The final report on antivirus products sees me looking at Avast.
Avast Antivirus
As per most antivirus packages these days, Avast offers the standard array of protections.
These include protection from Trojan horses, worms, spyware and spam.
Easy Installation
Like AVG, there is also a free personal use version of Avast antivirus.
Installation is easy – simply download from their site and run the installation wizard which will give you a simple, yet functional, array of protections from the word go.
Free Updates
The installation process is automatic.
When it completes, you can register your product in order to receive free updates for a period of one year.
If for any reason you choose not to register Avast you can still benefit from free use for a period of 60 days.
Interface
Avast’s interface is quite deceptive – it looks simple and lightweight and yet it is still quite functional.
With the ability to customise, or ’skin’, the interface I found myself wondering why other antivirus manufacturers can’t offer something similar?
Avast can deal with 7 tasks at a time, such as Instant Messaging, Mail, Web Shield, Standard Shield and Outlook too.
These various shields provide protection from viruses and spyware etc, especially the Web Shield.
Speed-wise, I found Avast to be incredibly slow the first time I booted my computer after installation.
However, after that it appeared to be just as smooth as any other alternative I had tried.
As this post is now a couple of years old you are probably looking for something more up to date – check out the best antivirus software for 2010.
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I had norton until I got vista and then I started having some issues. Since then I have used avast and been more than happy with it.
What issues did you have with Norton?
I used Avast for years on my XP machines with great results. My wife still uses it on her Desktop.
Have you tried any other antivirus products Doug? If so, how did they compare?
Im trying BitDefender on my new lappie with Vista right now. Version 10 didnt work well so Im using the 2008 version.
Seems to work well. Its strange using a all-in-one.
What issues did you have with Version 10?
You want Sean Connery to play you in a film – are you Scottish or bald?