New AVG suite defends your digits

AVG Premium Security 2011 adds two identity protection features to the AVG Internet Security interface for helping you protect your personal data.

(Credit:Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

A new suite from AVG called Premium Security introduces one new feature that AVG Antivirus Free and AVG Internet Security lack: identity protection. AVG Premium Security 2011, available only to people in the United States and United Kingdom, includes a new personal data protection feature called Identity Alert.

The feature is a direct response to the interests of AVG customers, said the company's ambassador of free products, Tony Anscombe. "Identity on thePlayStation Network highlights it perfectly," he said. "Ninety-four million people were affected by the hacks, and the information was hosted on servers in Japan. This is a global problem."

Once registered for the service, it will warn you when your personal data such as e-mail address, telephone number, Social Security or National Insurance number, and credit card numbers are revealed on the Internet. It also includes a service that advises you on how to restore anonymity to your personal data, should it become compromised.