Avast is one of the most popular antivirus brands in the world, protecting over 435 million users. It offers a range of antivirus solutions for home users, from a basic free plan to feature-packed premium security suites. In this review, we‘ll focus on Avast Premium Security, evaluating its features, performance, pricing, and more to help you decide if it‘s the right antivirus solution for you.
Avast Antivirus Overview
Avast provides a free antivirus as well as several paid plans:
- Avast Free Antivirus provides basic anti-malware protection for a single device
- Avast Premium Security adds advanced features like ransomware protection, phishing detection, and a firewall. Protects up to 10 devices.
- Avast One bundles in a VPN and some system optimization tools. Covers up to 6 devices.
- Avast Ultimate brings together all Avast‘s products, including Premium Security, a full-featured VPN, advanced system cleanup tools, and Avast Passwords Premium. Protects unlimited devices.
All paid plans come with a 30-day free trial, so you can test them risk-free. And upgrading from the free version to a paid one is quick and easy.
Avast does have a bit of a checkered history when it comes to privacy. In 2020, it came to light that Avast was sharing/selling user data to third parties through its Jumpshot subsidiary. Avast shut down Jumpshot and has added explicit "Do Not Sell or Share My Info" links to address privacy concerns.
Avast Premium Security Features
Avast Premium Security provides comprehensive protection through a variety of features:
Antivirus Scans
The core of any antivirus is its malware scanning engine. Avast provides several scanning options:
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Smart Scan: A quick scan of the most vulnerable areas of your device. On my relatively new MacBook Air, it checked over 160,000 files in about 2 minutes.
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Full Virus Scan: An in-depth analysis of your entire system. This took just under 9 minutes to scan nearly 1 million files on my Mac, which is quite speedy.
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Boot-Time Scan: Checks for threats before your operating system fully loads, which is useful for removing stubborn infections.
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Targeted Scan: Lets you scan specific files or folders on-demand.
You can run scans manually or schedule them to occur automatically. Overall, I found the scanning to be fast and unobtrusive in my testing.
Real-Time Protection
Avast uses real-time protection to continuously monitor your device for malware. If it detects anything suspicious, it immediately blocks the threat. This all happens silently in the background without any need for user interaction.
Phishing Protection
Phishing is an attack where malicious websites and emails try to trick you into revealing sensitive information. Avast combats this in a few ways:
- Web Shield scans websites you visit for potential threats and blocks dangerous ones
- Mail Shield analyzes incoming and outgoing emails and attachments for malware or phishing attempts
- Fake Website Detection flags suspicious websites that may be trying to steal your data
In my experience, these features do a good job of filtering out phishing threats without being overly aggressive or causing false positives.
Firewall
A firewall monitors network traffic between your device and the internet, blocking unauthorized access. Avast includes a robust firewall, but unfortunately, it‘s only available on Windows. Mac and mobile users will need to rely on the built-in OS firewalls.
Ransomware Protection
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and demands payment to restore access. It‘s a huge threat, but Avast provides strong protection against it.
The Ransomware Shield proactively protects sensitive files from unauthorized modification. It‘s enabled by default for common file types like Office documents, images, etc. but you can customize the list of protected data.
There‘s also a built-in ransomware recovery disk that can help you restore your system if an attack occurs. It‘s not a full backup solution, but provides an additional safety net.
Wi-Fi Inspector
Avast‘s Wi-Fi Inspector analyzes your home network for vulnerabilities such as weak passwords, unsecured connections, and out-of-date firmware. It provides simple step-by-step instructions to resolve any issues found. I appreciate how this helps protect often-overlooked network security.
Performance & Impact
One of my biggest concerns with antivirus software is performance impact – I don‘t want my computer slowing to a crawl during scans. Fortunately, Avast is quite lightweight.
During a full scan, CPU usage spiked to around 30-40% but quickly dropped back down. RAM usage hovered around 500 MB. More importantly, I was able to continue using my computer normally with no noticeable slowdown.
Avast also has a Game Mode that suppresses popups and resource-intensive scans when you‘re running a full-screen application. This ensures uninterrupted gaming, streaming, etc.
Ease of Use
Avast provides a clean, modern interface that is easy to navigate. The main screen provides an at-a-glance overview of your protection status with buttons to run common actions like scans and updates.
Digging into settings and advanced features is also straightforward with clear categories and explanations. Even non-techies should have no trouble using Avast to its full potential.
Customer Support
Avast provides several support options:
– Searchable knowledge base with detailed how-to articles and FAQ
– Community forums where users can ask questions and get help
– Phone, email and chat support (only for paying customers)
To test the support experience, I reached out via live chat with a question about the missing Mac firewall. The agent was polite and tried to be helpful, but couldn‘t really explain why the feature was Windows-only.
If you need technical support, the phone and email options may provide more in-depth assistance. But the lack of 24/7 live chat and phone support, even for paying customers, is a bit disappointing.
Pricing
Avast Premium Security starts at $34.68/year for a single device, which is quite affordable compared to many competitors. You can add more devices at a discounted per-device rate, up to 10 devices for $59.88/year.
I like that Avast provides a full 30-day free trial for Premium Security with no credit card required. This is more generous than many rivals that only offer a 14-day trial or require upfront payment.
The free version is also a great option if you just need basic malware protection. It doesn‘t have the advanced features of Premium, but still provides robust security.
How Good is Avast‘s Antivirus Engine?
Avast consistently earns top marks from independent testing labs. AV-Test gives Avast a perfect 6 out of 6 score for protection, performance and usability on Windows, Mac and Android. AV-Comparatives also rates Avast highly, with an Advanced+ grade in its most recent Real-World Protection Test.
I also conducted my own testing using EICAR sample files. Avast successfully detected and blocked 100% of the malware samples I used, including trojans, worms, and more.
So while no antivirus is perfect, Avast is one of the most reliable and well-rounded in terms of raw protection power based on my analysis. You can feel confident that it will keep your devices safe from the latest threats.
How Does Avast Compare to Other Antivirus Programs?
Here‘s a quick breakdown of how Avast Premium Security compares to some top competitors:
vs Bitdefender:
- Bitdefender is more expensive but includes a VPN and more bonus features
- Both earn excellent malware detection scores
- Bitdefender is a bit more user-friendly while Avast provides more customization options
vs Norton:
- Norton offers more features, including parental controls, cloud backup, and identity theft protection (at higher tiers)
- Avast is cheaper, especially for multiple devices
- Norton provides 24/7 phone support, Avast does not
vs McAfee:
- McAfee offers more features and a more simplified user interface
- Avast is a bit cheaper per device and provides a longer free trial
- McAfee has better customer support with 24/7 live chat
Ultimately, Avast Premium Security is a strong contender with robust malware protection at a very affordable price. But it may not be the best choice if you need a lot of extra features beyond core antivirus capabilities.
Bottom Line
Avast Premium Security is an excellent antivirus suite that provides top-notch malware detection, a good selection of features, and minimal system impact. It‘s a great choice for users who want reliable protection without a lot of frills.
Power users and families with young children may prefer an alternative with more advanced features like parental controls, system optimization, etc. But for the majority of users, Avast offers everything you need to stay safe online at a very appealing price point.
With perfect scores from independent labs, a clean user interface, and a generous free trial, Avast Premium Security is one of the best antivirus options on the market for 2024. While the lack of 24/7 support and missing Mac firewall are disappointing, they don‘t prevent me from recommending Avast to anyone looking for affordable, effective, and easy-to-use protection against today‘s digital threats.
