Avast Antivirus Home Edition

[lazserus]

I've been working with Avast since my days in the military. I was inspired by digital security measures and decided to run some experiments on my home machine, more or less testing the integrity of a number of antivirus engines. Avast was mentioned to me by my closest friend in service, so I tested it against every major retail antivirus on the market. Lo and behold Avast flagged hundreds of files the supposed best of the best couldn't see. I've run Norton, McAfee and Trend Micro engines . . . none of which came close to the Avast engine. What I found was that the free version of Avast was more powerful than every retailed antivirus on the market. I ran extensive tests wherein I purposefully infected myself just to see which scanners would pick up the virus, and Avast won every time, flagging the file, whereas I had other antivirus programs missing the file, saying it was clean. The results were clear: Avast Home surpasses the major retail antiviruses, and it's FREE!

Everyone should have this scanner installed. If you go to Avast.com, certainly the company will try and sell you the Pro or business versions of their scanner, but the Home version is %100 FREE! Download and install it, and remove your old retail shit like Norton or McAfee. You'll get better results. It's amazing that Avast's Home version is more powerful than the expensive software you buy at the store, which only means that the Pro version is top of the line. I've never purchased Avast Pro or business, but I ran a trial some years ago and I've never turned back.

The only downside I've discovered is the sensitivity of the scanning engine. Rarely the engine will produce a false-positive, basically calling something a virus that isn't. This occurs frequently if you download cracks for software, the code manipulated in such a way to cause Avast to freak out. Stop stealing or learn on your own how to keep Avast fropm flagging your warez. ;)

FREE Avast Home Edition

[Anarch]

... This almost feels like spam... No offense. It's almost kinda like AO is officially endorsing avast..

Which I got nothing against per se but this is all pro bono no?


.... [Spoiler] I like avast too [/spoiler]

....

:'( we need spoiler tags.

[Blu-ray]

I tried Avast when I had a pc. I did not like it and it didn't work very well.

[lazserus]

... This almost feels like spam... No offense. It's almost kinda like AO is officially endorsing avast..

Which I got nothing against per se but this is all pro bono no?

I am personally endorsing the free version of Avast based on years of personal experience and testing it against the more popular retail scanners. As with any software that has a free and paid version, the paid version is going to offer more features. However, the engine in the free version of Avast is the same as used in the Pro version. More or less there is lacking in the bells and whistles department, automation, that kinda stuff. The free version is perfectly potent and I've yet to see a popular retail antivirus (paid) match the engine. At the very least, Avast free is most powerful than Norton, McAfee and TrendMicro products, and at times more potent than two combined.

I appreciate the spam concern, which is why I am not endorsing the Pro (paid) version of this product, simply saying that the feeware version is powerful enough to do the job and save the user an annual fee for software that may cause more harm to your system than aid it. (Re: Norton System Works, Norton System Security, or pretty much any retail version of a "full" system protection option.)

I tried Avast when I had a pc. I did not like it and it didn't work very well.

How long ago was that? I'm curious because I know you're an Apple user and you don't have to deal with this kinda stuff as often as us PC users. If it wasn't all that long ago, what alternative would you suggest and why?

[DontBeAfraid]

I rock avast as well.

[Cartesiantheater]

Avast is financed by the CFR and Illuminati. It is free so everyone will use it, and then be vulnerable to the cyber trap they are setting, which will be sprung in December of this year.

You have been warned...




(seriously though, I use Avast too. Glad to hear it is awesome)

[Blu-ray]

I am personally endorsing the free version of Avast based on years of personal experience and testing it against the more popular retail scanners. As with any software that has a free and paid version, the paid version is going to offer more features. However, the engine in the free version of Avast is the same as used in the Pro version. More or less there is lacking in the bells and whistles department, automation, that kinda stuff. The free version is perfectly potent and I've yet to see a popular retail antivirus (paid) match the engine. At the very least, Avast free is most powerful than Norton, McAfee and TrendMicro products, and at times more potent than two combined.

I appreciate the spam concern, which is why I am not endorsing the Pro (paid) version of this product, simply saying that the feeware version is powerful enough to do the job and save the user an annual fee for software that may cause more harm to your system than aid it. (Re: Norton System Works, Norton System Security, or pretty much any retail version of a "full" system protection option.)


How long ago was that? I'm curious because I know you're an Apple user and you don't have to deal with this kinda stuff as often as us PC users. If it wasn't all that long ago, what alternative would you suggest and why?

I used this when I had a PC.

http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus

http://www.pcworld.com/article/17059..._software.html

I used Avira before my work forced me to start using Norton on my home PC because I started logging in through a VPN. Norton SUCKS. I could not run the two at the same time. I see they have a Beta version for Mac. Hmmmmmmm... Maybe once it's out of Beta I'll give it a try but I really like Sophos for Mac. Now that I have a Mac and I VPN in to work still, they can't force me to use Norton because they don't have a Norton Mac license.

Oh, and I've only been 100% Mac @ home since 8 - 10 months ago? My old Mac was still working great after the lightning strike. The PC Which was ALWAYS UPDATING and ran slow even though it was quad core, 4gig ram, 1 gig video card, even with windows 7, took a direct hit and I took it in and had it recycled. I took it as being a sign from above (ha!) it was time to switch. I've been enjoying the hassle free life of Mac. I had one little hiccup with the new Mac but that was mostly my fault. Now if I can only get my work to agree to buying me a nice Mac Pro...

[lazserus]

I've heard of and tested Avira, but that was years ago. It was pretty great back in the day but wasn't as comprehensive as other solutions, which is why I stopped following it. But if it has jumped up again, then good stuff.

The same as I said in my Malwarebytes thread, there's no such thing as a one-tool option. You need multiple engines to scan for viruses. If all were the same then there wouldn't be hundreds available. Competition in this market exists for many reasons, one of which being that no single engine will cover all bases. One downside is that most retail engines are setup in such a way they won't allow others to run while they're running. For instance, you will run into issues if both Norton and McAfee engines are running at the same time. And even if both could function without flaw, there's the issue of resource allocation. Older systems had a hard time running two engines because each required a large chunk – and then you got into the Vista age when most retail machines could barely run the operating system, let alone even a single virus scanner without buggering down the system. A big mess.

Today's computers with Win 7 (even the cheapest of them) and tomorrow's are more than potent enough to handle multiple engines running at the same time, given those programs aren't coded in such a way to prevent sharing. Regardless, major players like Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, are so much more invested in creating overly absurd and all encompassing security suites that they no longer pay close attention to the reason they even exist: virus protection. When I started using Avast it wasn't a major player in the retail game, and in fact the Home version was free whereas the next version up (one you would pay for) was Enterprise, and you would have to purchase a number of licenses to run the engine in an enterprise environment. So it's pretty solid on the home front. That's not to say you shouldn't explore other options.

And a final note for Apple users: The reason most viruses infect Windows machines has nothing to do with the face OSx is better than Windows — it boils down to clientele. More people use Windows thus more viruses are programmed for Windows users. If OSx was top dog and Windows second, then there would be less viruses for out there infecting Windows machines. Also, just because you operate a Mac doesn't mean you're immune to infection. The downside to running an Apple machine and getting a virus is that it will be nearly impossible to remove because it's so damned rare. Keep that in mind.

Overall, it doesn't matter if you're running a PC with Windows or Linux, or an Apple with OSx. It's best to protect yourself. Find the right antivirus for you, and/or multiple ones.

Note from an experienced support techie: When cleaning machines I always ran at least 4-5 virus scanners, not including scans for spyware, malware and rootkits. The people who fix your shit tend to run as many scans possible if they're thorough.