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Avast Free antivirus 2015 full review

Akolyte

Now, anyone who knows me knows I've hated on Avast in the past.  And still, with the spying controversy, thats another reason.    

 

However, I've decided to review this version of Avast and even though I am slightly Biased because I work for AVG I'm going to try my best to be honest and unbiased.  

 

PART 1: Speed, Recourse Usage and interface. 

 

Avast has always been a bit CPU heavy, however I decided to see if it still is.  It still is.  However, I didn't notice a big system slowdown compared to other products, however it was definitely noticeable.  The boot up times were affected but thats to be expected with every antivirus except MSE and Eset.  

The interface was good, I like the organization but anyone who wasn't fimiliar with the interface would certainly have a rough time navigating.  In comparison to AVG, I'd say its equal in terms of performance.  

 

 

PART 2: Extra (and possibly unwanted) Features.

 

Avast used to be really light on the extras.  That changed a couple versions ago.  Now Avast's extra features include:

 

Network Scan

Software Updater

Smart Scan

NG (Full Virtualization - requires hardware virtualization) 

SecureLine

RescueDisk

Grime Fighter

 

So, you can see why I had to make a dedicated part.  

 

Now, back to the review.  These features (most of them) are JUNK, yes...  JUNK.  Secureline is not free, you need to pay for it and it runs alongside the program adding extra recourse usage.  GrimeFighter costs too, and its not that great...  My Friend has thoroughly tested GrimeFighter on an infected machine and it didn't do much, that was in its early stages.  However, still.  GrimeFighter isn't free, and I don't know why they couldn't just have an ad for it and not install it.  Software update is kind of bad too, its not a very good software updater.  

 

The Good features:

 

RescueDisk, SmartScan, Network scan and most important.  NG. 

 

I'll start with NG since NG is such an improvement.  NG is essentially where Avast takes a full snapshot of your system and uses the virtualbox engine to fully virtualize things.  One of my friends worked for Avast.  He told me Deepscreen is where Avast analyzes the malware code, and quite frankly thats pointless if it can't do it in a safe environment. 

NG won't increase the detection, but it will help prevent processes that have been found malicious by DeepScreen to cause no damage to the system.  This is great because before Cryptolocker for example could still lock the system WHILE Avast deepscreen was analyzing it.  

 

Rescue disk and smart scan are pretty self explanatory.

 

Network Scan scans your router and network for any security issues, its quite basic.  Nothing us geeks will ever take advantage of, but its great for people who dont know anything about computers or tech in general and who have a completely insecure wireless network.  Smart scan includes the network scan BTW.   

 

PART 3: DETECTION AND PREVENTION:

 

So, I had a folder with 100 peices of malware.  I don't beileve in running scans, I just run the malware and see what happens.  Avast detected most of them, however a few it didn't.  

 

Something very prominent was its EVO Gen hueristics, its greatly improved its heuristics.   That was something I hated about avast.  Now they've fixed it.  EVO-gen blocked 15, yes 15!!! un-known malware files.  Thats insane for this kind of test!   And Deepscreen analyzed 2 files, blocking 1.  Leaving 3 more malicious programs running and causing Havoc.  There is no way Avast was able to fix its problems.  

 

However, with Hardened mode enabled, Avast blocked 100% everything while using less resources while running the malware.  

 

 

Verdict:  Avast free antivirus is good.  Not the best, but good.  Hardened mode makes it the best but causes false positives.   However, you could find more protection in other suites like Eset, Kaspersky, Bitdefender and Emsisoft however those are paid suites.  

 

 

My recommendation for security in combination with this product: 

 

Antivirus: Avast

Addon: Microsoft EMET or Comodo Firewall or Emsisoft OnlineArmor

Scanner: Malwarebytes

 

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AM I the only one who doesn't run antivirus at all? 

PC: 4770K @ 4.0 GHz --- Maximus VI Hero --- 8 GB 2133 MHz Corsair Vengeance Pro --- EVGA 780 TI Classified @ 1300 MHz --- Samsung Evo 250 GB --- Corsair RM 750 --- Corsair Carbide Air 540 --- CM Storm Rapid-I (MX Blues with PMK Evergreen Keycaps) --- Windows XP --- Razer Naga --- Custom Loop Parts: 380I, EKWB 780 Classy Waterblock and Backplate, 240mm and 360mm XT45, Swiftech MCP655, EKWB multi option reservoir, Mayhems Pastel Red, Primochill Primoflex Advanced Clear Tubing, 5 SP 120 Quiet Editions --- Mobile: Surface Pro 3 (i5 128gb) with JD40 (MX Clears) and Microsoft Sculpt Mouse --- Galaxy S6

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I have Malwarebytes and have never detected anything. 

It's really the operator. 

5800X3D - RTX 4070 - 2K @ 165Hz

 

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AM I the only one who doesn't run antivirus at all? 

 

I don't either. Except Defender. 

5800X3D - RTX 4070 - 2K @ 165Hz

 

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I don't have any special Antivirus or Internet Security. It eats resources all the time.

I'm happily using Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 Pro. Really didn't face any problem with that!

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AM I the only one who doesn't run antivirus at all? 

 

Probably not, do I think it's unwise? Yes. 

Bert & Ernie before squirting spermie. 

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Personally, I like to run my Windows ME system online without security, DMZ the IP on the router, and disable the non-existent firewall. It's my banking machine. They call me daily. :P

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AM I the only one who doesn't run antivirus at all? 

Actually, no.  Lots of people don't run antivirus.  And while if you have secure browsing habbits, even though its not advised you can get by without antivirus software.

 

However, sadly most of the people who don't use antivirus aren't very safe online and don't know much better (not saying you are one of these.  This is just from statistics) 

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Probably not, do I think it's unwise? Yes. 

Antvirus is insufficient.  Its a fact, easy and simple.  Antivirus won't protect you from everything.  

 

However, its still a good idea to run antivirus.  Its understandable why someone would not want antivirus, since Chrome has sandboxing and Windows 8 and above are now containing much better security. 

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Nope. I don't have any real-time protection installed on my machines, but I do use MalewareBytes every so often.

Thats better than nothing at least. 

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I have Malwarebytes and have never detected anything. 

It's really the operator. 

It is tbh.  Chrome includes sandboxing and Windows has great security nowdays.   So, really.  It comes down to either, really good exploitation or user action.  

 

More often than not, its user action and social engineering. 

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Guys running a PC without an Anti-Virus is stupid. You can kinda do without a Real-Time scan protection, but...

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Antvirus is insufficient.  Its a fact, easy and simple.  Antivirus won't protect you from everything.  

 

However, its still a good idea to run antivirus.  Its understandable why someone would not want antivirus, since Chrome has sandboxing and Windows 8 and above are now containing much better security. 

 

I run anti-virus plus malwarebytes and I think it's the perfect combination. My anti-virus has saved me from some pretty nasty stuff.

Bert & Ernie before squirting spermie. 

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Actually, no.  Lots of people don't run antivirus.  And while if you have secure browsing habbits, even though its not advised you can get by without antivirus software.

 

However, sadly most of the people who don't use antivirus aren't very safe online and don't know much better (not saying you are one of these.  This is just from statistics) 

I just use whatever came with windows and have never even had malware on my computer. I don't go to any weird websites and if I do get a virus, I will be able to get rid of it. I have no problem with reinstalling windows. Not worth the performance hit and other issues that come with antivirus to me. It is just a hassle for me. 

I probably should run it, but to be honest, I'm not that concerned. Hopefully nothing bad happens to my computer  :blink:

PC: 4770K @ 4.0 GHz --- Maximus VI Hero --- 8 GB 2133 MHz Corsair Vengeance Pro --- EVGA 780 TI Classified @ 1300 MHz --- Samsung Evo 250 GB --- Corsair RM 750 --- Corsair Carbide Air 540 --- CM Storm Rapid-I (MX Blues with PMK Evergreen Keycaps) --- Windows XP --- Razer Naga --- Custom Loop Parts: 380I, EKWB 780 Classy Waterblock and Backplate, 240mm and 360mm XT45, Swiftech MCP655, EKWB multi option reservoir, Mayhems Pastel Red, Primochill Primoflex Advanced Clear Tubing, 5 SP 120 Quiet Editions --- Mobile: Surface Pro 3 (i5 128gb) with JD40 (MX Clears) and Microsoft Sculpt Mouse --- Galaxy S6

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HELL YES! Avast! Fuck every other AV, even Malwarebytes. I love Avast to death.

"If it has tits or tires, at some point you will have problems with it." -@vinyldash303

this is probably the only place i'll hang out anymore: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/274320-the-long-awaited-car-thread/

 

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Not as good as that CommonSense.exe.

 

Haven't had AV in over a year and decided to download MWbytes to just check how it was doing. Not a single thing found even after swimming in the PirateBay multiple times.

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COMODO Internet Security>All

Case: Thermaltake Core V71 CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700X (overclocked to 4.1Ghz) Cooling: Corsair H110i GT(Push-Pull config) Motherboard: Gigabyte's Aorus AX370 AM4 K7 RAM: G.SKILL 2800Mhz 32GB GPU:  GEFORCE GTX 1080 (SLI) from Gigabyte Storage: Kingston 3K 240GB (main boot drive) Crucial M500 SSD, WD 2TB Green, 100GB HD(As backup) PSU: Sseasonic X Series 850W Gold

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  • 4 weeks later...

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