Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

omnikawar89 reviewed v21.9.6698 on Jan 22, 2022

Pros: Many people across the globe prefer Google Chrome for browsing the web for its speed and user-friendly features.

Cons: However, no matter how efficient this application is, it is still susceptible to various technical issues. In some cases, Gmail won’t load in Chrome on Windows 10. If this happens to you, do not worry because it is quite a common issue.

Bottom Line: Well, here are various reasons behind this, and we have discussed them along with the solutions. just follow and apply, whenever, if any issue comes to face then you can connect with the Gmail team via Gmail Bellen.
https://www.articleclust...in-chrome-op-windows-10/

Hall9000 reviewed v18.6.2349 on Aug 22, 2018

Pros: Was good while it lasted, as in before the annoying popups.

Cons: It's almost has become trial ware. At the moment it's in its adware form. I'm sure it will stop being free.It even would hijack the browser home page. Don't know if it still does simply because I don't use the "extras".

Bottom Line: I used to use Zonalarm. Then it turned into an ugly monster that had only one mission, make your computer slow down to a craw. I'll bet Avast will do the same think having turned into bloated malware. Now using an other antivirus.

Bullwinkle J Moose reviewed v18.6.2349 on Aug 21, 2018

Pros: Can easily recommend this to my enemies!

Cons: Cannot recommend to friends!

Forces a backdoor through firewall on every boot

Buggy as hell

Bottom Line: Avast is the very definition of Malware!

You can "TRY" to block Avast in your firewall if you do not trust it (using Glasswire), but Avast will ignore your attempt and open another backdoor through the firewall on the very next boot

Crashing and closing of Avast or Not loading after bootup are recurring problems

I wrongly gave StopUpdates10 a bad review 2 weeks ago when the Real problem was Avast!

Should be listed in downloads under "Buggy Spyware and Malware for FREE"

grinch89 reviewed v17.5.2303 on Jul 19, 2017

Pros: Installs easy enough, when it works it seems efficient enough.

Cons: Bloated, works for a while then starts to misbehave, service not running, shields turned off, restarting it works for a bit then starts all over again.

Bottom Line: Have tried it on several occasions, same story works for a bit then screws up. No more trials, end of story.

Picasso reviewed v17.4.2294 on May 4, 2017

This software is dangerous. Don't use it!!!

Lsavagejt reviewed v12.4.2281 Beta on Nov 8, 2016

What a load of crap, adware at every turn, and just to think, along with Ad Aware, and SpyBot, Avast! was at one time a pioneer in alternative (meaning free) AV. Now it's all about the money.

tim_tester reviewed v12.4.2281 Beta on Nov 5, 2016

over bloated will bring your pc to a crawl

johnusa reviewed v12.3.3154.0 on Aug 19, 2016

BetaNews, could you also please put a link for the full off-line version?
Thank you.
This is possiby the best and top-rated FREE anti virus software.

Lsavagejt reviewed v12.2.2276 on Aug 1, 2016

Had a problem installing this on my windows 10 system, even after granting it elevated firewall permission, the avast service froze, and the avast repair module was useless.

minklein reviewed v12.1.2272 on Jun 23, 2016

I can find no fault with Avast. I am running Win10 and it has performed perfectly. The logo in the tray flashes when it is scanning, checks Email scans at boot, web pages, I like it better than the stock Win Defender.

some guy reviewed v12.1.2272 on Jun 21, 2016

PC mag is bought and paid for want to see real test ?
http://www.av-comparatives.org/detection-test/

johnusa reviewed v12.1.2272 on Jun 21, 2016

This is the top rated free AV according to PC Magazine.
Correction:
The actual version of this newly released program today is 12.1.2276 not 72 as it is mentioned here.

Matthewsadmin reviewed v2016 11.1.2253 on Feb 11, 2016

previously i am used Avast and I messed up with so many issues in my PC. It started suspecting normal files as virus. So i uninstalled avast and went to Comodo Free Antivirus and it seems to be good.
https://antivirus.comodo...load-free-antivirus.php

eduardoeltortuga reviewed v11.1.2245 on Dec 18, 2015

This software used to be better. Too many false positives and no support unless you pay. Fresh installs of Wordpress are blocked because of HTML:Script-inf. Then Avasts asks to upgrade for more protection.

krgood reviewed v11.1.2245 on Dec 4, 2015

Installed the free version on win10 and it bricked my system. I was not able to determine what went wrong, but my advice is to stay away from this product...I had to cold install to recover...

Betachecker reviewed v11.1.2245 on Dec 3, 2015

After many years using Avast, now I'm on Panda that seems lighter

TC17 reviewed v2015.10.3.2223 on Jul 20, 2015

It gets a 1 star because it wouldn't let me go to a jailbreak link I know is fine, then I uninstalled Avast, it tells me to reboot to finish uninstalling, only for Windows 8 to refuse to boot up again due to a missing file.

Now I get to spend hours reinstalling Windows and everything and lost data over it. Thanks Avast... not.

I should add, if you check the av comparative website, Avast has far more false positives than any of the other software they test.... much higher, not just a few files difference.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2015.10.3.2223 on Jul 13, 2015

I agree lots of problems... I also went to comodo

emilylauren2490 reviewed v2015 10.2.2215 on May 12, 2015

I have been using Avast previously and I messed up with so many issues in my PC. It started suspecting normal files as virus. I hope avast could solve this issue as soon as possible. So i uninstalled avast and went to Comodo Free Antivirus and it seems to be good.
https://antivirus.comodo.com/

Blaxima reviewed v2015 10.0.2208 on Nov 10, 2014

I used this for a few years with no complaints but it seems that all software is destined to the same fate of becoming a bloated ad delivery device. Scores poorly now in av tests too

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2015 10.0.2208 on Nov 8, 2014

bloated and slow
on quad core with 8 gigs

gatorfan95 reviewed v2015 10.0.2208 on Nov 7, 2014

I have used this progranm for a lot of years, however, iif they dont give us a way to NOT indstall that POS Google Chrome, this will be my last down load. 5 stars for the program, minus one for the sneak ware.

some guy reviewed v2015 10.0.2208 on Nov 7, 2014

to bloated to slow my pick is
Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition
http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html

Pieter Pieters reviewed v2015 10.0.2206 on Oct 21, 2014

Detection rates are crumbling down the last year from being with the top of the class to now being with the worst of the class.

reddy.shyam reviewed v2014 9.0.2021.515 on Jun 27, 2014

Best of the freeware!

BooM13 reviewed v9.0.2018 on Apr 24, 2014

leader among free antivirus

some guy reviewed v9.0.2018 on Apr 18, 2014

horrible bloated POS stay away read the FINE PRINT phones home and shares your info

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v9.0.2018 on Apr 18, 2014

Its metro-like UI sucks.

Spectre_I reviewed v9.0.2016 on Mar 20, 2014

The program is great, no complaints. I feel it's time to take this out of the "freeware" category into the "nagware" category. The pop-ups are constant. Sure, they are only bugging you to upgrade to their other stuff, which is fine, let's just call it what it is.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v9.0.2014 Beta 1 on Mar 20, 2014

Metro-like interface totally sucks.

mikebratley reviewed v9.0.2014 Beta 1 on Mar 11, 2014

great

humbleuser reviewed v9.0.2013 on Jan 23, 2014

Seems problem free to me, has great features and works. Independent labs rate it highly also (depending on OS).

some guy reviewed v9.0.2013 on Jan 22, 2014

from wow to bow ! make sure you choose custom install ! then unchecked all the bloat and leave the antivirus checked then it's a bearable antivirus

plasticpig72 reviewed v2014 9.0.2012.282 Beta on Jan 16, 2014

It is with much regret that i have to do the same as others and seriously downgrade this once excellent piece of software. It is constantly screaming warnings on business websites I use for work. It is unnecessarily bloated and again, agreeing with everyone else, the constant advertising reminders which didn't happen previously are annoying. It is a sad day, but I shall be removing this in the next few days, anyone suggest a good FREE alternative.

some guy reviewed v2014 9.0.2011 on Dec 18, 2013

will have to agree the older GUI was much better, my biggest compliant is it's has become to bloated !

TGB72 reviewed v2014 9.0.2009 R2 Beta 1 on Dec 13, 2013

Until v8 was a great software, v.9 is pure crap, high consume of resources, lot of false positives, it slowdown the system (deepscreen is a sh***) and also propaganda of their pay products via notification. Really a shame.

egg83 reviewed v2014 9.0.2008 on Nov 12, 2013

Has come a long way in functionality and in performance. Good on system resources, however, gets knocked down a star due to false positives. Seems to be a bit overzealous when it comes to detection. Still, is a very good AV.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v2014 9.0.2008 on Nov 12, 2013

Gonna down vote it indefinitely until they return the interface of version 8.

gatorfan95 reviewed v2014 Final on Oct 23, 2013

Best free anti virus out there. Maybe one of the best period. I give it 5 stars, minus one for hiding that POS Google Chrome in the installer.

reddy.shyam reviewed v2014 9.0.2000 Beta 1 on Aug 19, 2013

Excellent for a beta and love the new flat interface. Just one thing I dont like is popups being larger windows than main window and also stats page looks blown out of proportion. Apart from that rock solid on protection and behind the hood. Thanks Avast!

plasticpig72 reviewed v2014 9.0.2000 Beta 1 on Aug 16, 2013

Consistently the best in free anti virus reviews. Does not slow my PC down, require very little intervention by the user.
I have tried most of the free ones on several PCs, Avast, Avira, AVG, Panda Baidu, MS security.
To suggest that microsoft essentials is better is just ludicrous. Ok so so you have to deselect a few things when you install it, but lets not forget it's free, so I consider it an extremely small price to pay.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v2014 9.0.2000 Beta 1 on Aug 16, 2013

What have you done, guys?

Windows 8 like interface is atrocious.

Please, give us the old interface back. Please!

dmathwizard reviewed v8.0.1489 on May 27, 2013

I like Avast because of how quick and good it is. With the Ver 8 update it seems the company is going in the wrong direction but its still faster, and more accurate (third party testing) than the competition. Its also one of the few that have a bootable mode and a command line scanner.

I don't like the layout because not everyone has the patience or understanding of the terms to figure out how to configure it or find that file that flagged as suspicious software. I've noticed some things like Java's offline installer is flagged as suspicious, reputable companies that have been around for a long time yet their certified files are suspicious.

Kudos to Avast on their spyware and spam detection. I wouldn't completely rely on their spyware detection though.

TC17 reviewed v8.0.1489 on May 22, 2013

I don't understand the reason for thie high ratings on this. Yes the antivirus is ok, but this thing is bloated with ads, and ALWAYS trying to get you to buy the stupid program. It also tries to trick you into installing a google bar, and set chrome as your default browser, and its not just during the install, its after EVERY program update. I wouldn't be surprised if this is loaded with spyware also.

Microsoft Security Essentials (or the one built into Windows 8) works much better, with no ads or any of the other crap).

carlo_tor reviewed v8.0.1489 on May 19, 2013

Avast is a good AV and once it was light, too. Now the version 8.0.xxx is big, complex and slows down my PC. I uninstalled it and adopted Panda Cloud.
I strongly suggest Alwast developpers to make it more essential and lighter.
Regards

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v8.0.1488.286 on May 5, 2013

A wonderful AV. Highly recommended!

(I'm not affiliated with Avast).

guti reviewed v8.0.1484 R2 Beta on Mar 29, 2013

This program update contains the following major features:
* SecureLine - is a paid VPN service that both secures and anonymizes your internet connection on public or "open" (unsecured) Wi-Fi. Nobody can see who you are or what you are doing on the internet.
Please be patient, this feature will be unblock for your test soon :-)
* Screen readers compatibility
* Software Updater improvements (including a way to turn off Software Update persistently)
* Shredder tool is showing a progress now
* Improved stability & performance
* Fixed glitches in UI

reddy.shyam reviewed v8.0.1483 on Mar 8, 2013

This is a very light program update fixing issues
mentioned on the forum related to original release of AVAST 8.

List of changes
• Fixed issue with ZoneAlarm
• Fixed issue with constant CPU frequency
• Fixed issue with video players
• Fixed issue with Virtual PC
• Added some localizations

gatorfan95 reviewed v8.0.1483 on Mar 7, 2013

It would have been nice to see what required a new version so soon after the release on 1 March. Still 5 stars whatever the reason

itsmeaguy reviewed v8.0.1482 on Mar 4, 2013

signed up for avast. I got billed twice. contacted them about it they told me that they did not only one lisence was issued. I asked for a refund it will take 15 days. Customer service are idiots they put you on hold so long they probably hope you just mad and hang up.

gatorfan95 reviewed v8.0.1482 on Mar 1, 2013

I am impressed with the new interface, very clean and much easier to navigate than earlier versions. Still the best free anti virus program out there IMHO. Update was smooth from the program. It tries to install Google Chrome, but after computer reboot there is a very visible splash screen that warns/asks you if you want to install it.

reddy.shyam reviewed v8.0.1478 Beta on Feb 18, 2013

Best of the freeware out there! Love the UI of 8 and yet still so light on resources.

findkenya reviewed v8.0.1477.24 Beta 2 on Feb 12, 2013

This is getting better and better. Its always the best

beatmakershq reviewed v8.0.1477.24 Beta 2 on Feb 11, 2013

Awesome program, and still one of the best!

some guy reviewed v8.0.1476 Beta on Feb 2, 2013

fantastic great user interface probably the best I have seen

huey4201 reviewed v8.0.1475 Beta on Jan 22, 2013

Bad product! After they took my money, a month later I caught a virus and lost everything. Had one year guarantee, it's been 5 months and still no refund as promised after filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I should have checked with BBB first.

reddy.shyam reviewed v8.0.1475 Beta on Jan 14, 2013

Please note that Avast 8 beta is not public yet. This is a leaked copy of closed beta testing hence not advised to install or play around with. Please act with caution.

pjb reviewed v8.0.1475 Beta on Jan 14, 2013

The link provided does not provide 8 beta, but a 7 version.

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1474 on Nov 1, 2012

Some people get way to hung up in "detection" rates. I'm not even sure why you would take the time to do all of that. You can inform Avast! of any false positives and have the issue taken care of. Their data base updates frequently and seamlessly . IMHO, this is the best Free AV out. The rest is just geek talk that means little or nothing in the real world.

some guy reviewed v7.0.1474 on Oct 31, 2012

without writing a book score pretty good independent test if you use the freeware version like I do less nagware then Avira and way better detection rate then Avg or MSE but just little bellow Avira but the silent game mode and the little to no nagware wins in my book see the results here
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Hilbert reviewed v7.0.1473 on Oct 24, 2012

I've a semi-regular AV comparison testing phase and this time I started with AVG 2013 several weeks ago when it appeared on fileforum. I wasn't going to test Avast!, Avira etc. until I had more time but Sativarg's flaming comments got the better of me (so this is just a first look). ;-)

Sativarg's correct, Avast! 7.0.1473 *is infected* with Google parasite-ware but you can stop the contagion from infecting your PC by carefully un-ticking the fine print in the bottom LHS of the opening dialog.

What is also disconcerting is that after installation the 'Summary' tab says the program expires on the 1st Dec 2012--in 30 days. Supposedly a 'free' version but the *very* fine print says registration is essential or it'll go belly-up. As I'd never register a free AV anyway, Avast! will be uninstalled after I've finished testing.

As well as being parasitic-ware, I'd also consider Avast entrapment-ware as after becoming used to it one's get entrapped at the threat of being cut off. If it's demo--as this is--then it should say so upfront--even if the definitions are free.

I normally keep found viruses in a virus directory, and for safe measure I encrypt the infected files against accidental stuff-ups. Having a collection of the critters allows me to do a comparatively good comparison of AV software and it also helps when I'm trying to determine actual viruses from false positives.

However, I've not had time to do that yet, but as the earlier AVG 2013 scan had already cleared a large data disk containing about 600k files, I ran this Avast! test over what AVG had already cleaned. The files that AVG earlier removed as viruses were also tested with this version of Avast!

Quick results: Avast found 68 files that it considers viruses on a disk that AVG had found to be clean. Of these 68 files, I'm pretty certain that only about 12-15 are actually viruses and the rest are false positives. It's too long to explain why, you'll just have to take my word for it--and I'm also quite familiar with these 'false positives': they're the roundup of usual suspects [duh! Sorry Claude].

Nicely, Avast!--whilst well known for its over sensitivity--now ignores other well known false positives that were always picked both by it and other AV software. NirSoft's utilities are now clean in Avast! but AVG still has problems with some of them. Here's a brief list:

AVG 2013

NirSoft, NirLauncher --- detected --- pgm Loggger IAC
NirSoft, Mail PassView --- detected --- pgm HackTool.QUD
NirSoft, LSA Secrets --- detected --- possible Win32/DH{..etc..
Arne Vidstrom Utilities --- 1 detected -- clearlogs --- pgm Hacktool.UHW
Cain & Abel --- not detected --- although it dumps 'LSA Secrets' (good)
Shatter --- detected --- pgm Exploit.AFC (old issue should be ignored now)
Unlocker --- detected --- Adware Generic_c.JV

---

Avast! 7.0.1473

NirSoft, NirLauncher --- clear --- (good)
NirSoft, Mail PassView --- clear --- (good)
NirSoft, LSA Secrets --- clear --- (good)
Arne Vidstrom Utilities --- 2 detected -- klogger (keylogger) & clearlogs
Cain & Abel -- not detected -- even though it dumps LSA Secrets (good)
Shatter --- detected --- Shatter-B Exploit
Unlocker 1.8.7/9 (some versions) --- eBay adware

Both AVG and Avast! have improved with respect to false positives and this is the best I've seen them. Poor Nir Sofer with his NirSoft Utilities has always taken a beating from AVG and AVG has done stuff-all about over recent years. (If he was as big as M$ then it's certain his utilities would not pop up as false positives.)

I found a disturbing problem in AVG when I was testing the common and very useful Unlocker utility. It's no secret that some versions contained an eBay adware payload, however, when I checked 10 Unlocker files (in 7 versions) grouped altogether from the context menu, AVG found NO adware! Separately--checked as individual files also from the context menu--AVG found that versions 1.8.8 and 1.8.9 both contained adware, whereas Avast! found only advare in version 1.8.7 but it did so in BOTH the individual and grouped scans.

Clearly, there's problems here: AVG is not detecting the adware when the files are group-checked, and both AV programs give different results on different versions of the Unlocker program installation file. This can only be resolved by more AV testing with other programs. I'll check this later with other AV software when I get a chance.

(Seems AVG might have a problem with its scanning algorithm in that it gets confused when it sees a lot of files with the same name inside a group of packed setup .EXEs--probably a 'shortcut' to speed up the scanning process but it miscounts files when many of have the same name(s)--but that's just my hunch.)

Avast! might be sleazeware, and whilst it definitely has problems, it's probably marginally better than AVG. (I normally use AVG because it's one of the few AVs that I can easily tame but Kaspersky and some others are definitely better).

In summary, if you are serious about detecting viruses then you'll always use multiple AV checkers. (Keep or buy one then use demos to see how honest it is.)

Sativarg reviewed v7.0.1473 on Oct 23, 2012

How dare you install Google any thing on my computer???
No way....
This ting just updated itself and had me restart my computer. The first thing that came up after the install was Google Chrome?
You ask first... No better yet do not even go there???

I don't usual flame a thing here but sneaky underhanded tactics are becoming the new norm every where I go these days so I am voting 1

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1473 on Oct 23, 2012

Seamless update from the program. Still the best free antivirus out there IMHO. Keep up the good work,

@Sativarg: I understand your frustration, I have done the same with other pieces of "sneak ware", how ever when mine auto updated I did not get the Chrome spam. I wonder why?

Remax reviewed v7.0.1472 Beta on Oct 21, 2012

Seems to be getting even better! Thanks!

Music4Ever reviewed v7.0.1466 on Aug 22, 2012

One of the best free AV's with very good detection rates, beats AVG by far.

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1466 on Aug 21, 2012

Say what you want, use it or not, it's still the best free AV out.

mafac reviewed v7.0.1456 on Jul 26, 2012

Won't speak to how it works, BUT, bought Pro, then it stopped recognizing my id (only 6 months into the year), wouldn't let me sign in, emails, calls have been to no avail. Use the free, forget giving them money for the pro.

Landsnes reviewed v7.0.1456 on Jul 11, 2012

Good!

Works great with the sandbox feature disabled for better performance. Detection rates are comparable to Avira (according to AV-comparatives) and fine tuning it is pretty easy.

Andrew Brian reviewed v7.0.1451 on Jun 29, 2012

Well Avast is too good...I use it from long time..free antivirus

shere0901 reviewed v7.0.1451 on Jun 29, 2012

I try all other antivirus .But i can't see like look avast. Now I use avast free version . It gives me better service .http://forums.avg.com/us-en/avg-forums?sec=thread&act=add&id=247

mfarmilo reviewed v7.0.1451 on Jun 28, 2012

Very good antivirus. But how come this program is identical to the 7.0.1426 version that was available in March ? I thought this was supposed to be 7.0.1451 ?

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1451 on Jun 28, 2012

Seamless update from old version. I've used this for years. Best Free Anti Virus out there.

johnk119 reviewed v7.0.1442 Beta on Jun 14, 2012

I use this along with Comodo Firewall and I'm very pleased with both.

Music4Ever reviewed v7.0.1442 Beta on Jun 13, 2012

The best free AV out there ~

some guy reviewed v7.0.1442 Beta on Jun 12, 2012

1 out of 10
user interface 9
detection 7
scan speed 7
update network speed 8
false positives 7

pugletman reviewed v7.0.1426 on May 7, 2012

A lot of complaints here.. I can understand, yet I used norton and comcast security suite for a long time and it eventually slowed my system down to a crawl. I uninstalled all that crap , got avast and have been using for a couple of months now. Needless to say I think that it is GREAT for free! It does not hog up my system, yes surfing you can tell it is there, yet does it's job well. It is very full featured for free, so for those that complain.. well? all programs have quirks with diff pc's etc. you all know that.. I like it for what it is which is FREE!

TGB72 reviewed v7.0.1426 on Apr 8, 2012

On Windows 7 SP1, the file system shield it slowdown the startup and the execution of applications considerably. On a plane Windows 7 (without SP) avast 7 also produce BSODs.
I'm using avast since v4 and I've to tell that this is the most unstable and bloated version I've tried. A shame.

Blaxima reviewed v7.0.1426 on Mar 31, 2012

I've liked Avast, it's lightweight and does a decent job
BUT
I was moving some things around and wanted to reinstall avast to a different drive. I uninstalled my version and wanted to reinstall it again, which was version 6. Nope, the setup wouldn't let me. Instead it said it was going to download the latest version. I clicked cancel and my system became unresponsive while it continued to download and try and install the latest.

Version 7 might work well by I don't give into forcible intstalls.

EDIT. Decided to give 7 a try and I find it to be far too aggressive. Script files I use in foobar are now blocked so I had to disable the script shield. I also find that this version slows everything down from browsing to opening programs far more than the previous version did.

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1426 on Mar 8, 2012

This version installed seamlessly with none of the hidden crap in the last version. ie, no auto Chrome install. Still my favorite free AV.

Music4Ever reviewed v7.0.1414 R2 Beta on Mar 6, 2012

Avoid the link by 'sheen87' it's dodgy.

been reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 27, 2012

I'm deeply unimpressed by this release having been an Avast user for years and having always given it 5 stars here. Initially I had some very scary hangs at startup and I've have had to switch off the rootkit scan and set Avast to load after other services to prevent this. Now - because of a rogue update file - Avast will no longer update and can't be repaired or uninstalled. They have promised a fix but have given no proper timeline. I appreciate that Avast is free and generally a very good product, but .... AV programs are crucial to the safe operation of a computer and bugs can cause critical errors. The release of Avast 7 has been a very shoddy and I suspect premature affair, I really hope that Alwil sort this out quickly.

Input Overload reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 26, 2012

gatorfan95 - Avast is in the 'Hall Of Shame' for installing 'Chrome' with no option to deny installation. Of course Avast get paid for this, that why it's 'free'.

If you don't mind your drive being filled with unwanted programs I suppose it's not a problem.

http://www.calendarofupd...vent&event_id=44514

gatorfan95 reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 25, 2012

I don't know if it happens when you download and install it manually, but when I used the "update program" feature while Avast! was running on my PC it installed the Chrome browser on my hard drive without any notification that it was doing so, or an option to decline the installation. Now, while I like Avast!, have used it for years on several machines and will continue to use it, this is screwed up. If I wanted to use Chrome I'd install it. Program rating 5, BS rating minus 1, over all a 4.

@input overload.....like I said I've used Avast! for years and this is the first time it has done it to me, that's why I brought it up.

eaves reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 24, 2012

Upgraded from version 6 to version 7.0.

As usual, nice, solid and efficient. Avast! does what is says it will do. It is excellent to run across software of this quality.

reddy.shyam reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 24, 2012

Excellent freeware and light on resources just like v6. Been using it since beta without any issues. Nice Eye Candy with cloud services is a bliss! Thanks Avast!

HeilNizar reviewed v7.0.1407 on Feb 23, 2012

WTF, embedded with nag about the pro version.

And although I disagree with Input Overload on some of his reviews, I have to agree with him on this one.

The best protection is to use DeepFreeze or DeepFreeze-like software, these antiviruses are only resources suckers.
I wonder why people cry about viruses all the time! last time my PC got infected was when I decided to trash it just before a formayt :D

Pfurri reviewed v7.0.1401 Beta on Feb 20, 2012

@Input Overload
Have you ever been such a full idiot your whole live ?

Input Overload reviewed v7.0.1401 Beta on Feb 20, 2012

@some guy: I am so impressed at you having a multi-boot system, you must be so bright..

I must read up on multi-booting.. (I don't think so)

The last virus I had was ten years ago & that was a worm.. You obviously live in a world of your own, not in the real world that much is pretty obvious.

(19 years - My arse)

Typical braggart of the first order.

@Pfurri:- What's it to you? Well to be honest I've been practicing. Are you saying you like this software? Or are you making some other point? It would seem you have other issues. Unless of course you multiple user names.

Oh & BTW it's actually 'Life' not 'Live' - Get it right next time.

some guy reviewed v7.0.1401 Beta on Feb 20, 2012

Tampon Overload your review highly supports your intelligence ! = 0
I was playing with computer's while you where still sucking on your mama's tit ! keep your ignorance to your self please...

a good free antivirus. The detection rate is not as good as Avira or Kaspersky but it does work at low resoure and is not annoying with pop ups like Aviras free edition. so I use this one. If you really don't want a virus surf the web in Linux ,,, theirs a no brainier...
on my triple boot system
XP for games
W7 for applications
Zorin linux for web surfing and being able to scan the other O.S for viruses :)

Input Overload reviewed v7.0.1399 Beta 2 on Feb 19, 2012

There are some good free programs that are useful. PC security is not one of them, the reason that avast is popular is because there is a free version - That's all.

Some things are worth paying for: AV is one of them, to try & get the free version from the site is getting more difficult, do yourself a favour & buy security software.

johnk119 reviewed v7.0.1399 Beta 2 on Feb 18, 2012

Great!!!!!!

reddy.shyam reviewed v7.0.1399 Beta 2 on Feb 17, 2012

Beta 3 is now available.

Change log:
* New avast! Gadget
* Fixed avast! Remote Assistance
* Improved Helps & Localizations
* Registration is working again
* Account Settings page is functional

kb3grz reviewed v7.0.1399 Beta 2 on Feb 17, 2012

The world’s most popular antivirus software:
197,418,126 registrations and growing

TimHz reviewed v7.0.1396 Beta on Feb 10, 2012

I have found Avast to be very difficult and problematic to uninstall: Avast is a virus!

reddy.shyam reviewed v7.0.1396 Beta on Feb 9, 2012

Just the best and yet got better. Same as Holly, installed over 6 runs seamlessly. Improved eye candy as well. Cloud services included.

holy1661 reviewed v7.0.1396 Beta on Feb 8, 2012

Version 7 seems to be running as smoothly as version 6.

This is my favorite free AV. Perhaps the prior reviewer missed the "No Thanks" link on the download page. There's no subterfuge on Avast's part, that's for sure.
I can't imagine what could be better.

asaenz reviewed v7.0.1396 Beta on Feb 8, 2012

When I went to their site and clicked on download free version, a window popped up to offer Pro Version at discounted price and would not close unless I clicked on Yes for Pro Version ... pooor sales practice. Previous version Avast caused BSOD on my computer last time I tried it and I won't risk it for now.
Update: no I didn't miss any obscure links ... there were 3 and 2 didn't function. I was able to install the current version (7) and reboot without a BSOD and I'm trying it out as I type. Would be nice if sandbox defaulted to 'ask' rather then 'automatic' because some things it doesn't recognize need to run with no interference. "Free" version requires registration which gives you approximately 366 days till expiration after which I suppose it converts into some type of "ramsonware" (pay or lose protection).

unbidden16 reviewed v6.0.1367 on Dec 24, 2011

I had had the free version of Avast! for three years and it worked wonderfully for me, but when I got a new laptop I was coerced into purchasing CA Internet Security. It was the biggest mistake I ever made. My computer was overrun with viruses and had to pay out nearly $300 to get it completely cleaned. I am back to Avast! and have purchased the full version...I have never had a virus slow or cause problems with either of my computers with Avast!, free version or full. My father has also used the free version of Avast! for longer than I with no problems. (We only use our computers within the home for book/song downloads, writing, and a few internet searches when curious on specific topics or online shopping, so I do not know how well Avast! works for bigger internet users.) As far as I can see I'll continue using Avast! until it finally fails out against most viruses, spam, and fake AVs.

reddy.shyam reviewed v6.0.1356 Beta on Nov 23, 2011

Shala, did you try posting on their forums (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?board=2.0). There are quite a few helpers and would suggest easiest alternative to get in touch with support.

ppscslv reviewed v6.0.1351 Beta on Nov 19, 2011

thanks! it's one of the best free antiviruses...

Shala reviewed v6.0.1289 on Oct 10, 2011

subscribed to avast on 5/15/11, disk arrived, but have no licence code, so can not update. can not get customer service to talk to me. want a refund, but can not get a live person. very unhappy with their service.

egg83 reviewed v6.0.1289 on Sep 8, 2011

Works like a charm for me! Have used it since the 4.x versions, and has never failed me. Protects on multiple fronts (file download, P2P, email, malware, etc), and scores well in av protection against even paid solutions.

dono1216 reviewed v6.0.1287 on Sep 8, 2011

i use avast, MS Security, and AVG on my home PCs and Symantec at work. Symantec catches more bad stuff, but heavier on resources. Avast and MSE work great even on cheap netbooks.

reddy.shyam reviewed v6.0.1279 Beta on Sep 2, 2011

Quite a few additions with this release, installation file might be getting bigger but still very low on resources and quite effective. Best freeware out there!

djb247365 reviewed v6.0.1279 Beta on Sep 1, 2011

I've been using Avast for quite some time, until recently when I updated it. Apparently Avast seems to be getting quite large, in terms of how much space it takes up. I think over 200MB installation for an anti-virus program is a bit much, which is why they could've left certain features I believe are unnecessary fo most home users. With that said, I've switched to Avira which has always worked just as good for me. Avast is greatly recommended, if you don't mind having all the great features, and the huge installation that comes with it.

nailzs reviewed v6.0.1273 Beta on Aug 30, 2011

@Lsavagejt
The new motherboard was an exact replacement of the one I had to RMA. The same hardware was reinstalled. Everything else worked fine. AVAST updated, Comodo updated, Quake 3 Arena worked online, but not the browsers. If there is something to adjust what is it? Even the AVAST forum was no help. The AVAST that was installed and working stopped before the motherboard replacement stopped and the new BETA was installed 3 times, but the browsers didn't work. I installed AVG and now everything works.

Lsavagejt reviewed v6.0.1273 Beta on Aug 30, 2011

Both nilst2006 and that other guy are wrong. Nilst2006, your friend must first configure avast!. It is not idiot proof. Other guy, avast! did not kill your browser on 64bit Windows 7, you did. I know because I've been running avast! pro on 64bit Windows 7 since last tax season, with the latest versions of both ie and ff installed without issue. Nonetheless as I said below, webrep is weak, safe zone is buggy, etc. Good luck.

nilst2006 reviewed v6.0.1273 Beta on Aug 29, 2011

A friend of mine tested this. Critical important files were deleted.

nailzs reviewed v6.0.11270 Beta on Aug 28, 2011

I just finished doing an RMA on a motherboard. After the computer was assembled I had no browser connection with IE8 or Firefox. I found a lot of complaints about AVAST blocking browsers. After uninstalling it I was able to connect again. I did an uninstall, install, uninstall to make sure AVAST was the problem. It was. Win7 64bit

Lsavagejt reviewed v6.0.11270 Beta on Aug 25, 2011

I use the pro version. I guess it's OK. Some of the components are bogus, like all of its "additional protection", but it scores very high on detection/blocking. I like boot scan a lot, and it is fast.

legion reviewed v6.0.11270 Beta on Aug 25, 2011

Low resoure usage, nice detection, very good speed.

asaenz reviewed v6.0.1184 Beta on Aug 15, 2011

I wanted to try Avast more thoroughly but it wouldn't install on my system ... some driver conflict I suppose ... I uninstalled 6 other programs to see if it would help but I kept getting a reset towards the finalization of the installation process. I did try it a bit in my VM and that is why I wanted to try it on my main system and I liked it. I was mainly interested in its sandboxing capabilities because I'm searching for an good alternative to Sandboxie, Bufferzone, and Comodo's sandbox.

some guy reviewed v6.0.1184 Beta on Jun 22, 2011

very nice anti-virus my second choice under Avira for free-ware!. Would rank higher but one to many false positives, oh and dont rule out Bit defender use that under my Linux partition on to scan the windows Partition :)

egg83 reviewed v6.0.1184 Beta on Jun 22, 2011

Am really in favor of this program, not a resource hog at all, as compared to AVG, which I removed recently. Scans are reasonably quick, and updates with no problem. Had a couple of false positives, and that is with the settings on high. Also, saved me from some bad web stuff as well, does a good job with real-time monitoring.

asaenz reviewed v6.0.1119 RC on May 10, 2011

Alas, I was hopeful that Avast would run well on my system but it didn't ... probably a driver conflict as toward the end of installation my computer would reset and I tried it 2 times with similar results. Perhaps sometime in the future I might try again with more successful results because this time I couldn't even get past installation.

HeilNizar reviewed v6.0.1091 on Apr 21, 2011

2 Stars less for all those ads and upgrades nags all over the place, bah

reddy.shyam reviewed v6.0.1091 on Apr 20, 2011

Been using since v5 was out. Constant updates and improvements minus bloating it up. Could have given more stars if I can. Excellent freeware.

some guy reviewed v6.0.1091 on Apr 19, 2011

while I do lokie Avast for free, I get to many false positives.
In my opinion = freewaRE
1 Aviria
2 Avast
3 M.S.E
this is based on a free ware ration only!

Blaxima reviewed v6.0.1091 on Apr 19, 2011

I was never a fan of avast many years ago with it's mediocre results and hideous interface.But they really have upped their game and I've been quite happy with it for the last couple of years.

For me the most important thing is not detection rate(which is good) or interface(which has greatly improved) but the impact on my system. Kaspersky while having good detection rates brought my system to a crawl. NOD was good until I realized, thanks to avast, that even that was slowing my system just a bit. Avast is also the lightest on resources, far more than MSE. I've turned notifications and forgotten that it's there, it's impact is that unnoticeable.

So with sensible computing you really can't go wrong with this

Betachecker reviewed v6.0.1086 Beta on Apr 19, 2011

Foe me this is the best AV.
The only funny thing is that I was using version 6.0.1000 and after a manual program update, I´m with: 6.0.1091 not 6.0.1086 the BetaNews is offering here.

kstev99 reviewed v6.0.1086 Beta on Apr 18, 2011

Good AV packed with a lot of features. I recently switched back to this after using MSE for more than a year. I missed some of Avast's features. MSE and Avast are actually BOTH very good, but I liked being able to control how often I received updates
Problem was with MSE, when I installed it on someones computer who only turned on their computer every few days, the security center was always warning that defs were out of date and user action was required. Avast simply updates itself immediately after booting.

Avast did let me down only last week, when their newest defs started flagging every html file containing a script as a trojan. The developers fixed the problem within a few Hours though. I still give it a 5, as long as this isn't a common occurrence.

glphil reviewed v6.0.1044 Beta on Mar 25, 2011

How sad! The English needing English lessons from the colonials!

Boor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boor may refer to: boor, a peasant or uncultured person; one who lacks in education, knowledge, refinement and social graces;

Input Overload reviewed v6.0.1044 Beta on Mar 24, 2011

If you must have free AV this is as good as any, also MS Security Essentials has had good reviews. Although it let a fake Anti-Virus through the other day without so much as a flicker on my sisters lappy. The AV was up to date & that should not have happened.

IMHO I feel in the most important task of keeping your PC clean you need the very best there is and that means paying. Any of the three below are excellent.

1. Eset.
2. Kaspersky.
3. NIS.

In no particular order. Just my opinion, if you disagree with me that fine, it's not a problem.

glphil reviewed v6.0.1035 Beta on Mar 24, 2011

AVAST! is at the very top of free AV programs and even kicks a** on many paid programs such as STOPZilla. The free version is a fully functional stand alone application, complete with real time protection! Check out the reviews here and see what others say!

Well Overbored,
I didn't see any rules that pertain to how long of a post a "newcomer" is allowed!!
You sure like to change the subject of what is in contention here. That's what dishonest people do, try to obfuscate and bring up other matters, hoping that they won't have to discuss the real issues, 'cuz THEY KNOW they don't have a leg to stand on!
I gave PROOF FROM RELIABLE SOURCES, that directly contradicts your opinion of AVAST! As I pointed out previously, you offer opinions without anything to back them up! How typical of those of your ilk.!
So, to repeat my previous ACCUSATION, YOU HAVE nothing to back your contention that AVAST! is garbage, do you? I doubt you would read any of the comments here and see all the great reviews people have written about AVAST!, what would be the point, HUH? You know everything, and CERTAINLY couldn't learn anything from us peons-RIGHT? During my perusal, you're the only one who had anything bad to say about AVAST! and you don't have ANY PROOF to support your claims! I know, childish anal retentive authoritarian egotists such as yourself, are above having to provide proof to support their stances! Just the fact that you said it, is proof enough in your eyes, huh!?!? And how dare I, question your authority-RIGHT? Especially since you have forgotten more than I'll ever know, RIGHT??

Overly obnoxious, you are an absolute, conceited, pompous boor!!!

So, you have never looked at any nude pix online? If you have, that would make you a H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E for your comments to me. Oh my god!! I keep forgetting... you're above accountability! Please forgive me!! I've got to try to remember that fact, in my discourses with the chosen ones!!

Over ripe, unless you care to have an honest dialogue about AVAST!, I am through with you and shan't waste any more of my valuable time. Dealing with people such as yourself, is SO beneath my dignity. I have blessed you with my chastisement, and if you won't allow it to compel you into being a better person, well then that's they way it shall be! You certainly can't say I didn't try, in my magnanimous way, to correct you failings as a member of society.

I apologize to one and all, sorry about being so OVERly sarcastic, and wasting valuable posting space with my OVERly juvenile ranting I shall cease and desist on this fine website as I know I am out of line and this is not the purpose of this site. I apologize to you also, OVER what's your name. Please forgive me!

I bid thee a farewell, and convey my wishes of Blessings, Health and Peace to all and even to you Overlywrong!
an old hippie near seattle

BTW-I notice I'm not the only one who's tired of your know-it-all arrogant altitude here. I see you've rubbed a few others the wrong way too. The only response I've gotten, is 100% agreement! So stick that in your pipe and smoke it, OVERlyverbose!

JackRegan reviewed v6.0.1035 Beta on Mar 23, 2011

Input Overload? Uhh what????

Input Overload reviewed v6.0.1035 Beta on Mar 22, 2011

‘glphil’, for a newcomer you have a lot to say. I’ve forgotten more about IT than you will ever know. I stand by my post(s). Sometimes I'm right & other times I might be wrong, it's just a forum. I work in comms rooms. (That’s IT to you)

Just because you happen to disagree is no reason for you to lose the plot big-time & smash up your dolls house & kill your dolly’s, I think you have an awful lot of growing up to do.

I will continue to test, review, & express my opinion & what I consider to be fair and honest appraisals of programs both here & many other places on the web. I also offer help on various forums in my spare time, and help newcomers to sort issues.

I base my views on empirical evidence, not what others think whoever they may be.
I can't stand people such as you who know bugger all & pontificate verbal diarrhoea.

I've never had the need to call on support; I work issues through for myself & others.

BTW & I don't know everything & I have never purported to – However: - I know a dam site more than you sunshine!

'For the record', I have been on the web well over 15 years, I also have 1800+ working bookmarks. I build my own PC's (and many for others) & I have & need a very high speed fiber connection. And yes one virus plus bits of spyware. I practice 'Safe Surfing' the best security system there is.

I don't go on pron sites some of which you frequent are probably illegal anyway. Get a relationship with a real woman. And then you won't need to go on perverted sites - Some of the people on there are probably forced into the debased filth you enjoy. You probably go on Warez sites too? The spooks are watching you remember. See my URL.

And as regards your remarks of 'boys' & myself, you dirty filthy obscene little pervert, be very thankful I don't know where you live.

You need to know the net is far from anonymous, although you naively seem to think it is - It's not, you leave a calling card on every site.

And finally, don't use upper case; it just makes you look like a frantic moron.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
glphil:- You latest post. I don't expect to be liked by everyone, nor do I care!

You are indeed one of if not the most stupid idiotic person I have ever had dealings with. But I thank you for the complements, very much appreciated!

I am a Brit & will retaliate if attacked in any way whatsoever. Don't take on people on who are smarter than you yankee boy if you don't want upsetting.

It seems you want to join my fan club, It''s £20.00 a year, or 35 bucks to you.
Paul, Sheffield, England. Oh & BTW it's 'Bore' not 'Boor - get a Dictionary..

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Albert Einstein

djb247365 reviewed v6.0.1035 Beta on Mar 22, 2011

I've been using this for over a year now, and I like it much better than Avira, because of all the nice features it has, which you usually have to pay extra for. Nonetheless, I've never had any issues with Avast before, until the I got the most recent update. When that happened, for some reason, Windows 7 had trouble starting, and claimed it had to repair certain files before restoring the last known good restore point. And when it did restart, there were some very odd things happening with Windows. With that said, I went into Safe Mode and uninstalled Avast. I went ahead and reinstalled the 6.0.1000 version and everything went back to normal.

Not sure if this will happen with anyone else, but just putting it out there, that this might be a bit of a bad update from Avast and you may be wise to skip it, if you think it'll cause problems on your computer too.

Betachecker reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 21, 2011

I think this is the best AV. I never, never had a Virus. Just one or 2 false positive in many years. By the way, I´m still with 6.0.1000
And I agree 100% with glphil

glphil reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 19, 2011

Input Overlord (my aren't we pompous and self aggrandizing???)
I don't see you MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT HAVING TRIED AVAST! I guess if we're so conceited. we can judge programs without having tried them and make assumptions based on price!
!. Try a little research (I guess if you KNOW EVERYTHING, that would be a waste of time, huh?), AVAST! has been consistently rated at the top of the free AV programs. Though Overripe, I guess they must not have checked with you!

2. Instead of pull sh*t out of my a$$, like Overlooked, I TAKE THE TIME TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH, SO NOBODY CAN SAY I AM LIKE OVERDONE. Here are some results, from credible sources who use OBJECTIVE criteria unlike the SUBJECTIVE crtiteria, used by Overconfident.

Rated #1 by consumersearch.com
http://www.consumersearc...free-antivirus-software

Rated #1 by about.com
http://antivirus.about.c...ereviews/a/freeav_2.htm

Rated #2 by pcworld.com
http://www.pcworld.com/r...antivirus_software.html

2. Overboor, you say you have only gotten one virus (at large??? what the f*ck does that mean???) in the life of the Internet then either:
a) You've only been on the web a total of 5 minutes or
b) you're a coward and have never been to any sites except MS, ebay, betanews or Barnes and Noble, or
c) you're a LIAR!

3. Yes, I have gone to places (websites) that I shouldn't. A lot of us like to see women, uh.. oh.. in their uh... knickers... or less... (Warning for those also inclined, the highest percentage of toxic sites, over 20% infected, are those that are free sites of celebrities, dressed or undressed as they wouldn't appear [except Britney) in public. I'd make a crack about Input Overload wanting to see boys, but I don't want to insult any g** men.

4. Guess what Overbloat, not only do I have MBAM Pro, I also have SuperAntiSpyware Pro along with AVAST! Free Edition 6.0.1000. I realize that is NOT the specific version being discussed here, but I'm sure it is close to being equivalent.

AVAST! catches say maybe 75% of incoming malware, generally Trojans and those damn fake AV scams. SAS gets maybe 10% and MBAM gets say 5% and probably 10% sneaks in. MBAM's strongest suit is in finding sh&t that gets in, when you scan and ten it is good a removing it.

Overblown, I'd be interested in hearing your experiences with AVAST!, but I'd imagine your too busy over at YouTube, marking all the vids there "FAKE"!

MBAM & SAS both have decent free stand alone fully functional programs, with great support on the freebies. I upgraded on both, out of gratitude for all the great help I got from the support teams at MBAM & SAS! I actually had my own support guy at MBAM, Tom Mercado, who would generally get back to me within an hour. Being self-taught, my learning has finally gotten to the poiunt where I have been able to fix my computer by myself now. I'll bet Tom thinks I've died. Gee, I wonder if he misses me??? Neither MBAM or SAS have realtime protection on the free versions, and that is what differentiates the free from pro versions. SAS has a great "toolkit" of repairs that I have used on many occasions that fixes broken processes after you've been hit. Not sure if the free SAS version it or not.

Hey Overego, why don't you reserve your opinions for things YOU ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT and have some intimate knowledge from ACTUAL EXPERIENCE??? (Talk about p*ssing in the wind!?!~!!).

I probably have Overdone the nastiness, but there is only one thing I hate worse than an obnoxious know-it-all, it's an obnoxious know-it-all, who hasn't a clue about their Overly WRONG suppositions!!!!

eaves reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 14, 2011

A solid AV program that consistently rates near the top of the AV programs. The new sandbox feature is a first for free AV programs, most excellent.

@kz3rradio - you can turn off the audio voice notifications in the settings area of Avast. I have Avast configured to run quietly.

Input Overload reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 12, 2011

Something as important as AV/Anti-Malware I don't believe in going for freebies. A gem I found after using Eset for years is NIS. Also get your wallet out & buy Malwarebytes. You might disagree but in just about the life of the internet I have only had one Virus at large. Coincidence?: I don't think so!.

This program - Piece of junk.

k3zrradio reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 12, 2011

A good freeware program, that it is... The one thing thought which bothered me was the audio update. Every time the program was updated a voice told you that had just happened. It would be nice to have that feature selected and have it available in the quiet mode. Other than that the program seems to be quite good....

Lsavagejt reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 11, 2011

Do NOT buy the "Pro" version. The Web Rep module, which as you might guess, checks the reputations of web sites you visit is vote based, which for obvious reasons is unreliable, and sometimes flat out don't work.

The Safe Zone module is definitely under cooked, and the Sandbox module is a pain because the delete button is buried under multiple layers of UI.

The scan is customizable, fast, and probably trustworthy.

Definitely a rush job here, and not worth the 20, or anything for that matter.
Stick with the free version.

moog reviewed v6.0.1021 Beta on Mar 10, 2011

5 was great, simple and quite
6 with the toolbar add on
and with sandbox (bsod and nags) is worse

u3912974 reviewed v6.0.1000 on Mar 2, 2011

easy setup with some changeable options though the sandbox would not work for my three web browsers. Even though it was ti do the google v11 firefox 4 and inernet explorer x64 version 9 and none none of them get the sand-boxing working right.

TGB72 reviewed v6.0.1000 on Mar 1, 2011

I have been using avast 5 in win7 for a year and never had a problem, now with v6 I get a bsod because of avast sandbox, I really wish that this feature could be optional in the setup, I don't like it at all. v5 was outstanding, v6 is unstable and intrusive in my opinion. BTW I don't like the gadget neither..

reddy.shyam reviewed v6.0.1000 on Feb 24, 2011

Best freeware out there getting better and better with every release. Low on resources, trouble free and yet effective.

shaggydog44 reviewed v6.0.1000 on Feb 24, 2011

Please boys and girls, lets keep the name calling and condescending comments for other purposes, like dissing your brothers, sisters, parents, etc.

In the reviews, recommendations, comments, etc. please try to stick to the facts.

And fan boys/girls, please make your blatant bias a lot less detectable... some of us are offended to the point that we discount anything to do with you to a value of zero or less....

I realize that some of you have strong opinions, but in announcing you opinions, please be a lot more polite and considerate of others.

Thank you for letting me make my comments.... :-)

Input Overload reviewed v6.0.945 Beta on Feb 4, 2011

Plumber, 'You Think' you haven't' had any infections, I heard that from dozens of people who are using inadequate malware protection. I see you have reviewed 'avast! Free Anti-virus 6.0.945 Beta'.....Beta, now what does that mean, it means you are using an AV that is full of bugs. Hmmmm.

I too frequent 'Wilders Forum' among many others & I don't give a pigs burp who you are. I do know you have an ego thats unwarranted by far.

And yes I always read the changelog when Eset releases an update.

All software has bugs in it, what I was saying i haven't been affected by any. I've tried just about all the AV products & settled on Eset, Prevx & Malwarebytes. I also run Trojan Remover once a week or so.

Recently I've been giving Norton 2011 security suite a run after years of refusing to have a Norton product on any of my systems, it's suprisingly rather good.

Sorry about your bad experiences with Eset, maybe a personality change might help? You could certainly use one.

By the way I do understand English as I am English, no need for 'Dat' etc.

'Killed your CPU' - ROFLAO!

Plumber reviewed v6.0.945 Beta on Feb 3, 2011

Well Input Overload, I wasn't born yesterday either. Haf you ever read any of Eset's release notes when a new version has come out? Dat be where dey put the list of stuff they fixed. In other words, the stuff that was a bug in the previous version. Unless you want to tell me that they've never had to fix anything, you must admit that ESS has had bugs. I've reported many of them publicly, mainly on Wilder's forums, and I'm not going to repeat them here because I don't want anyone figuring out who I am.

I spent lots of time using Eset's products. They work OK at times. But I grew sick of their terrible attitude (not going to explain), and the "advanced heuristics" killed my CPU. Now I've stopped being an idiot, and I get my AV for free. And it works great. Sorry you paid for nothing.

P.S. I've been using Windows since version 3 and have NEVER had active malware on any of my systems. Not even once.

hydrogen reviewed v6.0.934 Beta on Feb 2, 2011

I’ve been using avast for good 10 years and in general no issues, but with this latest update 5.1.889 I can only advice you “Stay away” it’s loaded with bugs that will in some ways mess up your PC if not the same day then days later.
I have several home machines Win 7 x64 out of which only 1 x32 works OK but some time s I tend to lose Wi-Fi, rest of them run on version 5.0.677, but if I won t be able to upgrade from GUI to the latest 6 when its final is release without issues, I’m done for good and no looking back.

phiber0ptik reviewed v6.0.934 Beta on Feb 1, 2011

4 out of 5 since it's beta and lack some functionalities (will be there in the final version though). As a side note I can't give any anti-virus a 5, but that's cause I voluntarily hunt malware samples for many of them (0-day samples, no AV triggers on them, mostly).

And most importantly; those tests can't tell if one is better than another. It all comes down to if your currently installed AV blocks a particular malware about to be installed on your system.

some guy reviewed v6.0.934 Beta on Feb 1, 2011

a good antivirus but ranked lower then Avira
http://www.av-comparativ...sreviews/detection-test

Plumber reviewed v5.1.889 on Jan 18, 2011

Uninstall Eset, put your debit card and wallet away, and install avast. You will save money and get a much better product. And ironically, you'll also get better support.

Unlike people who are just biased for no reason, I don't believe in faith-based computing. I've used many versions of the grossly-overrated Eset products. Their system impact is excellent, but they're always more riddled with bugs than a crackhouse. Kaspersky is so utterly terrible that I've given it a lifetime ban.

Input Overload reviewed v5.1.889 on Jan 14, 2011

Get your wallet out, remove debit card, hop over to the Eset site, buy Eset AV. This program isn't a patch on Eset or Kaspersky.

Plumber, total absolute unmitigated garbage, I was not born yesterday. I have used Eset, then Eset Smart Security for many years, it has yet to let a virus through, & what bugs specifically did you find as I yet have to find one? Perhaps you will let us know?

If you are going to pay for some software AV & Anti-Malware are the things to go for- Layered protection. That's why in 15 years on the net & 1700 bookmarks & a 50 Meg Bit fiber connection i have had only one worm/virus at large on my PC.... Nuff said. BTW I also paid for Malwarebytes too, worth each & every penny. I spend my working life in comms rooms....

psycros reviewed v5.1.889 on Jan 13, 2011

Despite frequent updates, Avast misses the majority of newer infections that the other free solutions readily spot. At least you won't get many false positives. Not recommended.

aszure reviewed v5.1.874 Beta on Jan 9, 2011

It's one of the best, and one of the cheapest (free) that you can get. I use it on my 3+ computers around the house.

ballyhairs reviewed v5.1.677 on Dec 8, 2010

cbdir, I hope your author will burn alive for 3 days

RejZoR reviewed v5.1.677 on Dec 7, 2010

@dotnetnightmare
There is really no need into disabling anything. I'm running avast! on Aspire One and works just fine. I do have a Seagate Momentus 7200.4 drive which is really fast but still, CPU is the same Atom N270 as found in all older netbooks.

Jimmy_Tsatsos reviewed v5.1.677 on Dec 6, 2010

INTRODUCING: BETA VERSION OF AVAST 5.1 [NOW 5.1.798] https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=67141.0

The version 5.1.667 only have newer virus definition in the setup file, its the same as 6.0.667 version.

dotnetnightmare reviewed v5.0.677 on Sep 18, 2010

NETBOOKS & ATOM CORE USERS
In the install menu or add/remove programs menu, you can unselect all "shields" and install a fast and reliable On Demand Scanner with frequent updates and schedule system scans. I have used this with all shields enabled and found that I love gaming to much! On an Atom Core this will slow down application launch time and make gaming impossible! I don't recommend gaming on an atom but I have an Nvidia Ion with Gpu and it plays Quake, Doom, Resident Evil, and lots of others! I mean how can I choose an Active antivirus over chasing a zombie with a chain saw?

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.677 on Sep 9, 2010

Ditto to all positive reviews.

yetisouth reviewed v5.0.656 Beta on Sep 1, 2010

This is the best free AV program available today. That title used to belong to Avira, but with version 10 they screwed it up, and stubbornly refuse to fix it.
What I like best is the almost complete absence of false positives. Great program!

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.656 Beta on Aug 26, 2010

Great AV!

Edit:
Newer version available
http://files.avast.com/f...0.668/setup_av_free.exe

Plumber reviewed v5.0.594 on Aug 19, 2010

With version 5, the Avast team has taken an excellent product, and made it outstanding. This version is a significant improvement over version 4 in terms of interface and performance.

In my experience, the stability and smoothness of avast! version 5 vastly exceeds that of most competing products, irrespective of price. And with avast!, I don't have 100 false positives driving me nuts every day.

Be very wary of empty, baseless comparisons of the detection capabilities of avast! versus other products.

jim001 reviewed v5.0.594 on Jul 19, 2010

For free without a doubt the best protection, comparable to Norton and probably better but for free! Several shields that even some paid AV's don't provide. Avast gives all around solid protection with very few false positives, rootkit and antispyware protection using little system resources. Consistent reliable updating. Keep in mind I'm saying for a freebie, to pay for an AV Eset or Kaspersky is recommended, and they are about the only AV's paid or free that is superior to Avast. Use Avast with Malwarbytes as a on demand secondary scanner and you'll have rock solid security ....for free!

Stevefarrell reviewed v5.0.594 on Jul 1, 2010

LOL It makes your 3GHZ dual core omputer run slow? Are you kidding me? Firstly I had this avast run on a 1.7GHZ single core laptop without it slowing it down and now I have it running on a Zepto Mythos White G15 2.4GHZ laptop without avast making it any slower. You should look elsewhere to find your problem because it sure as hell is not avast doing that.

mike59 reviewed v5.0.594 on Jun 30, 2010

Best and lightest AV there is!

Don't listen to the n00b with the slow dual core 3Ghz, 3gigs. ROFL!

Runs perfect on any old PC.

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.594 on Jun 30, 2010

No complaints my end! Rock solid free AV.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v5.0.584 Pre-Release on Jun 28, 2010

made my computer run slow
dual core 3 ghz 3 gigs ram

JackRegan reviewed v5.0.584 Pre-Release on Jun 24, 2010

Lets say that Windows was wiped off from earth, and Linux users did win. So there would be no viruses after that? Quit your poor propaganda Ubuntu users. Linux would be next attacked from em haters too. Don't give poor ratios if don't even use this program. Shame on you Linux Stalins.

And by the way, can you tell what games are you playing? Tetris?

Aegis69 reviewed v5.0.584 Pre-Release on Jun 24, 2010

Yknow I don't wanna be one of those guys, but I switched to ubuntu a while back and I do not miss the system slowdowns anti-virus programs cause, nor do I miss the constant spyware scanning and defragging. I can still use all my apps, and play almost all my games, and I'm free. So there.

Message to loser above me: Speaking of poor propaganda, I play Fallout 3, WOW, all the big windows games; Check it out for yourself at http://appdb.winehq.org/

And yes Windows is responsible for 99% of virus activity, there is next to none, and in 20 years I have never even seen one, on Linux. So eat that, 14 year old who knows nothing. Hey spend all your time scanning for viruses and running defrag utils, waste most of your CPU processing on your virus checker it you like, I could not give a crap. All the windows apps and games I need run fine in Wine, on a stable fast platform that I can trust which has next to zero chance of ever getting a virus. How things can get better than that I do not know.

Terumo reviewed v5.0.584 Pre-Release on Jun 24, 2010

CyberDoc999 you ust have somting wrong in your maskin.
I hav 1.3 core cpu and 4 gb ram and I cant file the Avast Internet Security on my maskin.

Plumber reviewed v5.0.545 on May 10, 2010

No replacement for a paid solution because of its detection capabilities? It has the exact same real-time and scanning detection as its for-pay versions; the only difference are the additional modules you get for paying (firewall, anti-spam, etc.). So "free < paid" doesn't make sense.

And as far as Avira having poor detection... Well I've never, ever heard anyone else say that, particularly av-comparatives.org.

madmike reviewed v5.0.545 on May 10, 2010

Tis very good compared with the other freebie AV programs out there,( the worst from my experience is Avira - paid or free) but having tested this its not the best IMO.

I have tried a lot of them Norton being a calamity trying to run like an OS using lots of resources, Avira - detection rate poor etc.

My point here is the best thing about Avast is its free but for the ultimate protection I found Kaspersky the best, I had Avast installed and removed it installing Kaspersky and immediately it found 4 Trojans Avast failed to spot.

In summary, Good for Free but by no means a replacement for a paid solution.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v5.0.545 on May 8, 2010

this made my computer slow
dual core 3 ghz
4 gig ram

Epsi reviewed v5.0.533 RC on May 6, 2010

strange. 5.0.542 came out 4 days already...

Most notable improvements include:
• Solved a bug related to submission of false positives
• Improvements in the Behavior Shield (realtime antirootkit part)
• Sandbox: many functional, stability and performance improvements
• Firewall: VPN compatibility fixes (should now work even in Public zone etc)
• Firewall: solved an issue related to hang and/or crash of the afwServ.exe process
• Finally compatible with major screen readers
• Various fixes in the Outlook antispam add-in
• Right-to-left support
• Added Croatian and Arabic language packs

FailedCRC reviewed v5.0.533 RC on May 5, 2010

Memory usage is 10MB, and I've no idea, why would I use 30 threads and why wouldn't they be SSL?

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.507 on Apr 16, 2010

Rock solid. Light on resources, effecient and effective!

Plumber reviewed v5.0.507 on Apr 15, 2010

Absolutely no security product is the "best currently available", any more than any one car is the best. Everyone is different, and every system is different. I tried two or three different versions of Eset Smart Security, and had numerous problems with it every time. Avast!, on the other hand, works very well for me. Version 5.0, specifically, works much more smoothly (for ME) than did 4.x.

Like I said, there is no "One True Solution". Up until recently, I was a big Avira fan, but they blew it with their refusal to do even basic QC on their latest product versions. Just use what works for you, and spare us the evangelism.

roj reviewed v5.0.507 on Apr 15, 2010

FailedCRC:

84s of CPU time But How Much Memory Used? What does it do to high speed multithreaded (let's say 30 threads) NNTP downloads?

Ahhh - didn't think you wanted to go there.

I'll stand by my evaluation.

robmanic44 reviewed v5.0.507 on Apr 15, 2010

This is certainly a good antivirus, but to rate it higher than ESET's System Security is ludicrous. I've use that product for 5 years and have yet to have any problems. It's, quite simply, the best security product currently available.

Raton reviewed v5.0.499 Beta on Apr 13, 2010

Avast v. 5 is a distinct interface improvement over earlier versions. The Avast
interface was long overdue for a face lift. But there's also some functional
elements improved in v. 5.

The Computer Rodent

FailedCRC reviewed v5.0.499 Beta on Apr 13, 2010

What a lot of nonsense Roj likes to spout, 84s of CPU time used in 4 days of uptime, only Avira is lighter (and doesn't have all the additional modules).

nugro reviewed v5.0.499 Beta on Apr 13, 2010

Believe it or not, despite the size, this is lighter than MSE both in real time protection and on-demand scanning.

Maybe this is due to the fact that the new engine use multi-core cpu more efficiently, and I'm sold.

roj reviewed v5.0.499 Beta on Apr 12, 2010

I used to recommend this product.

It is now huge, bloated and exacts more overhead than it's worth. I switched to AVG until it met a similar fate. Now I use Microsoft Security Essentials and it's faster, uses significantly less machine resources and offers just as much protection. I've measured the detection against corporate AV products such as Symantec EndPoint Protection to verify the detection capabilities.

In the face of this, I can no longer recommend the product when a faster, leaner, more efficient and equally protective alternate solution is available. The product needs some serious slimming down.

THREE stars.

bokhylla reviewed v5.0.462 on Apr 3, 2010

Eddie1962!! Your "information" is old and outdated. Since version 5 Avast officially uses heuristic technology (behavioral shield)! Go to their website or download.com to find out.

Well I have been using Avast for nearly five years and it is the best.

It has a lot of features and a good detection rate and is the only antivirus that I really trust. Install Avast and your PC will be like a safe.

Bjorn Lundahl,
Gothenburg, Sweden

bogbasic reviewed v5.0.462 on Mar 26, 2010

I am very happy indeed with this program - it updates the virus database via my slow modem line and doesn't hammer my old windows 2000 machine every time you open a file. It found some viruses which had been on the computer for some time before I installed it, and has since detected others trying to sneak onto the system.... so I went pro, which is good value.

Eddie1962 reviewed v5.0.462 on Mar 15, 2010

Avast is signature based. Which means it has no heuristic scanning in the free version. It has it in e-mail. But what good is that when 9 out of 10 people use web based e-mail? When all you want to do is scan your machine avast will not "look" for certain behaviors. That's because it doesn't use heuristics when scanning files on your computer. Without heuristics your computer could be infected and avast will not detect it.

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.462 on Mar 10, 2010

Best freeware out there!

Betachecker reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 14, 2010

This version is lighter than the old ones and it´s working 100%.
Still my choice and best AV

radiomaffia reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 13, 2010

Updated to the new Avast! with the orange icon and updating the definitions are failing everytime from that point and virusdefinitions are outdated at this moment. What is wrong? Someone any idea? Key is until 1st of March 2010. Everything is more reliable and improved, rated it 5* but I have a major problem..

Edit: find it, WebRoot Firewall wasn't doiing his job proberly. Updating definitions working and renew license is now improved. Fill in the form in the scanner and directly on the fly its extended to one new year!

Although Avira Free is the winner concerning quick virusdef.updates and safety against new unknown virusses with no removal answer yet and hardly no false positives.

Avast Free is more reliable to use and Avira Free edition pops up every update with the go Premium venster and is one Personal License only. I have one pc on Avira and 2 with Avast cause of this.

catchpole reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 12, 2010

Even it is not relevant, update those screenshots please.

Avast is simply the best free AV out there. Light, still includes many features, no pop ups or anything. Avira Antivir is overrated.

KayNine reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 12, 2010

Yes, also 5* from me! Have been using avast 4 for years now and avast 5 DEFINATELY is a great (r)evolution! Low memory and resources use, still effective and many features.

reddy.shyam reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 12, 2010

I am hardcore fan of AVIRA thought of giving Avast 5 a go because of its positive reviews and I dont regret it. Great today's UI and light weight.

radiomaffia:
Try uninstalling 4.8 or update 5.0 and do a fresh install of 5. See if this fixes problem

ZenoLabs reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 11, 2010

Lighter than v. 4.8, still the best among free antivirus.

Banquo reviewed v5.0.418 on Feb 11, 2010

I've been impressed with 5.0 so far, very light and some nice features.

By the way Betanews, please update those screenshots, those are so OLD.

jetz reviewed v5.0.396 on Feb 4, 2010

V5 is great! Memory and resource usage is very low. Impressive! Been using avast for year absolutely problem free on all my pc's.

pdail reviewed v5.0.393 Beta on Jan 28, 2010

Very nicely done. A much improvement. I look forward to trying this out.

Joseph A reviewed v5.0.393 Beta on Jan 27, 2010

EDIT: Feb. 1, 2010

There is a new final avast! 5 version, namely 5.0.396, that fixes the issues reported for the 5.0.377 (final) and 5.0.393 (pre-release) versions. Most importantly, the intermittent system crashes (BSODs) seem to have been solved.

Tthis version is available as an internal update for the previous final version (5.0.377) and also as an independent download in the publisher's link, http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download or in http://download.cnet.com...10019223.html?tag=mncol and
http://www.softpedia.com...vast-Home-Edition.shtml.

I repeat here that the name of the program is now "avast! Free Antivirus".

butthead reviewed v5.0.393 Beta on Jan 27, 2010

Unfortunately the final version turned out to be a performance hog on my not so slow system (intel P8600/4GB ram), Avast 4 was running fine, while the new version slowed down my overall system performance. Now test-running MS security essentials, so far so good.

Joseph A reviewed v5.0.366 Beta on Jan 22, 2010

Avast 5.0 final is available since January 19, 2010. It is now called "avast! Free Antivirus" and its version is 5.0.377. It is available at

http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

I have submitted the new version to Fileforum on January 20, but for some reason it was not included in Fileforum's collection so far.

grinch89 reviewed v5.0.366 Beta on Jan 22, 2010

Overall I am satisfied with the performance, but one problem has appeared, there seems to be a conflict with Malwarebytes Anti-malware that was not there with 4.8. I had to turn off MB as any time I tried to close a full screen app it froze my computer,once MB was turned off the problem vanished.

rtwnt reviewed v5.0.363 Beta on Jan 15, 2010

This is a tough one. first, AV tested the Pro version and not the Home version. In their latest test (Nov.2009), here is the breakdown on detection rate:
Avira- 74%
Microsoft-56%
Avast-53%
BitDefender- 53%
Where Avira loses and Avast gains ( along with Microsoft and Bitdefender) is in false positives). What score you give in this area is somewhat subjective but looks what happens when you use AV's approach:
Avast, Microsoft, and Bitdefender all get 3 stars or Advanced+
Avira gets only 2 stars or Advanced
Now lets be serious- does anyone really think that Microsoft and Bitdefender rate an Advanced+?
So choose your poison.
All information taken from Av site form their Feb.,2009 test

elitegangsta reviewed v5.0.363 Beta on Jan 15, 2010

Runs nice and clean
Good Detection Rating
Updates Often
Doesn't Hog Resources
Worst Interface I've seen in a program with otherwise excellent features.

WhiteZero reviewed v5.0.363 Beta on Jan 14, 2010

@emanresU, your thinking of the old Avast, 5 is nothing like that.
@Astro-SII, actually, Avira gets way more false positives according to Av-Comparatives.org

emanresU deriseD reviewed v5.0.363 Beta on Jan 14, 2010

This piece of crap is overrated, of course just because it's free. A skinned antimalware application? First clue that it's garbage. This retarded waste of bytes kills performance and has a terrible, convoluted GUI, falls short in detection.

Astro-SII reviewed v5.0.326 Beta on Jan 2, 2010

trying to update to the lastest beta build and it won't let me, says my registration expired in 1969 ! yet there is no way to register avast 5 beta....

Assirius reviewed v5.0.326 Beta on Jan 1, 2010

Too hog , not user-friendly interface , a lot of false positives results ,
avira is still much better

JethroB reviewed v5.0.326 Beta on Dec 29, 2009

I was using version 4.x until I noticed that the web scan module was using a lot of memory. Despite many messages in the user forum here: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=50896.0 staff never provided a solution or even a comment.

On the basis of lack of support, I removed avast! and installed AVG-free. Too bad, because for the most part, it is a good AV program.

aruprc reviewed v5.0.239 Beta on Nov 29, 2009

A very decent full fledged contender to free Avira and even good in paid department. It doesn't have Avira's detection rate but few matches that. In overall terms a very well rounded product and version 5 holds lots of promise.

elkal000 reviewed v5.0.239 Beta on Nov 19, 2009

Worked fine so far, not too demanding in terms of ram and cpu, overall a good anti-virus.

radiomaffia reviewed v5.0.188 Beta on Oct 24, 2009

Dont get mislead by this skin, it isn't even the skin that you will see after installing the software of avast! Recommended for newbies that don't want to pay for antivirus software and want a reasonable protection, well this the one!! Get it, its free and in : About Avast.. you can send in for a new yearkey after 365 days.
Comparing to Avira that is only 1 computer on ip for personal free use avast! can run on every pc on 1 ipadres, that is something to remind you when you are choosing! The only thing that is annoying me is that it's blocks downloading rar/zip files with a virus like crack.exe when I can make myself the right decission not to open that .exe file. Avira doesn't block downloading and isn't looking into those specific rar/zip files.

ballyhairs reviewed v5.0.188 Beta on Oct 24, 2009

NOD32 is 100 star

CyberDoc999 reviewed v5.0.188 Beta on Oct 24, 2009

I agree AntiVir is a 5 and avast is a 1 star

thartist reviewed v5.0.167 Beta on Oct 15, 2009

I just hope that besides the really important improvements, it gets a decent skin and doesn't ask for money for it.

Sativarg reviewed v5.0.167 Beta on Oct 15, 2009

Might it be better to link to New beta refresh 5.0.167 as a home page for this reliece

[Incomplete] change log:

- improvements in the Explorer right-click scan
- improvements in the localizations (French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Russian and Chinese localizations should now be complete)
- Add and Submit commands in the virus chest now working
- fixed a few memory leaks in the GUI process
- boot-time scan logs now in the Scan logs folder (this feature is still unfinished)
- added controls for actions on infected files inside archives
- fixed the Block command in the Ask dialog
- improvements in the silent installer
- the program is now working under Windows 2000 (SP4 or higher)

1uk3 reviewed v5.0.104 Beta on Sep 9, 2009

At home I have 3 PC's and a server.

Of the 3 PC's, 1 has been running Avast! and the other 2 Avira AntiVir. The onlt computer that has become infected with viruses and damage caused over the past 2 years is the PC running Avast! Avira AntiVir has always caught everything before any damage has been caused, Avast! hasn't.

Now all 3 PC's are running Avira AntiVir and I feel much safer.

Avast! is the next best (free) thing compared to AntiVir though IMHO.

If I was purchasing an Anti Virus program, it wouldn't appear on my list of considerations though.

Betachecker reviewed v5.0.89 Beta on Aug 29, 2009

IMAO: Avast is the BEST but I´ll stay with 4.8 version util I see better reviews

Epsi reviewed v5.0.89 Beta on Aug 28, 2009

Recently bought a 2 year license for Avast Pro, it doesn't nag at you, it has that dos scan mode, don't know how use full it is, but sure looks nerdy, and to top it off, each module can b configured separately. All in all I'm a very happy customer.

Just hope they dont screw up with avast 5. like AVG went to s*** with v8

madcats reviewed v5.0.70 Beta on Aug 22, 2009

i use Avast Pro 4.8.1351on several PC's. FileForum only lists the earlier 4.8.1201 release.. Go to Avast.com to get the latest Pro release. Also stick to Home (Free) Version 4.8.1351B They were release August 20 2009 and avoid the 5.0 Beta.

I download alot and get many weird Emails; Avast Free & Pro have always guarded my machines for 5 years without problems. Note: Fileforum only lists the 5.0 Beta.

khagaroth reviewed v5.0.70 Beta on Aug 21, 2009

Re 5.0.70:

This is a very early beta and it doesn't have full functionality yet, it actually doesn't even have full virus definition database.

Limitations and bugs:
This first beta still has some limitations/bugs/problems. To name the most important ones:

1. it currently doesn't contain the most up-to-date defs. That is, part of the defs are somewhat outdated as we're still making changes to the infrastructure. Hence, it is not recommended to use this beta as a tool to protect your system. Also, it is probably too early to do any detection tests at this time.

2. the Behavior Shield is not yet fully connected (has very limited functionality at the moment - is just a skeleton, really)

3. the antirootkit component is not connected

4. there is no licensing component in this version; i.e., no registration, no activation... however, there's a hard-wired time bomb that will disable the program in about 2 months (there will be multiple beta refreshes before that happens, and hopefully even the final product)

5. the sounds are missing. We plan to have sounds in the final product (and later betas) but they're not there now.

6. the design will likely change a little bit still... some of the corners will be rounded etc...

7. some of the Web Shield settings are missing

8. some of the Shield settings actually require the Shield to be restarted to become effective (Actions, Alerts, Report file, Packers, ...)

9. the GUI sometimes doesn't get refreshed automatically (i.e. you change something via the tray icon, and the main dialog doesn't update itself to reflect that change)

10. the iNews, Community and Event log pages are just placeholders atm

11. the Scan Result window still needs some changes

12. the built-in program updater doesn't ask for a reboot when it's done (even if it's necessary in order to apply the new update). Also, the update, when initiated from the main UI, may end up in an unexpected state. As an alternative, we recommend using the updater in Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> avast! Free Antivirus -> Change/Remove -> Update.

13. context-menu scan in Explorer doesn't work.

bokhylla reviewed v4.8.1335 on May 12, 2009

"The best there is and now also equipped with heuristics"

Do not use Kaspersky, Norton, Nod 32, Bitdefender, AVG etc. use Avast and you will have a pc that is malware free and a program which is reliable and just works. The program has a lot of features which many other lacks, features which are essential in the fight against malware. I have been in contact with the company behind Avast named Alwil and they have informed me that since version 4.8 Avast is equipped with heuristics. They are planning to announce this together with other new features related to heuristics in the third quarter of 2009.

Avast is a protective fortress with all its shields and will protect your pc against viruses, spyware, adware, rootkits and other malware. I have used Avast for nearly four years in different computers and it always work reliably and have kept them free from viruses.

Avast has a lot of cool skins to choose from. It is not a dull anti-virus program like the rest.

It is also free!

Note: Equipped with heuristic means that the program has a capability to catch unknown viruses.

Björn Lundahl
Gothenburg, Sweden

Jtaylor83 reviewed v4.8.1335 on May 8, 2009

It's a good AV. Although, it will slow your PC (as other reviews below me giving poor criticism on this product) for a short time while avast! updates it's database everyday, it's not resource hog like Symantec and it's less expensive than McAfee. This AV is a bit more accurate against viruses, trojans, adware, spyware and rootkits.

Morningdove reviewed v4.8.1335 on Feb 6, 2009

For the record, the 3 ghastly creations shown above are not the Avast GUI. They are supplementary skins should anyone (ugh!) want to use one of them.

Avast is a fairly decent program, but COMODO did find a couple of nasties Avast was ignoring, and startup is slightly slower with Avast. On the other hand Avast ignored 15 NirSoft false positive files that COMODO identified as viruses. Also, Avast does not interfere with defragging as does COMODO, and the animated tray icon is a nice touch. Avast does put a noticable drag on the system when installing it's AV updates, but only for a few seconds. I notice no delay when using Avast real time scanning and have never personally had an issue installing software.

myboy reviewed v4.8.1296 on Dec 31, 2008

What the heck happened? The program used to be so good -- speedy and stable. Now, they fixed the long boot up times (not really, I just unchecked a bunch of stuff); however, they've added in system freezes for good measure. I kept wondering why my system would seemingly kick the bucket while installing drivers or software. It was avast. Once uninstalled, system stability returned to normal.

Alas, I have to use AVG as a result.

jungle! reviewed v4.8.1296 on Dec 24, 2008

I cannot see why this AV is so popular at all. It scans every file on your system and slows everything down to a snail's pace. Launching browser, text editor, etc, takes forever. Useless to me.

psycros reviewed v4.8.1296 on Dec 2, 2008

(..and thats a HIGH 4, btw. I only reserve a 5 for apps that I believe to be as perfect as the current technology allows.) Avast is missing one feature common to other AVs that I would sorely love to see added: a list of common file types to exclude from scanning. Every single filemask you want the scanner to ignore must be manually entered. Its not simply Avast defaulting to a "scan everything" behavior - there is literally NO list of exclusions except the one that you create. I would also like to have some clarification of just how well Avast handles adware and typical pseudo-virus programs..this really isn't addressed in their advertising, help files or other documentation that I've seen.

ubermann reviewed v4.8.1296 on Dec 1, 2008

Using several slow computers lately (P3 450 to P4 1.4ghz) i have to say this takes almost no cpu power compared to all others.
Finds all virus i have been stupid to download and have no problem at all with it.
Awesome!

some guy reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 30, 2008

pollok2
take your wanna be warez site else where

eaves reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 29, 2008

I've been using Avast! for years. Each release gets incrementally better without adding bloat. Solid, reliable product.

Goatone's comment sounds more like sour grapes than anything else. If he is so happy with Norton/Symantec, then why is he looking at Avast?

radiomaffia reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 28, 2008

The best free virusscanner in the world today is Avast, leaving Avira and AVG behind, one the main reasons is that has a clear interface and it is looking into pakked files. Norton 2006 has pusched a lot of his users away in 2006 cause it was using to much cpu and finally all other virusscanners gotta a chance to prove them selves and showed all of you that there is more then Norton on the horizon to discover, also for me counts : no more mr.Norton!

Jegar48 reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 28, 2008

Let me see if I understand goatone. You use Norton but you are saying Avast only rates a 2. This of course after telling everyone to rate what we use? Hypocrisy knows no bounds with you I guess. I use this and I wouldn't touch Norton, Everyone I know who has it gets rid of it as soon as their subscription has expired.

DataBitz reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 28, 2008

Version 4.8.1296
November 26, 2008
minor improvements in some unpackers
improvements in the false positive submission system
speed optimization in kernel-mode components
XML scan reports now generated in UTF-8 format (allow for non-Latin characters)
http://avast.com/eng/ava...o-revision-history.html

been reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 28, 2008

@Goatone:

I have used a PC recently which had Norton installed. I saw little that would persuade me that the protection offered by Norton is significantly better than that provided by Avast. As others have commented, recent Avast releases give very good broad protection against all types of malicious code.

It's absurd to say that 'you get what you pay for' in relation to this product. Avast has no monetary price but is of great of value to its users.

catchpole reviewed v4.8.1296 on Nov 28, 2008

i used to like AVG and hate Avast, now it goes other way.

Goatone reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 19, 2008

Very good program but how many of you have used Norton in the last few years? Kick me each time I hear someone saying something about a product they have not used in years. Avast maybe good but Norton2009 on my computer catches more than Avast.. Faster to scan and doesn't use much resources as Avast and does the job faster.. Speak about what you use and not what you have not used in years.. I give it a 2 just because it's free and you get what you paid for..

aruprc reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 19, 2008

This one has always been good and now its getting close to top notch and be a real contender, they have excellent rootkit detection as well as good spyware detection and now the network module features malware link blocker, what more can one ask for and that too all free.

AlphaBetaGamma reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 19, 2008

They have now updated this to version 4.8.1290. It installs and runs fine in Vista x64, one of the few AVs to do so. I am using the Pro version.

If you are reasonably careful in Vista and leave UAC enabled, you really don't need an AV at all for your own protection, but since I sometimes receive .doc files by email I like to check them just to make sure nothing bad gets passed along to anyone else. But I see very little CPU usage by avast!, and it uses relatively little memory for an AV (I have 8 GB anyway), so why not?

aszure reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 19, 2008

This is my main AV, and has been for a couple of years. If you turn on all the protection, it does bog your system down a bit. But I usually leave it at the middle of the road setting, and it works just fine. However, make sure that you turn the audio notifications off, or you will hear "Your antivirus has been updated" at 5 AM. It kinda freaked me about a bit. Great product tho. And well featured for it being free.

ltsnow reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 19, 2008

Now it's 4.8.1290. This is the best AV bar none.

pixturesk reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 18, 2008

Simply the best. I am a non-techie so I require something I can trust. A thorough scan on my computer takes about 21/2 hours, I just let it run, worth the wait to know that my computer is virus free. Also, the email scanner is first rate. In comparison to Norton, the bloat is almost non-existent.

dogbert0360 reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 18, 2008

Excellent performance. Won't use anything else...and along with "ThreatFire" it makes it a system hardener!

some guy reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 18, 2008

personally this runs to many Process in the back ground kinda brought a Norton flash back "shrug"
but I would give it a 7 out of 10
based on speed and detection rate and resource usage.

radiomaffia reviewed v4.8.1287 on Nov 18, 2008

This virusscanner rocks and it is free! Dont let yourselves mislead by the thumbnail, that is a picture from the past now..
Virusses just get no chance to infact your system, it wil look into zips&rars also for infections ! For 60 days works without registration and before that is ending your have to registrate and get your free 1 year key by email year after year.. Want a free virusscanner that you can trust? Choose Avast! 5 Stars + 1!

Zankur reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 15, 2008

I can't understand what this joke of a comment has been written by"CyberDoc999 "
do you understand the meaning of bloatware??...kindly get hold of a dictionary.....

As for this software....its great..........light on system.hardly any bugs................great protection...

CyberDoc999 reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 13, 2008

this is bloated and slow
AntiVir is still the best!

Ain Soph Aur reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 13, 2008

for me the best scanner in the world!

Wyojake reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 13, 2008

Can't believe anyone would be ignorant enough to give this a bad rating of any kind. Recommended to all.

DKDude reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 12, 2008

Avast rocks.

Keep up the good work.

argybee reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 12, 2008

IF there is a performance hit from this product then it is minimal compared to most(all?) others. One of the nice things is that it's so simple to switch any or all 'providers' on or off via the tray menu which actually regains memory.

Every 6 months or so I 'do the rounds' on AV products testing all I can get my hands on and for the past 8 years I have always come back to this.

Absolutely the best.

mrainey reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 12, 2008

I have relied on the free version of avast! for five years or so, and during that time have installed and configured it on a bunch of different computers. I have nothing but good things to say - no installation or compatibility problems, no noticeable slowdowns. I have never been victimized by a virus. Updates are available almost every day, and don't take very long to install.

What's not to like?

Undesired Username reviewed v4.8.1282 on Nov 12, 2008

Better than AVG (what isn't?), but the performance hit still makes it beneath me. Still, a decent choice if you're poor.

BillyBeta reviewed v4.8.1229 on Oct 29, 2008

DOES NOT WORK ON WINDOWS SERVER 2003.
BetaNews needs to update their product description.

Past that, it's a near perfect product.

andrewbmoore reviewed v4.8.1229 on Oct 23, 2008

I install this on EVERY family/friends computer that I fix for viruses and/or performance problems (usually due to Norton360). It's free, it's fast, and it maintains (ie. updates) itself with no intervention from me (nice, since I don't need to help people with updates). The best part is, I have yet to receive a later distress call from any of these people due to a new infection. To all computer gurus who fix computers, I highly recommend you look into adding this software to your tool kit!

Alexander-GG reviewed v4.8.1229 on Oct 2, 2008

Increases boot time, increases system load time, slows down programs, slows down opening of windows, makes web browsing really unbearable, slows down even the world spin. Checks everything what opens and moves. I have a suspect that it checks mouse movement too.

Otherwise, good complex solution, has no nag screen and free version is almost the same as commercial version.

irv4oh reviewed v4.8.1229 on Sep 1, 2008

PROS: Impact on system performance is much improved over the earlier version I last tried: I haven't noticed any impact on system performance.* Web Shield does not slow down browsing, nor does Network Shield. Scanning within archives allows for scanning within many types of file containers, such as 7z and MSI. Update check is frequent (by default, 3 hours). Screensaver module is useful and highly customizable; can be combined with similar screensaver utilities such as JkDefrag. Spyware protection is integrated, and Web Shield provides additional protection for downloading. Scanning for rootkits is part of standard scan.

CONS: *I chose to tweak many of the settings: turning off scanning memory during startup, disabling skins, deselecting some Shield modules from install, disabling Standard Shield from scanning applications and DLL's on load, removing update and VRDB notifications, disabling tray icon animation, disabling sound effects, and combining the VRDB and main icons. Seems to not include behavior-based protection, but Avast plays well with Threatfire. Avast has no scheduled scanning (except screensaver module), but Threatfire does.

Bottom Line: After tweaking settings for performance and to reduce annoyances, I'm very pleased with Avast, especially in conjunction with Threatfire.

buggedbyav reviewed v4.8.1229 on Aug 9, 2008

I just signed up only put in my review of Avast 4.8. I downloaded and installed it about month and half ago. I was using AVG 8 but found it slowed my PC (it's a six year old clunker with 500 MB RAM - 20 MB dedicated to video. It runs Windows XP ser. pack 2 - totally up-to-date. All this is within sys. reqs. I Can't afford a new'un right - so this has to do.) Anyway AVG slowed the machine down something awful. So I heard "Avast is great! Try it you'll like it!"

Well like the old Alka-Seltzer commercial said: "So, I tried it. I didn't like it".

The main problem is that Avast, unlike AVG, scans everything that runs - every time it runs. Many times I had to disable the scanning feature just to get my major apps (word processing, database and browser - FireFox 3.0) to start in a reasonable amount of time.

Yes, I tried to fiddle with its configs. There is a place to disable this continuous scanning feature in the config GUI, but it never seemed to work. Usually, I was forced it to stop from the tray icon.

That scanning feature in Avast on this old clunker made AVG look the rabbit from the old fable.

I will say Avast installed seamlessly - but installation is not use. Protection I need but not at the expense of all the resources Avast uses.

Maybe when I can afford to upgrade to a dual-core with 4 GB RAM I'll try again, but for now I'm headin' back to AVG - better to be slooooow than totally stopped. Besides, I've used AVG's previous iterations and know what to expect from Grisoft.

iknowyouknow reviewed v4.8.1229 on Jul 25, 2008

3 stars for the interface, I have tried many and all have there plus and minus. Avast I find slow, Kasperkey was good , I bought that and shortly after the company gave it away on a PC mag cover DVD... never again. Kasperkey also interfered with my firewall.. then there was NOD, was impressd with that, but it failed ot get all the VIr, then Zone alarm, again very good but misses Vir.. overall we need a complete soloution really, one thats effective and does trhe job properly.

As for Norton, lol what a joke that is. Total pants:)

zapatero reviewed v4.8.1229 on Jul 24, 2008

I switched from Webroot Antivirus+antispyware because I did not like the interface, the modules were poorly integrated, some shields had to be disabled, and I missed a users forum. So far I have not found any problems with avast!. In real time I also use Webroot Firewall, ThreatFire and WinPatrol.

ModderXManiac reviewed v4.8.1229 on Jul 24, 2008

Version 4.8.1229
July 23, 2008

* Web Shield: solved compatibility problems with Opera browser
* Web Shield: solved problems with some D-Link router devices

It still causes boot hangs(VERY ANNOYING), and its detection rate is considerably lower than other free alternatives such as AVG and Antivir, nevertheless still a fair product for being free...I almost forgot, the GUI's are a joke.

After reading over Antivir's effectiveness from several sources and seeing how far it has come since my last use of it(almost four years ago!) I've been converted back to its user base.

robmanic44 reviewed v4.8.1227 on Jul 21, 2008

I switched from NOD32 to the pro version of Avast and have seen no degradation in performance at all. Some people want a hell of a lot for nada.

Perezoso reviewed v4.8.1227 on Jul 21, 2008

Changelog: http://www.avast.com/eng...o-revision-history.html
Version 4.8.1227
July 19, 2008
* improvements in some unpackers (WinExec, SFX CAB, LHARC, ZOO)
* check for critical system files is now performed even in the on-access scanner (as a prevention of false positives)
* command line scanner (ashCmd.exe): fixed displaying of directory count
* Windows Vista: during a scan of system drive, duplicate entries are now handled correctly (symlinks)
* Explorer extension process (ashQuick.exe) now ends immediately after aborting a scan
* fixed a bug in SMTP alerts (adding of random characters to the address)
* verification of digital signatures now fixed even for the on-access scanner (Windows Vista and Windows XP x64)
* fixed the setting to disable checking of infected files during on-demand scans
* Enhanced UI: it is no longer possible to delete a default task by using the Delete key
* solved a synchronization problem that could potentially lead even to a hang of an avast component (e.g. the Outlook plugin)
* Windows Vista SP1: solved an issue in the kernel driver aswSP.sys (problems during system shutdown)
* added a workaround to a compatibility problem with NComputing NCT
* Standard Shield: improved handling of exceptions
* improvements in the rootkit submission system
* mail scanner: fixes in IMAP handler (Thunderbird)

aruprc reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jul 5, 2008

Works nice and good, web scanner is the best out there, no impact on browsing. I am on XP64 and face no such issues of slow boot, high memory etc. In short it does its job well and quietly as well.

TGB72 reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jul 4, 2008

I use avast since v4.6 and never had problems, since v4.8 this AV became pure crap, it slows the boot, during the scan of disks takes 90% of CPU and 300MB of memory (unusable in old pcs) and report many false positives.
Never had problems with the shields and to be honest doesn't sucks to much memory but now with this crap of v4.8 I begin to doubt about their effectiveness.
Like somebody said before the only thing that run smooth is the definition update.

Alexander-GG reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jul 4, 2008

I do agree with Haylo. There is really something wrong with this update. The boot time increased significantly. I have tarned off the root scan (silly fanction) at start up, but inspite of this it takes too long to load the system.

normishmael reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jun 30, 2008

Not only detection rate counts?
That is exactly right if you are a brain washed fanboy,or you just want to be able to say you have "a" anti-virus on your machine.
My queston is why have all of these "shields" and "guards" if they are unable to DETECT what they are spposed to "shield" and "Guard" you from?

Detection is not the only factor that is true.
System Impact is important.
what good is a clean computer if your anti-virus slows it down and degrades performance worse than most malware would?

Avast has the detection of a blind dude in boxing gloves looking for a needle in a heystack.
It slows surfing,eats memory,delays boot time time,its interface is designed to trip you out,the instructions are un-clear.

One thing it does well is update.
Although with this clunker it really does not matter.
I know,I know,people are going to say:"I love avast! I have had it for five years and never had a virus!"
if that is true,they can just uninstal Avast and save some CPU and memmory.
It has not been Avast that has has kept them safe,it is either clean living or blind luck!

Yes,the Avast guys are serious.Maybe they should even lighten up a little,something needs to change,their product is crap.
but most serous of all is the legion of fanboys that forget we are talking about a bunch of "ones" and "zeros",not their family,religion,or country.
That level of blind loyality to a piece of software is scary.

"2" rather than "1" because it is 'a" anti-virus,just not a good one,and its free.

DudeBoyz reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jun 26, 2008

A solid 4 for now - if 4.5 was an option, I'd give it that. But I just don't think it deserves a full 5 yet.

Detection rate may not be as high as AntiVir, but like AVG, it does scan your email, which is to me at least, an important feature.

The fact that you have to get a yearly registration code is a minor annoyance, in part because AVG does not require you to do so, however, since AVG 8 has turned into such a bloated pig of a program (when compared to AVG 7.5), I think I can overlook that issue.

The simplified interface is sort of annoying too. I wish I did not have to pay to get a more grown-up looking interface. I do wish that by default, I could select NO SKIN and have it simply use the standard interface elements that are in the current theme.

Also, the dialog that pops up when a suspicious file is found is not resizeable, so I cannot see the actual path AND file name it is flagging. If I click the MOVE/RENAME button, it turns out I can resize THAT one so I can stretch it wider and so that I can see the path and file name, but that inconsistency is a pain and one extra step that I am required to take but should not HAVE to take, you know?

So, not perfect and sorta slow to scan, but pretty darn good overall.

bokhylla reviewed v4.8.1201 on Jun 3, 2008

Not only the detection rate counts!

According to AV- Comparatives Avast earned a advanced plus on demand detection of virus and malware in February 2008. That is a fine reward.

But I do not think that this is the main rational argument for considering Avast. Some other anti-virus software scores in this regard even somewhat better.

The main arguments for using Avast, apart of being free, is all its special features. What comparatives and Virus Bulletin does not consider are just those features and they are not either supposed to consider them. They consider mainly only two things and those are the detection rates and that the software does not make so called false positives. Those considerations are extremely important but, please, do not consider them as the whole truth but only a very important part of the whole truth.

Also consider those very important features Avast has such as resident protection, P2P shields, web shield, boot time scan, virus chest (which protects in a vault, against malicious attacks, certain files which are very important for the operating system), network shield (a lightweight firewall) and other features.

In other words, no good having a good detection rate if the software does not also have a good capability of detecting malware and not just in the laboratory, but also in the real practical world.

Alwil is the company which makes Avast and Alwil is indeed a very serious company. It does not nag you with all sorts of ads asking you to buy, buy and buy. This makes a difference and actually tells you something. It tells you that they are serious. They make a software which is considered to protect you in the real world. They have seriously considered all those features when they made Avast.

Apart of all this it is, as mentioned, a free software which also protects you from spyware and rootkits. It has a lot of skins to choose from which makes it in fact really special and attractive. Those properties are also very important.

Bjorn Lundahl
Gothenburg, Sweden

Haylo reviewed v4.8.1201 on May 27, 2008

There is something seriously wrong with this update. For some reason, the boot time has been doubled, the system tray acts weird and loses the arrow as well as blocks some programs from loading at start up. After uninstalling avast, everything returned to normal which is a pity since the other versions were solid and worked well for me.

anomoly reviewed v4.8.1201 on May 16, 2008

Great program. However, I use agnitum outpost sec ste pro and I have to boot in safe mode to change the startup parameter of this AV prog so that I have an internet connection (at boot).
Considering the extremely low # of viruses I am subjected to, I am forthwith switching back to clamwinav. At least it won't require a triple boot in safe mode after a full program update. I will also gain a performance improvement as well as free up system resources.

TGB72 reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 15, 2008

v4.7 was great, v.4.8 is a resource hog, it takes 98% of cpu & 270MB of RAM during the scan of drive C, just unacceptable.

Tombpsyco reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 14, 2008

No AV deserves a Gold rating due to the simple fact, it is not possible to detect every virus out there. I've used most of the AVs available, free and paid. I switched from AVG Free to Avast Free because of various conflicts that AVG was having with Google and other software on my PC.

I have yet to find any issues with Avast. I am trying to figure out why some people seem to think Avast is a resource hog, right now on my system it is using just over 8k of RAM total. Now if I was running a 386 with 8mb of RAM I would be worried, I not. AVG used about 15k to 20k, McAffe was in the 30k to 50k, Norton is the worst coming in at almost 100k.

Until Avast causes any system problems I'll keep using it.

radiomaffia reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

What can I say: Has everything under the sun! Very good if you a normal internetter and dont want to concern about your safety. Big chance it is in your own language and it has a good way informing and alarming you about new issuesses and your safety. But..on the other hand..If your are that guy(or girl) that want do some more then only be a "normal" internetter if youre are getting my drift, Avast can be a p*in in the *ss cause it is deciding for you and taking the control out of your hands in fact.Better to go for Avira Free Personal Edition then..you decide want kinda guy(or girl) you are. Remember that for both counts : Limited to 1 computer on 1 IP!(Single user license) Both rated 5*
Ps. Forget AVG cause is taking too many memory,too many virusses slipping inside your pc and has a horrible interface

gate1975mlm reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

@ osric Avast 5.0 will not use skins anymore :)

Coming in the fall of 2008!

Avast rules!!

DKDude reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

I've used Avast for some years, and I'm happy with it, before Avast I had AVG installed, but after the switch I've never looked back.

Keep up the good work!

Dwarden reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

skins are part of interface since begining i see no point after 4 years of Avast 4 someone still mumble about it ? IMHO it shows only how that person is uniformed about what all Avast offer
aka IF You dislike SKINs then JUST disable SKINNED UI and USE Simple UI
btw. i can barely imagine simpler easier to use one than Avast! offer in that mode ...
in short You cry on wrong grave ...

osric reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

@Deedstyger
I agree. The developers should focus on removing the bugs rather than focusing on skins. Anyways the skins can be disabled by unchecking "Enable skins for Simple User Interface" under the "Common" section in Program Settings.

eaves reviewed v4.8.1195 on May 13, 2008

I've been using Avast! for a couple of years. Each version offers more comprehensive protection without the increasing bloat that accompanies other anti-virus products. The addition of rootkit protection in the 4.8 series is excellent.

Reliable, efficient, fast.

Deedstyger reviewed v4.8.1169 on May 9, 2008

-skinned
-system performance lost

+?

bakers make breads and antivirus makers skins?

robmanic44 reviewed v4.8.1169 on Apr 16, 2008

Any program that allows me to use something other than Window Live OneCare or Symantec is great. Avast is a lifesaver.

ShahinD reviewed v4.8.1169 on Apr 12, 2008

very good
free and detects most of viruses and spywares and does not slow down.
just one problem, in some situation Antivirus service hangs on startup

TGB72 reviewed v4.8.1169 on Apr 4, 2008

v4.8 crash on startup, no problems with v4.7.
Best free AV by far anyway.

SledgeDG reviewed v4.8.1169 on Apr 1, 2008

I switched to AVAST from Kaspersky b/c of the significantly reduced load.
I didn't regret that switch (yet? :D )

Only reason I give it a 4:
Webscanner has a tendency to blocked my i-net in the morning the last 2 days..after a reboot everything was just fine.

-DG

Pfurri reviewed v4.8.1169 on Mar 31, 2008

Without a doubt and by far the best av-tool, and i tried all the others too ! "comeoffit" please omit your negative comment if you're not able to handle your mouse or computer ... !!!

Straspey reviewed v4.8.1169 on Mar 31, 2008

A couple of weeks ago my computer began hanging every time I booted up and finally I had to take it to my local PV repair shop. The techs there are excellent and have done very good work for me in the past.

Anyway, when I went back to pick up the PC, the tech told me that my problem had been caused by my Norton Antivirus, which has essentially "broken" the machine.

They fixed it by completely removing all traces of Norton, and installing Avast instead, which they told me was their preference. It's been working great so far, has already saved me from an online attack and I upgraded to this new version this morning.

I rarely write reviews, but I have to say this is a very reliable antivirus program. And the price is right too. ;)

eaves reviewed v4.8.1169 on Mar 31, 2008

I've been using avast! for a couple of years at least. Before avast!, I tried Norton, AVG, trend-micro, and McAffee. By far, avast1 is the most efficient, with the least amount of load on the computer resources. I've never seen any of the mouse lag that another poster mentioned.

Avast! just sits in the background and works.

Hellcat_M reviewed v4.8.1169 on Mar 31, 2008

Great free Anti-virus. I don't get any mouse lag, works great for me.

comeoffit reviewed v4.8.1169 on Mar 31, 2008

Unbearable to use as it causes constant mouse cursor lags.

Dwarden reviewed v4.7.1098 on Mar 30, 2008

Sammo it failed the test because of false positive ...
it not missed any of the wildlist samples ...
same goes for Avira ...considering the FP happens to EVERY AV/AT/AS/AR product on market i think the argument is quite moot
---
for others the minimal skinless interface of Avast! is so simple it can't be simpler :)

Qorx reviewed v4.7.1098 on Jan 10, 2008

???????
PRO
???????
Takes very very very VERY little resources and memory usage.
???????

???????

freezy reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 20, 2007

The ONLY free anti-virus that protect your network,email,web browsing activities, from spyware inside innocent looking software, and simple but powerful behavior blocker. And, i never found other boot-time-scan solution, so this is definitely the best free antivirus.

Sammo reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 13, 2007

AVG won the VB100 award for December 2007. Kaspersky, Antivir and Avast all failed the December VB100 test.

http://www.virusbtn.com/...results.xml?vendor=VE10
http://www.virusbtn.com/...ive/results?vendor=VE15
http://www.virusbtn.com/...ive/results?vendor=VE37
http://www.virusbtn.com/...hive/results?vendor=VE9

christ999 reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 5, 2007

Best Av app.

Highly recommended

khagaroth reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 5, 2007

@radiomaffia:
What the hell are you talking about, it's Avira, that doesn't have email protection in the free version. Avast had email protection from the beginning. Also, Win95 look? You didn't even see it, right?

I have read your post:

Does this home edition ad an option to scan in/out goiing pop3 now? I know they didn't some time ago and you had to purchase to the professional edition.
That is why I choose Avira Personal Classic Edition...

radiomaffia reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 5, 2007

khagaroth, read your posting and it seems you have not read mine, I asked a question about Avast, did not said it did not have outgoing protection on pop3, but ok, have it your way, personal attacks is something I can handle!

Does this home edition ad an option to scan in/out goiing pop3 now? I know they didn't some time ago and you had to purchase to the professional edition.
That is why I choose Avira Personal Classic Edition (free also) and must say it Avira works almost as good as Kaspersky and the free edition from Kaspersky through AOL isn't available anymore.
Also, Avast should take a look to that unprofessional design, that is so out of date and makes me think of W95 and earlier.

marians reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 5, 2007

Excelent! I really hope they will keep developing it.
And I also hope that the Linux version will come up to the performances of the Windows counterpart.

_Shorty-dammit reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 5, 2007

Does the job, but it's anything but fast. If you have a directory full of a LOT of .exe files, such as a downloads/incoming directory, and you navigate to that in Explorer you can see just how much Avast slows that simple operation down. It's good software, and does its job, but it is most definitely SLOW. And I'm sorry to tell you, but any and all versions of NAV are much faster, not to mention have a more complete definitions database. Call it bloat all you like. It's still faster than Avast. But, Avast is free.

pctech5189 reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 4, 2007

keeps gettin faster and better this new version its faster it seems and updater is faster best antivirus i ever used no problems at all and runs good during certain tests.

Death-Axe reviewed v4.7.1098 on Dec 4, 2007

Been using this a few months now, it really is the best anti virus app out there. Better than AVG, and of course better than norton bloat 2xxx.

xanderzone365 reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 14, 2007

BEST ANTI-VIRUS IN FREEWARE!!

The Web Shield function really works!

fityma reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 12, 2007

I found Avast! after Norton 2006 annoyed me once too often. Norton slows everything to a crawl and I had to reinstall it three times in as many months due to problems updating the virus updates. Avast! is like a breath of fresh air - no nagging pop-ups the size of the US cluttering your screen, no noticeable slowing down of your computer and so far it seems on the ball when scanning/detecting viruses. Its being free is a bonus rather than a criterion for an important area such as virus protection, but why pay good money when you don't have to? Strongly recommended.

xapaox reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 11, 2007

more then 6 months using it, nothig left to say but everything is ok on my pc since i installed avast!
5 point well deserved

borreo reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 7, 2007

Good level of protection, comes for free, not a resource hog, auto-updates itself seamlessly. If this is not a 5, nothing is.
It only requires that you register for free on their website once a year.

internetworld7 reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

avast! is the only antivirus program that protects against viruses and spyware for free. It's lightweight and maintains a good detection rate.

landfish reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

after downloading and installing this update from betanews I have the same version that I had before I started, doing the update through Avast itself brought it up to 4.7.1074.

darkripper reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

Very good antivirus

beezee reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

This is a typo, the latest version is still 4.7.1074, not 1044. However, there is a new update *fix* for those using Vista ONLY who are having an issue with Avast:

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=31314.0

It's always a good idea to check with the vendor site before installing any updates.

Joseph A reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

Version 4.7.1074 is the latest version, but there's is no need to download it. Just use the program's update in the tray icon right-click menu. It is much faster, since only the changed files will be downloaded and promptly installed. You can even automate the update process to detect automatically future new versions.

kail reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

HE 4.7.1044? That's odd.. since HE 4.7.1074 is out & has been for a couple of weeks.

BTW Excellent free AV.

mfaccone reviewed v4.7.1044 on Nov 6, 2007

Great program.. I dumped all virus scanners except this one.
Problem.. this version says 4.7.1044 and I have 4.7.1074... which one is the newest?

DACWILSOL reviewed v4.7.1043 on Oct 6, 2007

Great anti-virus program, but it slowed IE7 to a snail's pace. Uninstalled it and installed AVG anti-virus. IE7 is blazing fast again.

Nikkie reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 22, 2007

I have been running the free version for the day and i have to say it is light on resources but when you get infected, it all goes downhill..i've tried almost all of these scanners, from free to the security suites.

through the day i've been using seamonkey browser with the adblock extension, have superantispyware and installed proximitron.right after i noticed some sluggish activity from the pc, i removed the scanner and installed zonealarm security suite 7.it is picking up 2 viruses right now...

i'm not knocking the program, cause it does a lot for a free scanner but i just believe people should know its flaws as of now..

ok, i just went through some scarey issue.i tried to uninstall this and it seemed to have gotten rid of most of the important parts but it didn't.i just went through freezes and an extremely slow system...

i found the avast removal tool

http://www.avast.com/eng...-uninstall-utility.html

now everything is back to normal..

some guy reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 7, 2007

nice free ware scored about the sane as AVG did in a test seen here
http://www.av-comparativ.../ergebnisse_2007_08.php

pola reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 7, 2007

its light weight and fantastic

congratulations...........

christ999 reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 6, 2007

The best antivirus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Home or Pro version this is the best av now!

p3t3rb0na reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 6, 2007

Ummm... 60 day trial? Bonus of the Pro Version and then like magic reverts to the Completely freeware Version. High Quality Anti-Virus software first rate protection on many fronts.
The very best AV software I have used.
Highly Recommend

xapaox reviewed v4.7.1043 on Sep 6, 2007

my current AV program, i'm using it more than 9 months zero problems. it scan instant messaging, internet mail, network, outlook mail, P2P, web and pc events. You can configure each option as you like. I don't gonna change av program in short time at least :P

Nikkie reviewed v4.7.1029 on Sep 5, 2007

This with Superantispyware and dynamic security agent programs makes a great little free bundle..

http://fileforum.betanew...ee_Edition/1142662646/1

http://fileforum.betanew...rity_Agent/1150224527/1

sacredsinpt reviewed v4.7.1029 on Aug 31, 2007

I ve been using avast at 2 years and several times he rescued my computer.
It scans all and doesnt miss a thing, memory, email, msn, internet , all is scanned.
Sometimes the complete scan takes over 2 hours but that is my only con.
interface is simple, pretty and you may choose many diferent skins.
Im very glad with it.

Pantagruel reviewed v4.7.1029 on Aug 27, 2007

From the website:

"To use the Home Edition, you should register it, however, after initial installation you have 60 days to trial the product (as with all avast! antivirus products) before you must complete registration. The registration process is very easy, and will take you only a couple of minutes."

"...You will obtain your FREE license key by E-mail after the registration. The license key is valid for 1 year. After one year you will need to just re-register."

markdw82 reviewed v4.7.1029 on Aug 26, 2007

Ummm...I thought this is supposed to be freeware, but it says there's only a 60 day trial?!

That makes it lose 2 points...

christ999 reviewed v4.7.1029 on Jul 31, 2007

the best antivirus now

smarterthanyou reviewed v4.7.1029 on Jul 30, 2007

Very good antivirus program. Unfortunately, the Avast e-mail virus scanner is a piece of crap. Every time it finds a possible indication of a virus it stops downloading e-mail and pops up a message requiring user input effectively preventing you from setting up your e-mail client to download e-mail unattended. Symantec's Norton Antivirus 2007 product doesn't do this.

Also, even though Avast has excellent virus detection rates, it has very slow virus scanning performance and does a poor job repairing already infected files compared to Symantec Norton Antivirus 2007.

danieljj78 reviewed v4.7.1001 on Jul 5, 2007

This should actually get better than a five! I've used tis for years and I've had no problems, It's hands down the best anti-virus app out there! free or not. It looks and feels awesome, Its super easy to use and it picks up on everything. It makes me feel pretty confident with all I do online or email or downloading stuff. Make sure You register and thats all.

rruss reviewed v4.7.1001 on Jun 14, 2007

Outstanding piece of software; don't get it because it's free, get it because it's so damn good! Updates quickly, even with dial-up, caught infection that Symantec did not, and even stops trojans.

Howell reviewed v4.7.1001 on May 3, 2007

Quite a good one (not the best) and free...

Some false alerts make my rating lower than it should be...

erolyavuz reviewed v4.7.1001 on May 1, 2007

I like it (pro version)... It (pro version) is best for me.

gate1975mlm reviewed v4.7.1001 on May 1, 2007

Avast is the best! I have tried them all and always come back to Avast! I use the Pro version.

Also now works great on Windows Vista! Looking forward to Avast 5.0!

Cionno reviewed v4.7.981 on Apr 17, 2007

if someone wants to have a comparison maybe should see http://www.av-comparativ...ergebnisse/report13.pdf

and its clear that the best free av (for detection rates) is Active Virus Shield wich is build upon kaspersky detection engine and signatures avast is a good av and not crap as you avg supporters want to make us think

DataBitz reviewed v4.7.981 on Apr 17, 2007

Brilliant, prefer it to Symantec AntiVirus. Smaller memory footprint and works well with Windows Vista.

Jegar48 reviewed v4.7.981 on Apr 16, 2007

The best free anti virus out there. Malmis, I have no issues with it on either Thunderbird or Firefox. The Web Shield and Internet Mail Shield work just fine with both programs.

Malmis reviewed v4.7.981 on Apr 16, 2007

What a messy, slow and bad program,.
It sucks, AVG Free is the s***!

edited:
well, i take back the thing about mozilla support, but the program is still very messy and sloooow, very disturbing sounds and ugly skins, it has a ugly gui and is not so user friendly i think, and requires registration once a year, sucky..

AVG Free and F-prot (dos) is the best free ones..

robmanic44 reviewed v4.7.942 on Feb 25, 2007

If you're going free, nothing else can touch this. ESET's NOD is the best and F-Prot is the fastest.

ballyhairs reviewed v4.7.942 on Jan 17, 2007

Paid software antivirus: NOD32 then Kaspersky
Free: Avast

erolyavuz reviewed v4.7.942 on Jan 17, 2007

Someone says; Kaspersky is best, someone Nod32, someone Bitdefender... My best is AVAST!

some guy reviewed v4.7.942 on Jan 16, 2007

for free-ware I give it a 5
for the best free-ware Aol sheild witch is Kaspersky with a Aol stamp on it.I give it a 10
for paid Kaspersky followed by NOD32.

MY 2 CENTS

idodialog reviewed v4.7.942 on Jan 16, 2007

I forget I have it - it politely reminds me by telling me that it has (automatically) updated its virus list or the program itself. I can't tell you how good it is at finding viruses but I've run other checkers and nothing was found.
If that is true (I certainly never see a virus or a trojan!) then Avast is pretty well perfect!
(Oh and a relatively OK memory footprint too)

godzila reviewed v4.7.942 on Jan 16, 2007

best av software

nefarious1 reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

According to AV-Comparatives.org, avast! does not fare particularly well at detecting trojans or "other malware" (whatever that is). Overall, though, it does very well. It does a good job of staying out of your face, and is a much better solution than other freeware AV solutions I know of.

I would not say that avast! was among the "top 3, free or otherwise". Top 10, though, yes.

People are simply biased in favor of avast! because it's free. Proof? The free version has fewer features than the for-pay version, yet is rated more highly.

landfish reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

Excellent AV program, one of the best out there, the only difference is the others of this quality aren't free.

siryak reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

Best free AV out there.

@Comet Bay it is free they just want you to register it. The registration for it is free though.

eaves reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

Best AV solution I have used. I have been running Avast for over two years, and have installed it on four friends/family PCs. All have used the free version, and have not had any trouble with the free version.

I cannot comment on how good Avast is at removing malware infections because I run Avast's real-time scanner, so it catches and quarantines the malware before it has a chance to install itself.

I can say, however, that Avast is excellent at the real-time detection of malware.

Jordanr05 reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

Note: this build has an issue with the password system. Avast has released a newer build now - 4.7.938.

Still the best free A/V out there.

daver18qc reviewed v4.7.936 on Jan 15, 2007

@CometBaby : You have to register for a FREE account and enter the serial number they email you in order to have it FREE FOREVER.

I repair lots of computers for family and friends and others, and i always install Avast, simply the best there is currently !

CometBaby reviewed v4.7.892 on Jan 15, 2007

I honestly didn't have AVAST long enough to critique it because they apparently have no intention of actually providing a FREE account.

The first time I tried to do a full system scan they changed my free account over to the trial period of a Pro account, complete with nags.

When this happened I deleted it and went back to AVG.

kaustubh4evr reviewed v4.7.892 on Jan 7, 2007

The best desktop Anti-Virus Solution for Home user's in Freeware section.This Software when installed first time shall ask u to do a Boot-Time scan no Anti-Virus ask's u for this type of scan.It has an easy Interface.It has the best resident monitor program.It check the pop3 mail,the current process u open,games,p2p etc.Its update R relased Day-Day.The update time is all so small Not like other software which take hour's to update or give a failure message.It also has a good way of notificating user's that u r being attacked by a virus,adware,spyware.And always ask for steps to be done.It has also creates a database for back-up of files which can be recovered.
If u have a lower config PC it can cause a load on ur PC.But for the best u have to adjust a little.
My recommendation every desktop user for Home PC's should use this Anti-Virus solution.

THE REAL TAO reviewed v4.7.892 on Dec 7, 2006

AVAST IS A DECENT AV,THE PROBLEM IS ITS ABILLITY TO REMOVE DETECTED MALWARE -BASICALLY IT FAILS TO REMOVE AT LEAST 50 % OF WHAT IT DETECTS THUS MAKEING IT NOT SO GOOD.
AN ANTI VIRUS THAT ONLY DETECTS BUT CANNOT REMOVE IS OF LITTLE USE TO ME,DONT GET ME WRONG IT CAN REMOVE SOME STUFF BUT MANY TROJANS/VIRUS/WORMS WILL JUST CORRUPT AVASTS CORE FILES RENDERING THE SOFTWARE NEAR USELESS.
THE VERDICT=ITS MUCH BETTER THAN AVG BUT IM STICKING WITH THE FREE VERSION OF KASPERSKY AVAILABLE FROM FREE.AOL.COM NAMED AOL ANTIVIRUS SHEILD.

TGB72 reviewed v4.7.892 on Dec 2, 2006

Avast is a very good free antivirus: probably the heuristic is not the best but definitively is there and avast not depends only of his database to detect crap. Otherwise the virus database is updated almost every day. About the slowdown is relative, if you've a 1Ghz/512MB PC or better probably you won't see any slowdown, you could see it if you run it in very old pcs.
Last but not least keep in mind that the fact that you keep clean your system is a 50/50, the 50% that belong to the system itself is over the shoulders of your firewall (by hard & soft), antivirus and anti-spyware, the other 50% depends on you and your habits on internet, email, soft installation and pc maintenance & configuration.
You've more probabilities to get some virus/trojan/malware if:

* You don't use a good firewall well setted (first block all, then allow only what is necesary it's a good idea)
* You use crapy browsers like IE and to navigate through "insecure places" catching all class of crap.
* You don't update your antivirus & anti-spyware often
* You don't update your system with the latest SP & patches
* You don't filter your mail
* You've running unnecessary services
* You accustom to install unnecessary soft just for curiosity

If you don't take care of your system doing your 50% there is no way that Saint Kaspersky or Saint NOD32 do it for you.
Otherwise don't pay attention to not objective/unfairly/bad intentioned reviews. Like I said Avast is a great antivirus and probably the best free one.

uberfly reviewed v4.7.892 on Nov 21, 2006

It of course depends on your system, but Nod203 is correct on the point of it being fairly heavy and a slowdown to the system (mine at least). It's still a dang nice antivirus (free of not) but be prepared for some noticeable slowdown if you're putting it on an old(ish) system.

GimieGimieGimie reviewed v4.7.892 on Nov 5, 2006

Not to sound too negitive but Nod203 you must be on crack because your review has got the be the most inaccurate review EVER.

People don't listen to this jerk!

Nod203 reviewed v4.7.892 on Oct 15, 2006

Avast is a slow antivirus, resource hog, get away from it!!!

Slow scanning speed, slows down computer performance, slow response to the new threats.

Avast has no outstanding detection technologies but Avast is so slower and uses more and more resource than top antivirus such as Kaspersky, NOD32, Antivir, why?. Avast has no heuristics, it simply relies on its virus database which so slow for adding new threats, so what you can expect from Avast.

I hope Avast developers should focus on improving Avast's detection capabilities and reduce resource consuming rather than adding useless features.

If you want high quality free antivirus, Get Active Virus Shield (powered by Kaspersky engine), AntiVir or AVG instead of Avast if you want to be well protected.

Don Juan reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

I've replaced AVG with Avast on many systems, and it's found many virii that AVG didn't. Novice users need the best they can afford, or are willing to pay for. Fortunately this is free and among the top two or three AV programs available.

JEdwardP reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

Avast is good, and as of this version, much improved over the last time I tried it, but I still prefer AVG.

While the Avast installer is smaller than AVG's, its installed size is larger, even after a custom install that left out skins and real-time modules. I also find Avast's default settings annoying.

Yes, its record of detection may be a bit better than that of AVG, depending on whom you ask or what you read, but for a low-risk system like mine, I still think AVG is a slightly better choice.

Viajante reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

Just getting better and better in protection and still very light.
I´m using Avast for about 4 years and for now i´m not going to change.
For a free antivirus it´s better then some that are payed.

QBgreen reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

This AV's detection rates have improved quite nicely. This along with AntiVir are the two best free AVs, IMHO. I'm not counting the Kasperksy/AOL offering because of the heinous and well documented business practices of AOL.

ballyhairs reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

Its good among the free AV programmes... but nothing comes close to NOD32, that one rules

Niksa reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

I'm system builder and I install this AV to all PC I sell. I have to say that Avast is far better than most commercial products that are available. I recomend it

Ian C. reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

Been replacing Norton and McAfee products on peoples machines with this product for quite a while now.

I don't understand the people who complain about having to renew your license every year for free, when you have to renew every year with Norton and McAfee also, accept it's not free.

UPDATE: Bumped my review from 5 down to 4 because I came across a system with viruses that avast didn't detect. Had to use AVG to clean it up.

aruprc reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 26, 2006

Works nicely with my 64bit XP as well, can't thank Avast enough.

doctorsmith reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 25, 2006

I've been using Avast for a couple of years now and it has never let me down, I wish the same could be said for some of the other AV apps I've used in the past and spent good money on.

photonboy reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 25, 2006

Don't forget to Register to bump time limit from 60 days to 12 months.

Working flawlessly in Vista RC1 build 5600.

Jordanr05 reviewed v4.7.892 on Sep 25, 2006

I've had nothing but success with this AV - especially considering that it's freeware. Now that it works with my Vista RC1 build I feel so much safer (ironic hey).

Good work Avast! Team.

Smoothie reviewed v4.7.871 on Sep 12, 2006

Have used several of the most highly regarded antivirus apps in the past - NOD32, Kaspersky, etc. - and find Avast! to be a perfectly adequate alternative to commercial programs.

Particularly impressive is the startup & performance times of Avast, which seems far lighter on resources than others (particularly Kaspersky, which slowed my computer noticeably).

Cracking product, much appreciated & recommended to friends and colleagues.

Oh, and be sure to download the beautiful Vista-style skin for Avast. It looks a hell of a lot better than the default one (which is functional, but hardly eyecandy). Available from:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avist-avast-skin.html

Thanks again to the team behind this app for a brilliant product.

bokhylla reviewed v4.7.871 on Sep 8, 2006

Avast! Home Edition is really a very good antivirus software. While using Avast for a year, I think, I have regulary scanned my pc with other anti virus software like Symantec , BitDefender Standard, ZoneAlarm Antivirus and so on, but they never founded any virus. With my firewall on and with this software activated, I do believe that I have a good defence against viruses. Light on resources! Avast is never dull, the interface is cool and it is free!
Björn Lundahl
Göteborg Sweden

futra reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 26, 2006

im very satisfied with this software, it actually does detect harmful viruses and spywares that usually other av programs cant! for example: while others cant seem to clean or repair brontox worms, avast did it like a champ.. thru its boot scan (before windows is loading!) and im impressed with its autoupdate features too, very user friendly.. awesome av!

Vimes reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 10, 2006

One of THE best AV's just continues to get better. It is difficult to justify anything other than this for your AV protection - and its free...!!!

Don't forget to check out their user forums - a great source of help and advice.

landfish reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 10, 2006

the best free AV app out there, and better than many that people pay money for.
Take no notice of the AOL salesman below.

siryak reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 9, 2006

The best free AV there is!!!!

BTW to the post below "don't be scared away by the AOL tag". Pfft. Here is a quote from the Terms. I like my AV spyware free personally....

"1. Information Collection... consists of personally identifiable
information collected or received about you when you interact with the Software... about how you use the Software, as well as your responses
to offerings and advertisements presented through the Software...
2. Information Use... may be shared with affiliates of AOL...
3. Technical Information... gathered or received when you use the Software... the type of browser you are using (e.g., Netscape,
Internet Explorer), the type of operating system you are using, domain name of your Internet service provider... information relating to computer errors ... without notice to you ... your Software configuration settings may be included..."

tbaster reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 9, 2006

If it's not the very best, it's way up there. The P2P protection has saved me from countless viruses.

The only really irritating thing for me is that when it automatically checks downloads it seizes the cpu, the computer is essentially frozen while it's running the check. Never found a way to change the task priority for that.

bassrck4 reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 9, 2006

BEST

bbplayer reviewed v4.7.871 on Aug 9, 2006

Free, thats about it. In the AV world, you get what you pay for. This AV will detect about 10% less viruses than the best paid AVs. 10% is a huge number given the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of viruses in the wild. Out of 300,000 viruses, it will miss 30,000 viruses.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Check it out for yourself.

Also, AOL is offering a FREE AV that is built with the Kaspersky antivirus engine. THAT is the best free AV. Dont be scared away by the AOL tag.

Don Juan reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 8, 2006

Great AV Program. Only one other AV available that can compete with this, and it's not free, so I stick with this.

juhani reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

Wow, I'm amazed, tried this like one year ago before. Now it's much better, great.

gate1975mlm reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

The best gets better!

Vimes reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

Great product that works well with a good forum that provides knowledgeable support.

Superb.

Betachecker reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

This AV is geting better and better. 5+

keir reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

Auto-updater now run with normal priority (used to be high priority) - nice! I love avast, but it was annoying how my PC (I only have 256MB RAM) would slow right down for minutes with no explaination - ending in the explaination 'virus database has been updated' - weird though, as if I updated manually it only took seconds. Avast just keeps getting better!

Banquo reviewed v4.7.869 on Aug 7, 2006

I agree the skins are ugly, so I don't use them. I wouldn't use them anyway because an antivirus program having skins is almost as ridiculous as giving it a lower rating because of how they look. They're optional, so they should not count in the rating. Getting back to Avast this is the best free antivirus utility I have found. I used to use AVG until I found out that it misses tons of stuff.

Nikkie reviewed v4.7.844 on Jul 15, 2006

Great free scanner.

How can it be ugly if it has skins ?

http://www.avast.com/eng/skins.html

McAleck reviewed v4.7.844 on Jun 28, 2006

ugly as hell. can't be five.

Xonotic reviewed v4.7.844 on Jun 8, 2006

One of the 2 best free antivirusses! (The 2 are: Avira and Avast!). Altough AVG has a good reputation .. the virus-tests weren't that good...
The Virus Test Scores:
AVG 3.2 / 10
Avast! 8.7 / 10
Avira 8.6 / 10
ClamWin 7.1 / 10

So Avast! Home has been updated not to slow down your computer performance. It's protection is also updated in the newest version and is 5 times as safe as the previous version.

landfish reviewed v4.7.844 on Jun 2, 2006

unless it's been fixed this link points to the previous version, it may have been fixed by now but just check the version number after you install, or just go to Avast web site and get it there.
Aside from that very good AV program at an even better price.

sQin reviewed v4.7.844 on Jun 1, 2006

it's not the top antivirus. for average internet surfer it may be a good solution.. yes, its light on ram, but ANTIVIRUS job is to protect your computer, speed and lightness go to 2nd place. Avast's detection is still about 90% or less.

Avira Antivir really shows the progress these days, its really free and efficient antivirus

slimy reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Probably the best free av around. Better than norton/mcafee/panda and all the jazz. A great piece of software to put on the parentals computer ;)

gate1975mlm reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

One of the top Anti Virus programs.

And its getting better all the time.

siryak reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Great program! I used AVG for a while and then I switched to Avast and found a keylogger that AVG had missed right off the bat.

Don Juan reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Great antivirus software. I don't understand why so many people cry about having to re-register once a year. Fortunately for me I got my key before they started doing that, and it's good forever.

Viajante reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Yes it´s right more than free i don´t really know what else can be.
And we can play with real things as well, i guess first the product has to be good, that´s the more important thing here and avast is really good, but the eyes eat as well, and in this case you can make avast look the way you want it, so the skins are welcome, at least for me.

Soozy reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Curious how Joco thinks they can reduce the price of something that is already free?

Joco reviewed v4.7.844 on May 31, 2006

Agreed with alexweber15. Silly and useless skins. Fortunately there is an option to use default standard interface. Avast team: please remove them and as you don't need to maintain this useless feature, may be you can lower the price to make the product even more attarctive. If I had to choose between two equivalent products (same price, same performance), I'll go with the one having no skin. May be it's not rational but the skins give the impression of kid toys and amateurism for this kind of product.

Viajante reviewed v4.7.827 on May 25, 2006

Yes it´s pretty and yes it´s really good, is fast, doens´t eat many ressources and has a lot of features that other free products doesn´t have like POP3 scan.
Can stop a very good quantity of virus, worms and spyware.
I have use it for about 5 years and till now no infection, so i can say that it´s really a good product.

Don Juan reviewed v4.7.827 on May 24, 2006

Best of the free anti virus programs. Better than almost all the non free ones even.

darry1966 reviewed v4.7.826 on May 8, 2006

An excellent product which has improved, I use it with Safety.net and system is going great.

Not hard to setup, a lot of features for a freebee.

I use Bitdefender freeware with as a backup scanner which doesn't conflict with it allowing one to have a good Antivirus arsenal.

Heaps better than AVG which misses trojans.

ecarlson reviewed v4.7.826 on Apr 28, 2006

I ran the built-in update, and now have v4.7.827.

I installed Avast! a while back to replace Symantec Anti-Virus Enterprise Edition, since Symantec was taking a small performance hit on my already slow (but still perfectly working) home computer (1.3 Ghz P-III, 512.Meg RAM, Win2K, dual monitors - LCD + CRT), and the computer is better performing with Avast, and I still haven't been infected.

No problems with Symantec AV-EE at work on my more modern computer (3.0 Ghz P-4, 1.Gig RAM, WinXP Pro, dual monitors - both LCD).

- Eric, http://www.InvisibleRobot.com/

sQin reviewed v4.7.826 on Apr 28, 2006

fast, light, not bad protection

mfarmilo reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 20, 2006

Extremely good antivirus. I'm another one who has converted many home users to this program. It's fast (greased lightning compared with Norton), and I too have often had it find viruses already present on a supposedly clean system (again, even moving from Norton).

burfadel reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 20, 2006

This is an excellent antivirus programme, I don't know how people could knock its effectiveness unless they're form a competing company! The only complaint I have is the interface, but few people actually use interfaces these days and rely on the resident shields, and Avast! has one of the best resident shields around. This is from both personal experience, and as well of course with the acclaimations that they have received with their success rates.

Much better that AVG, or Antivir for free use (unless you find the interface confusing if you use it)! lol

AND ITS FAST, the resident scanner is fast and does not compromise on catching the viruses out!

bbplayer reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 20, 2006

One of the, if not THE slowest virus scanners on the market. Very limited protection (as expected from something that is free). Also, not a huge fan of the bloated interface trying so hard to be winamp, but falling so short.

AntiVIR would be the better solution for those who dont feel the need to pay for anti-virus software.

Use this software if you dont value your data, because you WILL get hit... just a matter of time.

Zankur reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 20, 2006

its quite amazing that avast keeps the highest standard of protection and ease of use,for free...
But,free,has never made me judje a product better or worse....
Because what matters is quality...and for sure avast is right up there with the best....

Don Juan reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

Great AV program. One of only two that I would be willing to pay money for, but since it's free I don't have to. The other good one is Computer Associates eTrust. They're both awesome, I choose this one cause it's free.

AVG is not better than this, I have switched numerous AVG users to this, and it found lots of stuff on their systems that AVG couldn't catch. Same thing goes for Norton and McAfee.

eclipsingdivinity reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

Always enjoyed Avast, It's got a variety of features though some of them I hardly understood. What's the point of having all those scanners, when one resident scanner could do most of the job? Well at least it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that it can cover a broad range of security breaches, such as a small network intrusion prevention guard which detects attempts to access your PC, and a web scanner which scans your browser cache for exploits through your browser. Automatic updates are done very well and incremented to the point where you don't notice them installing.

Though I dislike the default interface, and I would dock a point for that, but you can turn it off and use the simple interface it comes with, or just use a decent skin. I would also like to complain about its resource usage, but that's been chopped quite a bit since 4.6. So with Avast running leaner than before, yet it keeps the same features you enjoy and for the price...It's a perfect 5 in my book which is hard to accomplish. Sure, it doesn't have out of this world detection rates, but then again the biggest virus stopper is yourself, and Avast makes a great buffer if you should ever make a mistake.

If they ever get around to fixing the GUI, i'd give it a 10 out of 5 :-D

lil2short2see reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

Antivirus-wise is okay. Just the interface is quite corny. Sometimes, AVG can catch more viruses. I would use AVG.

hurzx reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

Nothing to add. My rating to offset Imright.

tp reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

the best freeware virus protection.

Jordanr05 reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

Unbelievable piece of software for free! I've been using Avast for the last 2 years and it just keeps getting better.

imright - I can't believe you gave Avast a 3 because you're too damn lazy to fill out a 2 minute reg form once a year. Give me a break.

If you don't want to pay for Anti-Virus - this is the one to use.

egg83 reviewed v4.7.817 on Apr 19, 2006

imright:
Yeah, it's a shame to register yearly, so go ahead and pay Norton or McAfee yearly to use their product.

imright reviewed v4.6.763 on Mar 25, 2006

Avast offers lots of features to be tuned by users but that yearly registration really disappoint me. Its free but at a "cost" of you must register once a year. Its like free software but with a little "condition".

nefarious1 reviewed v4.6.763 on Mar 14, 2006

avast! is a good anti-virus solution, but the inclusion of skins support, even if they can be disabled, is a joke.

Main reason I give a 3 is because avast! freezes on my system, for stupid reasons such as update attempt timeouts.

There is also no way to have the HTTP scanner check archives. So if malware is in so much as a one-layer ZIP archive, it'll let you download it. If the same file is an EXE, it will catch it. That this isn't even an option is lame.

You also can't exclude applications from the HTTP scanner.

bokhylla reviewed v4.6.763 on Mar 6, 2006

Avast! Home is amazingly efficient.I think it is as effective as those antivirus software you have to pay for, if not even more effective! A lot of different skins to choose from. Not as dull as other antivirus software. It is free! It is the best! Björn Lundahl, Gothenburg, Sweden

Jimmy_Tsatsos reviewed v4.6.763 on Mar 1, 2006

Just the best antivirus!!!

brotherS reviewed v4.6.763 on Feb 27, 2006

After having used commercial programs for quite some time I'm now back to avast! Wow, it did *really* improve over time! So far I'm very happy with it.

Shimano reviewed v4.6.763 on Feb 8, 2006

I have used avast for about a year now. I love it. Its only good if you have a good amount of system resources. Because its allways scanning. If you are running a lower end machine I would go with AVG. But if not Avast is the best.

Somnambulator reviewed v4.6.763 on Feb 4, 2006

experienced in both current avast! and norton builds and avast! can compete with the big dog. if you're looking for a good AV program, avast! is in every way as good as norton av, only it's free.

free download + free updates = win

the virus DB is updated at least once a week, but usually more. the program itself is under active development. it was among the 1st x64-compatible AVs on the net, months ahead of Norton, and is probably lighter on resources as well.

having used avast! for over 2 years and with extensive Norton AV experience, avast! deserves a look. it is my Av of choice over norton, and if you have a current norton subscription, avast! would be perfect for when it runs out. i install it on every PC i maintain, service, and tweak, and it's definitely a 'set and forget' application.

maddevon2222 reviewed v4.6.763 on Feb 4, 2006

This is definitly the BEST antivirus software I have ever seen. It's very easy to use and scans without a problem. I also like the pause feature on it, now whenever I wan't to I can pause it to do something else and then resume the scann afterwords. It is THE BEST SOFTWARE EVER!

Madlew reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 31, 2006

I agree with just about every one here that this is a great program. I used to use AVG, but a friend told me to try out Avast! about a year ago. He was right bye,bye AVG.

ballyhairs reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 30, 2006

One of my favorite softwares.
Kaspersky is better when it comes to detection but Avast is more stable.

egg83 reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 30, 2006

I have tried them all, from AVG to Sophos. For the price, the features of this great product cannot be beat. Has spotted viruses for me reliably for over 2 years now, have had no problems at all. Cannot recommend this product highly enough. A must have for those who want a free anti-virus solution without all the hassles.

Don Juan reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 30, 2006

benZin: "It's NOT a Anti-Virus."

What? It is an antivirus, and I'd have to say it takes number one or two out of every AV product available, free or not. McAfee and Norton sure can't compete with this product. The only antivirus I've used that can give Avast a run for it's money (not sure if that saying even works since Avast is free) is Computer Associates ezAntivirus. But I switched to this cause it's every bit as a good, and I don't have to pay a yearly subscription fee. I have saved dozens of friend's computers by removing McAfee and Norton from their systems and installing this.

mfarmilo reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 30, 2006

I highly recommend this program. Extremely good at spotting nasties. I've often removed the infamous Norton, then installed this to find the machine was already infested. Plus most machines with this will subjectively appear to be at least twice as fast as the same machine with Norton.

Regarding the comment 'this is NOT an Antivirus' it would be helpful if the poster would elaborate. Most intelligent people would accompany such a sweeping statement with something to back it up.

benZin reviewed v4.6.763 on Jan 30, 2006

It's NOT a Anti-Virus.

Neoprimal reviewed v4.6.744 on Jan 18, 2006

This has to be THE best AV I've ever used. Spot on, all the time. No overdetections, no bacteria left behind. Works it's way in IMs and Email programs....does a VERY good job. AVG pales in comparison. Makes norton look stupid. I highly rec. it.
To one up, actually buy the professional. Though you don't need it unless you're a demanding security person.

ecold reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 22, 2005

I've been using Avast for about 2 years now, after the intial install, I've never had to install a newer version, it takes care of it's self. I haven't had any issues or outbreaks of anykind. My wife, has clicked some of those "You have a virus" windows which attempted to install the malware. Lukily, it didn't get through. What makes Avast stand out is the fact that when it detects something, it alerts you with a human voice as well as a popup. This helps distinguish it from those realistic looking trojans. I love it.

Hall9000 reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 22, 2005

""Reviewer: theheff Dec 21, 2005
Version: 4.6.744

While overall this is a pretty good suite, I've had viruses slip right through Avast's protection. While it may look cool and has all these features, you still get what you pay for, at least in the antivirus market
""

If you go to http://www.betanews.com/...ec_AntiVirus/1135184311 you will see the following news article = Critical Flaw Affects Symantec AntiVirus.

The moral is that no antivirus is perfect. Even those you pay for! :P

fair_is_fair reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

I cannot rave about Avast enough. To offer such quality software for free is outstanding.

I am currently protecting three computers with Avast and I've never had a problem over a period of 2 years or more.

tedbieri reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

For freeware this is over the TOP!!!! Excellent

Philidor reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

A favorite feature is completely automatic updates of both the program and the database.

If you're helping someone and discover that his AV expired months ago and the pc has never been scanned, this is definitely the AV to install.

Good recognition of trojans, too.

theheff reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

While overall this is a pretty good suite, I've had viruses slip right through Avast's protection. While it may look cool and has all these features, you still get what you pay for, at least in the antivirus market.

1uk3 reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

Great AV program and great protection.

I used AVG Free for a very long time, tried this out and it's brilliant! 5/5.

rickya100 reviewed v4.6.744 on Dec 21, 2005

Brilliant Antivirus, it's resident protection hasn't let anything through in the year that I've been using it. However just like when dealing with spyware I like to have a another program to scan with. Bitdefender. Not that BD has ever found anything because avast hasn't let anthing through but if you want a rock solid antivirus system, that doesn't eat up system resources then BD and avast is the combinition. 5 stars.

Wonder_Twins_Power reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 7, 2005

I have been using Mcafee for the past 3 years. I think that this is the best freeware program compared to Mcafee with practically the same features and the bonus of interchangeable skins. Have had no problems with it so far, and the best feature I think is the audible red alert sound and voice when it has dected an "intrusion".
Avast! was ugly as h-e double hockey sticks when it was first release,
it has come a long way baby!!!

Dolgr reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 7, 2005

I have found Avast to run very smooth and is very easy on system resources which is a must.
For those of you having problems with it, did you ever stop to think that your system is the problem and not the software. I am a computer tech and keep my system very clean of fluff and have very few processes running on startup. For those of you that have 40+ processes running on startup, you are going to have problems with just about anything, especially if you don't have much RAM. Before flaming the software, make sure your system is in order.
Obviously enough people have given this software a great rating to show that it is a solid product.

mcm reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 6, 2005

I agree it does tend to work a bit fast and more reliably then AVG. But I just wished they used a better default interface, the current one many of the poeple I've recommended it to found way to confusing. Something like this skin is a lot better, but still not as user friendly as Norton Antivirus.
http://www.avast.com/eng/maclover_os_x.html

jsc315 reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 5, 2005

i used avg for the longest time thinking it was the best. i went back and forth useing avast and AVG. I decided to use avast again and it works better than ever. My PC runs faster than it did with AVG.

bleh427 reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 5, 2005

Avast Home Edition >> Norton AV

rafaelcage reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 5, 2005

Great antivirus by Czech Team!!

Dwarden reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 4, 2005

another great release ... i wonder what is this "mediocre" protection against malware and trojan ... prove (especially when Avast! is tracking trojans longer than 90% of all AV at market) :)

Betachecker reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 4, 2005

Best AV! Never got any virus for about 3 years with Avast.

tacc reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 4, 2005

Excellent, very clean software. It is very modular, configurable, and quite fast.
Best free antivirus for windows out there.

sQin reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 4, 2005

this one offers average protection for your cpu. its weak against malware and trojans

aruprc reviewed v4.6.739 on Dec 4, 2005

The Trojan detected in Bit Defender is sort of FP, it detects the Trojano in BD's virus pattern file and falsely gives the alarm, you can well ignore that one.

Hall9000 reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 24, 2005

Strange problem. Avast says that Bitdefender Free has a trojan??? I still give it a 5, anyway, because of the auto updates and that it has saveed me from having a few visuses and trojan install themselves before they got any chance to infect the computer. Almost forgot but the trojan is supposed to be Win32:Trojano-2949 [Trj].

Brykari reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 23, 2005

I have over the months unsuccessfully tried to install Avast.Every time I restart after installation it loads then freezes the whole XP system. Cant even shut down my system, I have to pull the plug, reopen Windows in safe mode and uninstall Avast. I have put back my previous AV eTrust and it goes again just fine. On the good side the second time I installed about 2 months ago it worked fine for a while and then crashed again. Not for me I'm afraid!!!
Cheers guys,
Bryan.

robmanic44 reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 15, 2005

If you are going to use a freeware antivirus, this is the one. The javascript protection alone is worth the price of admission. I use F-Prot and I think it is the best, but this runs a close second.

Betachecker reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 14, 2005

Best AV! Never got any virus.

tp reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 14, 2005

i ditto that i have never got a virus since i started using it (about a year now)... used to use avg but it had some problems so i tried avast and never went back...

JonathanDoe reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 14, 2005

I love avast! it is simply the best Anti-Virus program I have used to date after using Norton's for 4 years and CA's EZ Anti-Virus prior to that.

gate1975mlm reviewed v4.6.731 on Nov 14, 2005

Avast Rules!

I have never ever gotten a Virus since using Avast!

Inu-Ya reviewed v4.6.691 on Nov 5, 2005

AVG and AVir down the hill. Avast pushes it's limits and breaks through a brick wall. Avast has Skins and a nice user interface. very friendly and great Update reminder. Scans are great and scans through out the system somewhat fast. lots of great features and Improvements.

greyowl750 reviewed v4.6.691 on Sep 6, 2005

I've used Avast for 3 yrs now and NOTHING comes close to this application..i give it to my customers instead of selling them Norton!!..not good for business but they all love it.You cant miss a half page warning and a siren alert and a voice telling you about a virus you have encountered. Run a scan while you watch tv and you still hear about any virus you may have. Download it and run it once...it does not matter what your running now. Avast will find a missed virus. I found 168 examples in a norton equipped machine 1 week ago. GO AVAST!!

ecjs reviewed v4.6.691 on Aug 30, 2005

Mouais.

compy reviewed v4.6.691 on Jul 31, 2005

I used to use AVG, and then my AVG crashed. I was so mad, I tried avast. NO matter how hard I try, It always detects when i use the eicar test file and others. I will use this from now on. As a matter of a fact,The free edition struck me with awe, but professional, well let's just say professional is the best anti virus scanner i've ever used

bokhylla reviewed v4.6.691 on Jul 26, 2005

This program has won many awards!! It has a very good reputation. I think it is fantastic that such a program as this is free! Quality is free!! The layout is nice also. It isn´t dull. Quality and good looks can go hand in hand.
Björn Lundahl, Göteborg, Sweden

ModderXManiac reviewed v4.6.691 on Jul 11, 2005

This is the best FREE antivirus app on the 'net.

It has the best resident scanner I have EVER seen. It's resident/real-time scanner is INCREDIBLY light on resources, even on one of my 233 mhz notebooks, never goes above 2%.

It runs a fairy large array of services; update, emailscan, p2p scan. I turn off the auto update since it actually tends to hog resources for the short time it runs, so I cancel it by running services.msc.

The gui is a bit bloated, but can be easily fixed by turning off the skins.

Has a very large virus database, and updates are very fast.

Norton Antivirus is crap, it costs too much, has a very small imunization database, and is bloatware. None of these apply to avast!

The updates, much needed. Tends to start up faster now.

Aside from the bloated gui, this is perfect.

jsc315 reviewed v4.6.691 on Jul 11, 2005

Its a great antivirus program but whenever it automaticly updates it slows my PC down and doesn't tell me it's doing anything till its finished updating or installed. Sometimes im doing something and it will start updating itself without warning. Other than that its a great program.

rf_three reviewed v4.6.665 on Jun 20, 2005

I've tried several AVs in the past but I've finally come to the conclusion that this is where it's at. I've been using avast for about a year and I can confidently recommend it and recognize it as the best free AV out there. It's just made things so convenient and simple, the way it should be, and it does the job reliably. Here's what I love about avast:

1) Very light on resources- this is VERY important to me.. no bloatware

2) Automatic updating

3) Frequent definitions

4) Superb support forum; dedicated team behind the program

All in all, it's just extremely convenient for the user. It sits in my tray, automatically keeps itself up-to-date, and keeps my system safe for free. It might not be the most powerful or fast AV out there, but bottom-line: if you're an average user looking for a free, no-hassle antivirus, this is the program for you.

DiGiTaLFX reviewed v4.6.665 on Jun 11, 2005

After my McAfee expired on my main computer I was a bit juttery about moving over to AVG which I've got on the rest of my computers. Yes it does work, but the interface is a bit clunky, and I know others who've had problems with it. So after a long hunt I thought I'd give avast! a go. And I'm so happy I did. This is definatly the best scanner I've used. So much functionality in a free version. its amazing. And all the tests seem to rate this slightly above AVG for what it finds. I'm not going back I tell you! Also the skins can be turned off so it doesn't look silly/take resources which was something putting me off from the screen shots.

mdsteven reviewed v4.6.665 on May 24, 2005

This is the ONLY virus scanner currently available for the Windows 64-bit XP OS that i am running. It was easy to install and run, time will tell if it works well in the 64-bit environment.

dangermaus reviewed v4.6.665 on May 23, 2005

I have been using this for months. It updates automatically and runs in the background. On par with many, many other AV programs. Besides, you don't need to crack it, it's free for home use!

Nikkie reviewed v4.6.652 on May 3, 2005

it didnt detect as much as zonealarms scanner did and it doesnt fix the problems ..

malcolmsuperstar reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 22, 2005

really great anti-virus program in par to AVG 7.

find in (Kazaa lite resurected version 0.76f), download the Corporate keymaker, use the school/institution serial that it generates to get 6 years of free updates from Avast 4.5

Nikkita reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 22, 2005

One of the best antivirus software around. It seems to be quite reliable with its regular automatic online updates of virus definitions (sometimes twice a day). I switched to Avast from Norton which took more of my computer resources than this program. Avast has very unusual but convenient interface. I have checked this app with several testing tools and it has passed all the exams. I have already been using Avast during several months and the only negative remark I can make is that scanning of my HDD (20 GB on one partition) takes quite time.

wagner reatto reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

high quality software, that keeps maintaining my computer, with no performance penalty, without virus infection for the time i use it. concerning skins, just disable them, as i do. i don't like skins too, but many users enjoy this feature.

robmanic44 reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

If you're going to go with a free virus scanner, this is the one. As for the skins, there are those of us who care about aesthetics. This beats the hell out of a lot of scanners you pay for through the nose.

kanenas reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

i am using it on one desktop pc's for over a year and it is excellent. It even identified 2 virus that mcafee failed. I am thinking of switching my laptop from mcafee to avast
viva la avast!!!

FailedCRC reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

probably the same point to skinning an OS UI. None.

ch0jin reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

What is the point about skinning a virusscanner? that point seams to me very unprofessional. for things like a virus scanner i want a clean understandable interface.

cltx99 reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 21, 2005

I've been using Avast for over a year and love it. I particularly like the automatic updates. I have no reason to switch to another program.

wjrandon reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

Easy to use, frequent updates and best of all a free version is available to the public. Love live avast!

ComradeF reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

I've heard good things about both AVG and avast!. About a month ago, AVG caught something... and I don't mean it found it, I mean it CAUGHT it. So did my shell32.dll. I'm scanning with avast! right now and it's already picked up a few small things that AVG didn't. Plus, this has many more features. Beats the snot out of Norton, too. I think I've found my new antiviral solution!

Dwarden reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

ANother great release ... Person under me was probably lazy to notice there is option to disable skins completely and resource hog? funny his AV uses by my experience more working ram than Avast! ...

Herb.alone reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

Looking at the other reviews, it seems like I've downloaded a different program.
I found it slow and unresponsive, as well as using a lot of resources.
As for the GUI, a bit too much.
The other skins where pretty weird as well.
I'll stick with McAfee thanks.

pjlasl reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

show me a better AV program that protects everything this AV does, oh...did I forget to mention it needs to be free? No!? I didn't think so...sticking with AVAST!!!

gawd21 reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

The Best and will remain the best!!!

danilloOc reviewed v4.6.652 on Apr 20, 2005

I'm using it for almost 2 years and it's a very efficient antivirus (the better i ever used) and it's don't slow down you computer.

ozkan reviewed v4.6.623 on Mar 16, 2005

Perfect for home use. Works, looks great.
Thanks to authors.

dougau reviewed v4.6.623 on Mar 14, 2005

I’ve been using Avast free edition AV since December when I found out that Symantec had jacked up the one year subscription renewal price for Antivirus 2004 to $40.00.

Avast seems to use less resources than Antivirus while providing protection for email, IM, and P2P in addition to regular anti virus protection and is a much better product. I can never see myself using another Symantec product again, Avast is all any home user should ever need.

christoofar reviewed v4.6.623 on Mar 14, 2005

Last release slowed down NTTP tremendously, had to disable it. But this A/V app has been the best, low system resource using app I've ever used. Thanks to Avast for providing freeware virus protection for the masses

ppinheiro reviewed v4.6.623 on Mar 13, 2005

I tried a lot of anti virus free and shareware, For me this is the Best Anti-virus around, Fast solid and accurate

eeree reviewed v4.6.603 on Feb 20, 2005

The best AV proram I've ever seen. I'm using it since previous year and I think it is better and better every new release.

ker7099 reviewed v4.6.603 on Feb 20, 2005

i have been using this for a few years now and have never had a problem with it. it only gets better with each update. i feel just as protected if not more than when i used the bloated mcafee and norton antivirus and this is totally free. they keep the software updated constantly and the def files are always updated almost daily it seems like. better yet it updates itself automatically and install the updates by itself without my intervention. i always recommend this software to everyone i know when they need a av product. it's great.

Betachecker reviewed v4.6.603 on Feb 19, 2005

The best free AV ever

Dwarden reviewed v4.6.603 on Feb 19, 2005

I stand behind my previous comments. This is TOP rated product. Of course PRO version is even better but as free Avast is unbeatable now :)

InSuboRdiNaTioN reviewed v4.6.603 on Feb 19, 2005

Excellent piece of software. My previous gripe was it's memory usage, but now in version 4.6.603 it uses only half the memory!

SysG0d reviewed v4.5.561 on Feb 11, 2005

OK, I am using Avast! for about 1,5 years now and I didn't have any problems with it. But WHY do I like this piece of software. Ok here goes

MY PRO's
--------

- Avast! Home is 100% free,..you can obtain the licence key for FREE and the only thing you have to do is copy/paste it into the programs "licence box" and you are up and running for a year!

- Avast features everything you need in an AV system. It supports more chatclients then NAV2005 and supports P2P downloadprograms.

- Avast has the best support there is! An online webforum where users can test the newest BETA versions before it get released! (at the time I wrote this, version 4.6 is heavily tested by forumusers!) Questions/remarks/problems can be answered online!

- Avast is a multi-language program!

- Avast updates frequently fully automatic!

- Avast! has a Screensaver-Anti-Virus Scanner!!! (my favorite feature)

- Avast is ready for the 64-bit platforms!

MY CON's
--------
Avast is not that XP-styled like panda antivirus or McAfee,..so it might not be that goodlookin like some like!

If you can live with my only con! Yes sir, Avast! is the AV underdog!!

pjlasl reviewed v4.5.561 on Feb 3, 2005

Excellent program. For being a free program, you get really good protection ranging from Standard and Email to P2P, Networking, and even Messaging...See ya later McAfee!!

drumul reviewed v4.5.561 on Jan 25, 2005

I read the reviews and although I had NOD32, I installed avast! Home as well. Well, just at the end of the installation it locked my XP PC. I couldn't even end task, I had to shut power off.
I booted again and it worked fine until 3 days later when automatic virus definition update was performed as per the popup message. It locked my PC again. Nothing would work. Shut PC off again and back on. I wanted to uninstall, it wouldn't do that either. Shut PC off and then I successfully uninstalled. I wouldn't dare install avast! again. I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that I had NOD32 installed because under avast! Pro, reviewer Dwarden on Sep 12, 2003 with Version 4.1.259 says "Excelent Antivirus, with NOD32 this is TOP product ...!" I really wonder !

tommyb709 reviewed v4.5.561 on Jan 9, 2005

It is only a 58 day demo if you don't register. They require you to register every 14 months, but home edition is free. So far I have received no spam from registering.
I have installed avast, avg, norton, and mcafee on client computers. So far, avast seems to offer the greatest protection against viruses. I have noticed a slight performance hit on WAN networks, compared to avg, but not nearly so bad as norton.
I highly recommend

tom3311 reviewed v4.5.561 on Jan 9, 2005

Avast works...but this is NOT "freeware" but a 58-day demo. On the performance... It does not hold a candle to AVG v7 Free, which has a more logical interface, daily updates of its virus database, and works. I think the Avast interface is trying to be too cool...antivirus software doesn't need to look "skinned"...it just needs to do the job in the background. Plus it bugs me, BIG TIME, when a company offers something as "freeware" when it's really a limited demo version, whether that be time or functional limitations.

wagner reatto reviewed v4.5.561 on Jan 8, 2005

this software is one of the best antivirus i had. you see no performance penalty and its engine is precise and updated. solid and serious software.

fredfreud reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 29, 2004

I use Norton Corporate at work, Norton & Avast at home. Avast is what I recommend to folks who let their Norton subscriptions lapse and come to me with broken pcs. If I rebuild, they get an image of their drive, a lecture from me about the hazards of the Internet, and lastly, a pointer to the Avast download site if they can't promise me they'll keep paying that Norton update fee. Rates close to a "5" in my book.

asellus reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 5, 2004

Currently using this since April, and think it was very good. Free too. Wonder whether AVG takes less resources than avast.

uNdisputed reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 4, 2004

Highly recomended..you won`t regret you installed it.. me being a registered user od norton av..after trying avast. for more than 7 month`s i guess..never needed to go back to the paid version of norton..this free version`s better and great
ty`s to awil avast for the good job

sirhardi reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 3, 2004

I would give it a 5 IF the user friendliness could get simplified and once in XP64 the explorer integration is given.
I just did a client virus recovery...Norton caught 469 items...than i ran Stinger and avast sure enough, caught more while stinger was hitting files.....Very good , I am definetly no longer suggesting norton either........ui did due to simple user mode but norton is seriously lacking in detection

Dwarden reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 3, 2004

Top performer between solid antiviruses ...

wagner reatto reviewed v4.5.549 on Dec 3, 2004

very good software!

ker7099 reviewed v4.5.546 on Dec 2, 2004

i have been using avast since it's 3.x days and it has always been a great program that just keeps getting better. the best part about it is that it is free.

errnot? reviewed v4.5.546 on Dec 1, 2004

I have been using Avast personal version through all of it's carnations for the last one and a half years. It is a very intelligently designed antivirus that has never let me down. Virus detection has been 100% on XP. I could not wish for more. Because it is free makes it the best deal on the web!

MurrayH reviewed v4.5.546 on Nov 30, 2004

I've been using Avast for about a year now after trying a number of commercial and free tools. It leaves them all for dead by such a long way - the others don't even rate. Great job Avast!!

allsiante reviewed v4.5.546 on Nov 30, 2004

Great ! Great ! Oh, and yes, Great ! :)

gawd21 reviewed v4.5.546 on Nov 30, 2004

Have been using it for about 7 months now and if the best! I don't get viruses and it doesn't kill my computers like those others... M....., N.....
I like the new look as well. A little more stylesh than the past.

Cionno reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

Using avast is a great experience it simply rocks! i've said goodbye to norton AV to test this one and i never went back... And i'ts FREE for personal use continuously updated... so thank you to developers... better than this there's only NOD32 (but take a look at the price)
so 5 stars !!!

fair_is_fair reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

I've been an Avast user for a long time now. The program is constantly upgraded. Virus definition updates arrive automatically and PROMPTLY. It's been rock solid and, most importantly, I have never suffered an infection. I cannot say enough good things about Avast.

VikingBlade reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

Of the free AVs, avast! is certainly the strongest. With the best detection out of Antivir, and AVG.

Spupuz reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

petiot have you tried it? for me it rocks.. by the way if you do not like the skin you can change with one more professional but the av engine works very well.

petiot reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

I dont want to appear excessive, but to me, avast is certainly the worst antivirus i have ever tried. Unprofessional, unintuitive, clumsy, bloated with fancy graphics and useless functions. and it sucks up tons of memory (like all antiviruses, but here it is far too much).

the fancy skins (ugly) and "what a flash" namings for the software functions, are just the proof that this is developped to impress visually rather than functionnaly. It didnt stay long enough on my machine for me to appreciate its efficiency. rating: -1

DarthVeda reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 30, 2004

Best Free Antivirus out there.

The license key can be obtained freely and should be activated with in 60 days i think.

skonrad reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 29, 2004

Very good freeware antivirus program. I believe the resource usage has actually decreased in the new versions (less memory, does anybody agree?).

It asks for a license key which you get for free when you register with a valid email.

Oh, and best call ever by the developers: They finally provide an unskinned version so you don't necessarily need a skin. This is good, because the skin tended to disappear before and the main program would refuse to start then!

Betachecker reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 29, 2004

In my opinion this is best freeware AntiVirus

sirhardi reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 29, 2004

Cool, finally a 64bit runner..4 for a try at 64
AMD 64 3200 1 gig ram Build 1218
BTW Betanews, .GREAT job, i was able to edit my post now

Uhmmmmmmm,.it says Freeware but asks for a License key.....someone fill me in here please.i se no link here posted to request one.

Dwarden reviewed v4.5.542 on Nov 29, 2004

Fast, simple, stable, reliable and cheap (ehm free lol :)
That's Avast :)
P.S. regarding home key, register there , all you need is valid email: http://www.avast.com/i_kat_207.php?lang=ENG

bello reviewed v4.5.523 on Nov 16, 2004

ooh guys!
i tried a lot of AV softs including Norton and Kasperski. they were so heavy and ate so many PC resources.once Kasperski even made my PC crash deleating Windows XP update function files as "trojan". and then i decided to try something new and met Avast home edition the very first time . it was most smart and soft then previous AV "monsters" and did its job very well. later i changed Avast home edition to pro version. i've been using this excellent AV soft for 1,5 year now.
i strongly recommend to everyone to try it ! you won't regret !
so go for Avast- best AV soft!

marcos_cu reviewed v4.5.523 on Nov 16, 2004

avast is as good as it gets in terms of free AV. In terms of detection rate (at the end of the day, that's what matters most to me), I've seen it outperforming both AVG and Anti-Vir, making if the default AV for my PCs.

roj reviewed v4.5.523 on Nov 15, 2004

I did a quickie eval on paper of the freeware AV products out there. That left me with two, Avast! and AVG. I then proceeded to test those at work in a sandboxed virus-infested environment (I'm in IT Security). Both acquitted themselves well well but Avast! has a more extensive feature set, offering greater protection overall. The icing on the cake was the excellent support (AVG support is non-existant for their freeware product) and the excellent user community. Add to that regular updates of both code and definitions and you have a winner.

I am slowly (with each successive rebuild) replacing all the invasive Symantec stuff on my home network with the lightweight and efficient Avast! 4 Home (there are six machines).

uNdisputed reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

being a registered user of norton AV , i tried Avast, and since last 6 month`s plus , avast has proved itself as one of the best.
highly recomended . i`m sure once you use it you`ll stick to it...got it on 2 pc`s..a 3,20 pent 4 and a 700mhz celeron...suprising it did`nt slow the 700 mhz celeron..updates are fast.. wish they also had a avast fire wall ...lol.. ty`s awil software you`ve done a great job...

danilloOc reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

This is the best AV i used, avast! works just fine and don't slow down my PC :)

bgdjr reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

I have been using the pro and home versions and I must say this is definately one of the best AVs I have used. I have recommended it to my friends, family and coworkers.

ragejed reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

I work for a computer company repairing peoples PCs at their homes. I must say, this is the best anti-virus out there! I recommend it to every client! Down with Norton! Down with McAfee

ppinheiro reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

This is the very best Anti Virus Solution For windows based Boxes. Keep your pc away from nasty virus and besides...Well its FREE!

prandal reviewed v4.5.518 on Nov 14, 2004

This is one of the best "free for use at home" antivirus programs. Timely pattern updates, unlike some of the big names who should know better. This version does away with the need to configure your email program (Outlook Express/ Thunderbird / Edora / Pegasus Mail) and in so doing might break existing setups which might suddenly find they can't send or receive mails. The solution is to reconfigure them to talk direct to your ISP's POP and SMTP severs (Avast now intercepts this and scans transparently)

Coolmax reviewed v4.1.501 on Nov 2, 2004

I'm finding this program very useful.
It uses less system resources than nortons.

It is 100% free
This software is a must have.

rhen reviewed v4.1.418 on Sep 8, 2004

The best free anti-virus software, I've ever see. It's better then several other with unbeatable price tag. I've use it 1 year but I've no problem with. I'ts freindly with memory and CPU. I suggest to use this.

CPC464 reviewed v4.1.418 on Aug 8, 2004

Of all the FREE Antivirus Programs I have tried this has to be the BEST

Some Great touches to this Like the talking voice
also a nice interface that is Skinnable.

More Companies should take note of this product

Gets my Vote

drphrozen reviewed v4.1.418 on Jul 23, 2004

I gave this one five stars, because it's free and it does the job.. but still i would prefer Trend Micro if i had the money, but unfortunaliy i don't! I would also like to see avast become more simple, and less skinned than it is now.. but i would still use avast as long as it is free, gives me realtime protection and no adware

fair_is_fair reviewed v4.1.418 on Jul 3, 2004

What can I say? I've never gotten an infection since using Avast. I was wiped out twice while using N*rton. And its even free. Can it get any better?

pjb reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

Excellent programme. Easy to instal and configure. Nice to see the definitions are updated frequently to keep protection high.

Dwarden reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

Simple, Easy, Free, Good support and qualite AntiVirus functionality. What else customer can want for unbeatable price tag :)

christoofar reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

Great freeware a/v app. Low resource drain, updates frequently, and seems to work well (no bugs in over a year) Many thanks to the developers of this program. I can't believe the difference in how my system runs now versus when I used to use Norton.

maxxpilot reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

I have been using Avast! for about a year now and have had no issues or problems at all with the software. I can only give my thanks and appreciation to the developers. If you havn't given it a try, I would suggest dumping your overpriced Norton for this product and spend your money on something else.

zorty reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

quite a good program! I'm running it for more than a month now and it always did its job! No crashes no false alerts - no complains at all.

Unfortunately I didn't find any comparisons to other more well known av programs such as norton, mcafee etc pp.

The automatic virus signature updates are really tiny. I guess these are only diff patches being merged into.

The Internet Mail Scanner works excellent - and I would give it a 5 star rating if it had SSL/TLS support :\

TDreamer reviewed v4.1.418 on Jun 14, 2004

Been using it for a week now. BYE BYE Norton!!!!

gkar reviewed v4.1.412 on Jun 12, 2004

Avast would be better if they also supported 98Lite which removes Internet Explorer, Address Book, Outlook Express amongst other undesirable Win98/SE/ME things. Why must a virus program free or otherwise require Internet Explorer to run? This is why I can't use this program and is why AVG remains my choice.

Somnambulator reviewed v4.1.396 on May 3, 2004

excellent AV. better than the pay AV's out there. ive used em all and avast! is simply the most unobtrusive and resource friendly. updates itself behind your back, highly configurable, etc

must have**

alcvanamelsvoort reviewed v4.1.396 on May 1, 2004

Simply the best. I have avast! installed with Windows operating system XP Professional with Service Pack 2 RC1 and it's a terrifc combination. Thank you avast! for a good programme and service.

Mark Gillespie reviewed v4.1.396 on May 1, 2004

Excellent free AV Scanner. Much better than AVG, slicker more intuitive interface.

Well worth a look.

patmc7 reviewed v4.1.396 on Apr 30, 2004

I had trouble when using this with YahooPops! (to read the Yahoo e-mail). It would not allow a login.

AndyTheDude reviewed v4.1.396 on Apr 30, 2004

Great! I've switched from AVG to this one recently. AVG has huge problems with the updating servers, which seem to be unavailable or congested most of the time.
Also, Kerio is very good at detecting malicious code, which is what these programs are for.
As a bonus Avast is the only program currently recognised by the new Security Center in WinXP SP2. Way to go Alvil!

weed reviewed v4.1.396 on Apr 29, 2004

I concur with kbyron, I could not install it on my system as I use 98Lite to remove Internet Explorer. Guess I'll stick with AVG, Moz FireBird and Phoenix Mail as they do not require IE to function.

kbyron reviewed v4.1.389 on Apr 28, 2004

I would like to give this a more positive review, but it refused to install without my having IE on my system, which I will not do. I prefer Mozilla for my browser. Interesting--and arrogant--how some developers subscribe to the IE cult.

CyberInferno reviewed v4.1.389 on Apr 23, 2004

Great antivirus program for the price. It updates just as frequently as the large corporations and is good at automatically grabbing definition updates. That was my biggest complaint with AVG. Even after modifying the url.ini, it still failed to update a lot of the time, which meant scheduling daily updates was worthless. Avast not only is good about automatically updating, but if I want to manually check it requires two clicks. My only complaint with Avast is its interface and inability to schedule automatic scans. The interface is too cutesy as some others have said. However, it has a low overhead, it's a very good scanner, and you can't beat the price!

wagner reatto reviewed v4.1.357 on Mar 12, 2004

it uses low resources, no damage to pc performance, updates in real-time, free...perfect! my choice to protect my pc.

uNdisputed reviewed v4.1.357 on Mar 5, 2004

hi all .this is a great antivirus program..i was trying out avg 6...it lack`s ...cant upgrade the info....even after trying a lot of times..
so i tried out avast..it`s good..a must have.
and the best part is it`s free to register it..
try it out you`ll like the software
regard`s

softssa reviewed v4.1.304 on Dec 5, 2003

This is great antivirus software. Updates every two to three days and a program update once a month. It's the best alternative for those who want a secure but cheap=0$ antivirus on their computer.
But the fact is that the best way to keep your OS away from viruses is to surf the net with care, don't be stupid and press those g** d*** banners, use dual pop up stoppers, don't download pirated software (specially from warez sites it's literally suicid). Don't use explorer even a so called explorer add on program like avant or myIE slimbrowser, anything is better than the ordinary insecure IE

scodan reviewed v4.1.304 on Nov 29, 2003

Absolutely awful interface, and inconvenient to use as a result. Skins are for kids and cutesy music players, not for serious utilities.

aws6000 reviewed v4.1.304 on Nov 29, 2003

Ganja_5000.... patching uxtheme.dll still works post SP1. I patched a mere 3 days ago.

http://www.belchfire.net/article205.html

Ganja_5000 reviewed v4.1.304 on Nov 29, 2003

jabaman42:

uxtheme.dll only works for windows xp pre-sp1, if you have sp1 or older you can't use that trick, but stylexp has a feature to not use system resources, which is the same as the uxtheme.dll trick

-ganj

jabaman42 reviewed v4.1.304 on Nov 29, 2003

I used to use this program, but now i use the UXTHEME.DLL patch, does the exact same thing for free. Style XP may be better for some novice users who dont know how to replace files or move files into the theme directory however. And as for this new version's ability to change boot screens and logon screens, there are plenty of free programs out there that do the exact same thing.

blackpages reviewed v4.1.268 on Oct 7, 2003

Ok for email. it's free = good! but missed some common virii on infected pc, KAV detected. Realised paying for KAV once again is worth it.

KayNine reviewed v4.1.259 on Sep 16, 2003

With version 4.0 avast really seems to have become one of the best scanners out there. 4.1 adds great new features such as IM-scanning! At VirusBtn.com there might the failed/ok ration might be misleading, have a look at the details and you see the latest test almost completly succided. I never did have any problems with avast and only can recommend it. It detected the eicar virus witout problems, as file and also as attachment. Maybe some guys here should check their email programs configuration, avast isn't able to autoconfigure every mail client! My manually configured TheBat works great, so does autoconfigured Outlook and Outlook Express.

Dwarden reviewed v4.1.259 on Sep 12, 2003

Excelent Antivirus, with NOD32 this is TOP product ...

hariskar reviewed v4.0.528 on Aug 7, 2003

The best antivirus I have tried Norton, NOD32, Karpesky...). Great program, beautyful interface, doesn't need many resources, great support! Highly recommneded!

wwk reviewed v4.0.528 on Jul 25, 2003

All versions of avast! antivirus known to me undoubtedly can identify the Eicar test file (everyone can make sure of this himself - the source can be found, for example, at http://www.asw.cz/i_idt_246.html). Moreover, in the latest Virus Bulletin tests (June 2003, Windows XP) avast! from Alwil Software detected all "In the Wild" viruses during both on-demand and on-access scanning and was given VB100% award (http://www.virusbtn.com/...ives/products.xml?table).

Scorched Earth reviewed v4.0.528 on May 28, 2003

Avast! is a good anti-virus program, especially for free. AVG doesn't provide heuristic scanning and rarely updates and GAV wants money for real-time protection. So, that leaves Avast! as the only good choice for truly free, good virus protection.

RedBadger reviewed v4.0.528 on Apr 22, 2003

I've tried to like this program, but every time I've ended up uninstalling it. Last time it failed to recognize the eicar "test" virus that all scanners use to assure you that the resident scanner is active. I uninstalled it, then tried this program again a couple weeks later, only to discover this thing doesn't even scan email attachments. (despite the fact you tell it your email server names during setup) You have to actually execute the file before it will scan/detect them. So you can send all the viruses out you want in email file attachments, and it won't detect them. It also does not scan files as you download them, or after they are downloaded, it will only scan it when you execute the program. If you don't believe me, try the www.eicar.org website to download the test file all scanners use.

virtorio reviewed v4.0.183 on Mar 18, 2003

This program may look good, and seem to be working (in theory), but I can assure you, this software does not detect viruses (that includes the manual scan feature), which a very out of date version of Norton had no problems detecting (and repairing). Don’t waste your time with it. If you can’t afford a better anti-virus (like Norton AntiVirus) then use the AVG Free Edition. It might not look good, but it does actually work.

MrPuddles reviewed v4.0.525 on Mar 18, 2003

This is a great proggy, but betanews has the wrong version listed... they just released 4.0.183, but beta lists the last version with a higher version no!

virtorio reviewed v4.0.519 on Feb 15, 2003

This is some good anti-virus. Must better than overrated trash like Norton and McAfee.

jungle! reviewed v4.0.519 on Feb 12, 2003

I totally agree with Yeechie (below);
I had no other apps active in my XP Pro with SP1, ran the installer, selected the option to not schedule the boot scan at load time. And what did it do? Exactly the same thing as it has done to the other reviewer; froze my machine, and I had to uninstall this garbage in safe mode - PLUS many registry keys all over the place. A big waste of time!

wwk reviewed v4.0.519 on Jan 17, 2003

I am running Windows XP Pro with SP1 and all patches. And I don't have any problems with avast! Home.

Yeechie reviewed v4.0.148 on Jan 5, 2003

Ok ghostman, thanks for that tip :)

GhostMan reviewed v4.0.144 on Jan 5, 2003

Some people think it locks up their computer after install. It is doing a scan of your computer and for some reason it doesn't say anything. Just don't click yes to the boot-time scan after install and you won't have to deal with this.

Mr_Puddles reviewed v4.0.144 on Jan 4, 2003

Version 4 looks like a complete re-work of the scanner. It works and is a little more user-friendly. Don't forget to register for unlimited use here:
http://www.avast.com/regist4.htm

Yeechie reviewed v4.0.144 on Jan 4, 2003

I cant even get it working.
I am running Windows XP Pro with SP1 and all patches.
After installation of this avast! Home! software I couldn't get my system booted normally.
When its almost done loading with the startup programs the system freezes except your mouse.

I uninstalled this piece of s*** in windows safe mode.

MrPuddles reviewed v3.0 Build 499 on Oct 14, 2002

Works just a good (if not better) than Norton AntiVirus. Has real-time scanning for Eudora, Outlook, Outlook Express, and other email clients. Updates are frequent and are smaller downloads than AVG. This proggy has a better track record than AVG (VBulletin). If you can't afford Kaspersky Anti-Virus (the best IMHO), this is the way to go.