Summary Avast Free Antivirus is, as its name suggests, a free antivirus product. Logging appears to be fairly lightweight too, and the quarantine window is limited by it being non-resizable. There is a task bar icon which offers quick access to the main functions. As in previous years, we will also be giving Top Rated Awards to a select group of tested products which reached a very high standard in the Public Main Series tests. Overall, it is a usable product, but would be improved by fixing some engineering and usability issues. Emsisoft wins the Bronze Award for the False Positives Test. Usability report Installation is straightforward and simple.
Avira tell us that the wording will be corrected in a coming update. Consequently, we are again giving the Outstanding Product Award to the other product that also achieved top scores. Visit: View source version on businesswire. Part of Smart Scan is the Tune-Up tool, which is not enabled in the free product. Many of these, including status messages containing important file path information, are not resizable, which limits their usefulness. Privacy Protection covers webcam protection and browser data collection — both are enabled by default. However, the user feedback was weak.
Awards for individual test types are Gold for the Malware Removal Test, and joint Silver for the Real-World Protection Test. We looked for a report of our recent cleaning outbreak, and found only minimal information logged here. Each malware definition was highlighted as a hotlink, to take us to the McAfee online encyclopaedia. This is quite small, cramped and not resizable. This helps them analyse and block around 1.
The main window shows the status, the time since the last update, the status of the subscription, and has buttons for scan, update and tools. As well as its additional features, reviewers praised its easy-to-use tiled interface. The button layout is clear and clean, and it is obvious how to perform a scan of the computer. The setup and configuration components are well layered, with obvious status buttons. We initiated a copy of the malware folder to the desktop. Configuration of the app is quite straightforward, and most of the complexity is kept well away from most users on a daily basis.
The quarantine page was similar in view, again offering details about most of the malware discovered. Staying ahead of these threats requires continued technological progress and innovations, and that's exactly what we're focusing on at Avast. All the programs tested are from the reputable and reliable manufacturers. Kaspersky Lab is a Top Rated Product this year, having got five Advanced+ and two Advanced Awards in the tests. Such protection features are taken into account in the Real-World Protection Test, which test products under realistic Internet usage conditions. However, once we started to copy the subdirectory of malware to the desktop, the app immediately started detecting and cleaning. Once completed, you can open the main McAfee window.
In operation, the program is clear and clean. We liked its clear, touch-friendly interface that makes it easy to find the essentials. Products must provide a high level of protection without producing too many false alarms. As all products receiving an Advanced+ award are considered statistically speaking to be as good as each other, a product can receive the Product of the Year award without necessarily reaching the highest score in any individual test. Some aspects of the program may make it more suitable for advanced users.
There is a background image of a mountain range which, whilst very pretty, does nothing to add to the usability. Once installed, the app launches its main window. We liked how the Smart Scan looks for out-of-date software, and such app scanning is definitely useful and worth having. If you push a collection of malware samples onto the computer, it will find them during copy. Overall, the app is quite easy to use and obvious, although we found the settings and configuration rather geeky and spread around within the app.
It receives joint Bronze awards for the Real-World Protection Test and Malware Protection Test. Some aspects of the program may make it more suitable for advanced users. Advice on Choosing Computer Security Software There is no such thing as the perfect security program, or the best one for all needs and every user. We liked its clear tiled interface, which makes the most important functions easy to access. It additionally receives the Gold Award for the Real-World Protection Test, and Silver Awards for the False Positive Test, Malware Protection Test, and Malware Removal Test. We liked the guided tour of the program, which is displayed when you first start the software after installation.
Results and Awards Whilst all of the programs in our test reached an acceptable level overall, some programs outperformed others. In addition, it receives the Gold Award for the Malware Removal Test, Silver Award for the False Positives Test, and Bronze Award for the Real-World Protection Test. Some products may have a higher impact than others on system performance while performing some tasks. It could be considerably more streamlined and user friendly. The company's threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time.
One suggestion for improvement would be to show fewer pop-up alerts when malware is found, but put the details into the event log. Once installed, the package automatically does a system scan, which is a welcome move. We noted its easy-to-use, simply laid-out interface, and additional features. Once installed, the app does an update and is then ready to use. You can learn more about our A high detection rate of malware — without causing false alarms — is one of the most important and reliable features of an anti-virus product.