewall is as good as using a paper bag to hold water...what about your other Firewall? Is it there? A Firewall should need permission to allow something through!
Not sure what name it would have but presume AVG update...maybe someone who uses it can say...
Not necessarily - firewalls can and do operate from a set of rules which can be set up either manually or automatically (or both). If my firewall needed my permission to do something each time, I'd never get anything done at all !
The firewall supplied with Windows is poor because it only checks data coming into your computer - it doesn't look at what is going out. Viruses send data from people's computers all the time, so it's a second line of defence to have a good firewall.
On your comment about virus checkers - yes, an up-to-date virus list is very important. But what about viruses which haven't made it on to any list yet ?
They are the ones which "sort out the men from the boys", when it comes to virus checkers. These viruses are known as "in the wild" viruses - brand new viruses which have just been written, and which don't appear on any list. In independent tests, AVG free failed to find over 700 "in the wild" viruses which were found by two of the top virus checkers. This is why I say that AVG Free is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.