With all of the choices for various antivirus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, and cleaning programs available today, it is easy to get lost and not know where to begin setting up protection for your computer. Today we want to introduce a powerful antivirus software tool called Avast 2015. The free version of Avast Antivirus can give you fully functional virus/malware detection, home network security (including monitoring web activity), and browser cleanup. Avast has been serving computer security for over 17 years and is one of the leaders of the antivirus software market. Avast Free Antivirus integrates a series of system protections such as a firewall, webpage monitoring, IM (instant messenger) monitoring, e-mail protection, and so on. So, as long as you turn on Avast 2015, your computer is in safe hands. Let’s have a tour to get familiar with the basic use of Avast Free Antivirus. I assure you that it is super easy to use.
STEP BY STEP INSTALLATION
- Go to the official website: http://www.avast.com/en-us/index . This is where you will download Avast Free Antivirus.
- As shown below there are three options: “Free Antivirus”, “Internet Security”, and “Premier”, for you to choose from.
Avast is one of the best antivirus programs by which you can keep your systems always clean, safe, and secure too. Just performing a simple scan, helps in removing threats maintaining the system performance to higher, and keeping safe always. Avast WEBforum » Consumer Products » Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) (Moderators: MartinZ, hectic-mmv, petr.chytil, slavo.benko, LudekS) » Can I use avast! Free Antivirus for business purposes?
- Click on “FREE DOWNLOAD” and it will take you to a download link.
- Click on “Download Now” and you will get an installation file.
- Open the file and start the installation. If you don’t want to install “Google Toolbar” uncheck the checkbox “Yes, install the free Google Toolbar along with Avast”. If you want to set up the installation automatically, hit the button “Regular installation” and jump to the next step. Or you can choose “Custom installation” to select a designated folder to install Avast Free Antivirus in.
- Select the location of installation by choosing “Browse…” and hit the button “Continue”.
- In the “Configure” step, you need to choose the components that you want to install for Avast Free Antivirus. For basic users, just leave this part in the default settings. Check “Shields” and “Tools”. For “Language”, here we will choose “English” for demonstration purposes.
- After you are done with the configuration, hit “Continue” and go to the next part.
- Click on “Continue”.
- Now you can just sit and watch as the installation completes itself.
- If you don’t want to install Avast Free Antivirus for your mobile devices just click on “DECLINE” and you’re finished.
HOW TO USE Avast Free Antivirus
Before we start, I just want to give a little heads up. If you are a Windows 8 user your Windows Defender will be shut off because it recognizes an alternative antivirus software in your system and backs down.
Below is how the Avast Free Antivirus interface looks. Avast 2015 is going to run a Startup scan to make sure everything is okay in your computer. In the meantime, you may click the button a few times to check out a few security tips as shown below.
Go ahead until the last tip shows up. Again, if you don’t want to install an Avast Free Antivirus for your phone, you can select “Finish this tutorial”.
Then you will be taken to the homepage “OVERVIEW”. The easiest way to detect malware and viruses in Avast Free Antivirus is to hit the “SMART SCAN” button. “Smart Scan” combines all the demanded scans (Antivirus, Software updates, Home Network, GrimeFighter) into one. One scan can solve all the problems.
Here is the running of “Smart scan”.
Avast
Here is the results of “Smart scan”. You can select “Resolve All” to solve all the problems.
If you don’t feel like using “Smart scan” to take care of everything, you can also go back to the homepage “OVERVIEW” and click on “BROWSER CLEANUP”. This process will give a detailed analysis on the grime and add-ons in all of your web browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome…).
You have to make sure all the add-ons listed are useless to you before you hit the button “Remove all add-ons”.
“Home Network Security” will run a scan of your home network for vulnerabilities such as portable devices, wifi status, router settings, factory passwords, etc. This is a new feature in Avast 2015 that helps discover potential problems in the entire network you use. Similar to the previous step, you can analyze whether or not your home network is secured, as the screenshot shows below.
The above steps are all you need to set up your computer defense in the simplest way.
REAL TEST
We can’t be all words and no action, right? To show you how powerful and useful Avast Free Antivirus is, here is Avast Web Shield blocking a harmful webpage from opening for web protection. This is, of course, a very basic test… but it shows the program is not a dud.
CONCLUSION
Avast Free Antivirus has a powerful engine for detecting virus/malware along with low utilization of your CPU and memory, which guards your computer in a concise and easy way. And as its signature, Avast Free Antivirus is extra tough in removing Trojans and Script Viruses, which you always want to put on top of your diagnostic list.
Avast is a well-known antivirus program having millions of users worldwide. Still, many users over the web have found it suspicious and reported it as a threat to their PC. This made the existing and potential Avast users worry about if it is safe to use or not. To know about the reality, we installed and used the free version of the Avast antivirus and have concluded certain points that will be shared here.
If you also have the same question, “Is Avast Safe?” on your mind, this post is specially written for you. Here, you will find the most genuine answers to all your questions related to the legitimacy of Avast.
Contents
- 1 What is Avast?
- 2 Is Avast Safe?
What is Avast?
Avast is an Antivirus program available for Windows, Mac, Android as well as iOS users. It is a very popular tool that is known to protect your computer from harmful viruses, malware, spyware, and all the other threats. This tool comes in a free and a paid version. The free version comes with certain limitations that make you think about switching to the paid version. Acast Antivirus has more than 400 million users globally and the number is growing every minute.
The key things that make Avast an outstanding antivirus program is the user-interface, protection, and additional utilities like a safe browser, VPN, and computer optimizer. All this makes Avast worth having for both the beginners as well as the power users.
Difference Between Avast Free & Avast Premium
As I mentioned above, Avast Antivirus has two editions, a Free Edition that offers all the services without needing any money. And, a Premium Edition that needs a subscription. Here is a complete differentiation between the Free and the Pro edition. You can use it to decide which one is suitable according to your needs.
Highlights of Avast Free Edition
- Detects and Remove Virus and other Malware.
- Protection level: Normal.
- Able to Scan for Wi-Fi Security Weakness.
- Secure your passwords.
- 24×7 Protection.
Highlights of Avast Premium Edition
- Detects and removes all kinds of Viruses and Malware.
- Protection Level: Advanced.
- Avoid fake sites for safer shopping.
- Secures your passwords.
- Safely run suspicious apps.
- Advanced firewall to block hackers.
- An extra layer of security to prevent ransomware.
- Blocks webcam spying.
- Blocks phishing emails.
You can find the pricing for the Premium Edition in the Avast Store.
Is Avast Safe?
Yes,Avast is safe 99 out of 100 times you use it. Avast is a good antivirus program that can help you protect your PC. However, rarely it may start creating certain issues and we will discuss that instance in the later sections. For now, let’s find out briefly if Avast is safe and how is that so. We will take a look at different factors of our activities on the PC that Avast monitors and offer protection for.
Is Avast Safe for Threat-Protection?
Avast Antivirus provides excellent real-time threat protection against viruses and other malware. The virus definitions are regularly updated to stay aware of the new threats. However, the free version only offers a mediocre level of protection. If you are a regular user or a business owner, I’d recommend using the Premium Edition of Avast to stay protected against all kinds of threats. From this, you can conclude that Avast is safe for threat protection only when you have the paid version.
Is It Safe To Use Avast Antivirus
Is Avast Safe for Web Browsing?
Avast Antivirus provides real-time monitoring when you use its browser known as Avast Secure Browser. It offers excellent internet security and privacy. The Pro Edition of Avast also provides secure web browsing through other browsers like Edge and Chrome also. But, you must grant required permissions for that. One limitation of the free version is that it doesn’t offer safe and secure browsing. Therefore, Avast is safe if you are browsing through the Avast Secure Browser.
Is Avast Safe for PC Optimization?
PC Optimization is the aspect for which Avast makes you raise your brows. While using the free version of Avast Antivirus, we found that it heavily slows down your PC and then offers unnecessary optimization. It is able to clean junk and remove unwanted software but you can do that manually as well. You don’t need Avast for that. The free version forces you to upgrade to the Premium edition as it doesn’t have some needed features for better optimization. Hence, Avast free is not safe for PC optimization as it may lead to performance issues.
Is Avast Safe for Privacy and Security?
Avast is considered safe when it comes to your privacy and security. However, Avast free has a known history of collecting your browsing history. But, there aren’t any such reports about the paid version. Also, Avast Premium comes with excellent password protection, blocks webcam spying, and blocks phishing emails. You can use the Avast VPN as well to browse the web anonymously. Therefore, Avast is somewhat safe for your privacy and security.
Is Avast Safe for Protection Against Online Attacks?
The free version of Avast will not protect you against the attacks from hackers as it doesn’t have a firewall. So, you must upgrade to Avast Premium if you want to stay protected against any kind of online attack. Also, the pro version blocks fake shopping websites so you don’t use your credit card information in bad places. The free version is not able to do that. So, Avast is safe for protection against online attacks only when you have the pro version.
Is Avast a Virus?
No,Avast is not a virus. It is an antivirus that has the purpose of defending you against viruses. However, sometimes Avast itself may turn into a virus. This may happen when a virus or malware infects the core files of Avast and makes it malfunction. It is a rare case but still has happened as reported by several users. When this happens, Avast will install its own browser as default without your permission and will update itself randomly without your control.
Also, Avast will automatically reboot your computer without asking for your permission even. This may lead to losing your important work. And, you can’t even uninstall it when it becomes a threat. You must use special tools to remove it then.
How To Use Avast Antivirus
Our Conclusion
After going through all these aspects, we can conclude that the answer to the question “Is Avast Safe?” is Yes. Avast is safe but only when you have the Premium version of the antivirus. The free version comes with only limited features and may slow down your PC, and even turn into a threat itself under the worst-case scenarios. So, I wouldn’t recommend using the free version. If you have it, you can uninstall it and see for yourself how heavily it has been impacting the performance of your PC.
Avast Antivirus Review
That’s all for this post. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any suggestions regarding anything mentioned here, feel free to catch up to me in the comments section. I’ll be up for a discussion there.
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