Good Old Avast Free Antivirus: A Quick Review

The threat of a single virus and its potential effect on your computer is real. If you have been successfully infected by even just a single malware, virus, or malicious script what that could mean to your system potentially translates to a lot of things. Plus, the extent of damage varies according to the type of virus that has breached your computer’s defenses.

If you are unlucky you will lose all your important files and recovering them will be close to none. If you are more than unlucky you will have sensitive information stolen such as credit card details or account passwords that could mean losing money needlessly.

To prevent such attacks from happening, it is paramount that you install an antivirus software that best suits the system you are currently running. Another factor is the habit of the user – which includes the type of website frequented, downloading files, inserting USBs etc.

The Avast Antivirus Software

A quick google search with the following keywords, “the best antivirus for windows,” will tell you that Avast Free Antivirus software keeps coming up as one best free antivirus programs out there to install. The number of users that installed this particular antivirus program number in the millions.

Many users prefer Avast because it offers a complete defender tool that is able to protect you from online threats while surfing the web, able to check emails and instant messages for hidden malwares, able to comb through the files on your local storage, and many more.

Avast is constantly able to detect and provide protection in the background of your running applications similar to that of the paid antivirus software from both McAfee and Norton. This on-access or resident protection service is provided free by Avast.

The Pros of Using Avast

1. As mentioned the antivirus software is free and yet comparable in its capabilities to some of the paid antivirus software out there.
2. Has been an established name that existed long before the popularity of the Internet surged. An old guard that existed since 1988.
3. It is very easy to install and works well with Windows XP to Windows 10
4. Can easily detect previously unknown threats due to its heuristic engine.
5. It has a silent mode option that helps you focus and not get distracted especially when using other programs that require the full-screen length.

What are the Disadvantages of using Avast

1. Because Avast needs to pay its developers for a continued growth and support, the software may include advertisements.
2. During installation it attempts to install unrelated software which you can easily decline from.
3. Once a year you have to reapply for registration renewal for a continued use. This maybe their way of limiting their free commitment if ever they decide to charge people.
4. There is a confusing amount of settings options. There is no divide between average users and advance users, which means that the settings layout plan was not efficiently laid out.
5. There are a lot of links to their paid components which could be very annoying at times.

Check out the best free Antivirus programs for Windows 10.