53K is the number of virus and malware samples that appear every day according to studies by the AV-Test Institute, which is not surprising given that cybercrime can cost more than $6 trillion each year.
In this review, we will take a look at one of the best and most popular antivirus programs on the Internet.
is an Avast security, where we will do a detailed review of the program, its protection features, and the price plans it provides.
Nowadays, with the development of technology, internet security is more important than ever, due to the ever-increasing number of sophisticated malware attacks across the internet.
In a study conducted in 2019, more than 8 million malware infections were recorded across the United States of America, and according to other studies, it is estimated that there is a hacker attack every 39 seconds, which are terrifying numbers of course.
Even large companies are not safe from hacking or steal, and the best example is what happened to RockStar because of the major security breach that happened to it, which led to the leakage of many important data related to the development of the GTA6 game.
So it is very clear that you must protect yourself and your device from viruses to ensure your safety via the Internet, and it is natural that no antivirus program will do the job perfectly.
Many antivirus programs offer free plans, and they are only for trial and not for the long term.
And they lack the necessary features for protection, so it is recommended to stay away from free or cheap antivirus programs, and go to paid programs with strong features.
And of course all the security threat protection companies put all their good and strong features and products in the paid plans
And they will put some minor features in the free plans, so it is necessary to avoid the free ones.
We will use 5 different criteria to evaluate avast software, where we will evaluate it in terms of available features, then in terms of malware protection.
Then we will review the ability of the program and its impact on the computer, and of course the prices of plans, and finally we will look at the interface of the program.
Available features of avast antivirus software
Avast antivirus is a free program from the company, Other than the basic protection from malware, the program does not have much to offer, and to get the advanced features of the program you should head to the paid plans.
Avast Premium Security plan
The company’s first offering is Avast Premium Security, this program provides complete protection against malware and cyber threats, and also includes other features such as protection to monitor your network activity.
- Sandbox feature, which allows you to open suspicious files in safe mode so that your system is not exposed to any damage from any suspicious content.
- Anti-spam tool that secures your inbox from unwanted and harmful messages.
- Real location feature which protects you from malicious and fake websites.
- Protect your device’s camera and microphone.
- Protect your registration information and passwords.
- File Shredder feature, which permanently deletes desired files from the device.
This type of plan supports all devices including windows, macOS, android, iOS.
Avast Ultimate Security
This version offers everything that comes with Avast Premium Security, in addition to the availability of a secure VPN that allows you to surf the Internet and open applications anonymously, that you will not be tracked or identified.
It provides the Clean-up tool feature, which cleans your device and improves its performance for the better.
As it will get rid of unwanted files from your device, in addition to providing quick statistics on the status of your device, and a one-click maintenance feature.
Password Premium tool, which allows fast login to websites.
All of these products are compatible with PCs, macOS and smartphones, and in normal cases, Avast Premium Security will suffice for most people, however there is an Avast Ultimate option.
Ability to protect from malware
Anti-malware protection is the core of all antivirus software, so the most important feature which should check a full mark in antivirus software, is malware protection.
For avast full scan, we will use studies from two independent organizations, AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, which evaluate and test antivirus software.
AV-Test
The AV-Test Institute, which evaluates all antivirus products by subjecting them to thousands of samples of malware spread on the Internet, gives ratings from 1 to 6.
In the evaluation of avast antivirus, the program was able to successfully identify and detect all kinds of malware, and it got a score of 6/6 as a perfect score, which is very good.
AV-Comparatives test
The AV-Comparatives Institute performs two different anti-malware tests to measure the anti-malware ability and strength of the security software, and these tests take place in the real world.
Real-World Protection test simulates real-world conditions and antivirus detects hundreds of malicious URLs.
Protection testing measures antivirus products’ ability to detect and prevent malware that travels through network drives and USB keys.
In the most recent test conducted on Avast by AV-Comparatives Institute, it received an ADVANCED award with 2 stars, which is 1 star lower than the highest level of 3 stars, and received a full mark in the anti-malware test.
As a result of all the tests that Avast has been subjected to by both institutes, you can say that the program will protect your device well from almost all security threats.
Effect of avast antivirus software on the system
To get the best possible result, we will again use experiments carried out by independent specialized institutes, where various routine tasks are run on computers, while the antivirus is active in the background.
In the evaluation of AV-Test, Avast program performed well and was slightly less than ideal, with a score of 5.5 out of 6, which is a very satisfactory result for a program that always keeps running in the background.
But in general there are opportunities for further improvement.
Other products like Bitdefender’s security software get a full score while running in the background when passing the testing.
As for the AV-Comparatives test, the avast program was given very excellent performance, as it got the full mark at the end of the performance test.
Avast user interface
Avast uses a simple approach in designing its program interface, as it takes a dark gray background and some bright colors for the buttons.
All the features are located on the left side of the program interface, and are easily accessible.
Through the options on the left side of the program interface, you will be able to access more features and settings of the program.
And you will notice at the top some additional buttons to open additional tasks for the program.
The security information is displayed on the main page, and you will find a big button to start a new scan of the device.
Knowing that the free version will show you frequent ads to make the purchase of the paid version of the program.
Important note
Yes, avast is one of the best antivirus programs on the Internet, but with many programs that provide the same service, avast may be ranked fourth and fifth in the ranking of the best antivirus programs.
You may be interested in choosing Norten or Bitdefender as the best antivirus option, and you may also like McAfee, the reason why these programs have earned the best marks in lab tests by independent companies.
