The initial release of AVG had a feature that would pre-scan websites you search. AVG finally agreed to disable the ‘feature’ which significantly increased Internet traffic.  In a post from their team, “The latest update for AVG free edition has addressed and rectified the issue.”  whirlpool.net.au was one of the hardest hit, and their independent testing shows the latest release fixed the problem.  I for one am still unimpressed with the added bloat-ware AVG 8 is now.  I would recommend looking at Avast instead.