Avast Free Antivirus

Avast Free Antivirus is one of the most popular free antivirus software applications, with over 1 million users downloading the software each week! Avast Free Antivirus is arguably the best free antivirus software, and it's certainly better than most of the competition. Longtime Avast fans, newcomers and professional reviewers alike all agree that Avast is secure, professional and easy to use.

New features in Avast Free Antivirus
The newest release of Avast (version 5) is even better than its predecessor, with new features and heightened security measures. Anyone familiar with the previous editions of Avast will immediately recognize the dramatically revamped user interface. But there are also several new tools and advanced features under the hood that make Avast Free Antivirus better than ever.

For starters, Avast 5 has a new heuristic antivirus engine. Heuristics are used to proactively look at the behavior of files (and scripts) to determine if they have malware-like properties. New malware threats are designed to bypass traditional signature matching so heuristic technology can take a look at the behavior to determine if it’s malicious. Working in conjunction with the new code emulator, Avast essentially runs any questionable file in an isolated virtual environment to see how it will behave when it is launched on your computer. Chances are that if the file has virus-like properties and acts like a virus, it’s a virus.

Another new feature of Avast Free Antivirus is the Avast Intelligent Scanner. This advanced technology makes the antivirus scans significantly faster, but it doesn’t compromise the level of protection. Scan time is reduced by limiting the files that are actually scanned to only those that pose a risk. After an initial scan, files that are safe are flagged as such, and they won’t need to be scanned again unless a change occurs.

Avast Free Antivirus also now has a silent (aka "gamer") mode. It used to be that gamers had to suffer through annoying pop-ups and interruptions from security software. The only alternative was to disable the antivirus software and leave yourself vulnerable. But now you can enjoy fullscreen, uninterrupted video games (or movies, presentations, etc.) without compromising security or performance. The silent gamer mode in Avast Free Antivirus is a welcome addition to already strong antivirus software.

Avast has also made several other changes, all designed to increase performance and protection. Updates are delivered faster and require fewer resources. Avast is also optimized to take advantage of multi-core processors, and it has been specifically designed to work with the latest Intel chips.

Features only available in the upgraded (paid) Avast Pro Antivirus
Avast Free Antivirus has a comprehensive feature set, especially for free antivirus software. That said, however, it doesn’t have everything. The paid Pro version does have some compelling features that are definitely worth the price, particularly for stronger internet security.

One upgraded feature you’ll miss in the free version is the Avast Sandbox. If you are worried that a website might infect your computer, you can use the Avast Sandbox to run a web browser in a safe virtual environment. That way, if any malware is deployed, it won’t affect your actual PC because it’s run in an isolated area. The Sandbox is even able to run on both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms.

Another nice feature that is only available in Avast Pro Antivirus is the script shield. This tool works with your web browser (Internet Explorer only) to uncover threats hidden in the script of websites. The software detects and defends from these rogue scripts to prevent them from hijacking your computer.

The Pro version of Avast also includes faster updates and the ability to run a virus scan directly from the command line.

Whether you take advantage of the free Avast antivirus or opt for the Pro version, Avast has a solid set of features and is a valuable antivirus solution. The level of protection is high, the interface is professional and the whole solution is very flexible.

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