Avira Free Antivirus Software

Avira Free is, as its name suggests, free antivirus software for personal computers. Some users refer to it as one of the best no-cost antivirus software applications available. Avira has won dozens of software awards for computer protection, such as the AV Comparatives Best Scanning Speed Gold Award and the Softwareload Des Jahres Gold Software of the Year honors. While Avira Free has definite strengths that set it above some other antivirus software applications, it also has some flaws that become apparent when you compare it to other free antivirus software.

Just because the software is free doesn't mean it is lacking in terms of features and perks. Avira Free runs unobtrusively on most computers, meaning that you don't have to worry about being bothered by annoying pop-up warnings while you are busy using other software.
You can rest assured that this antivirus software does more than just hunt down viruses. It also finds rootkits, phishing malware and spyware. The free version of Avira's security software has excellent detection rates. In fact, it detects most threats as well or better than most of its competitors. It especially excels at finding worms, Windows viruses and macro viruses. It performs both real-time and on-demand scanning, giving you more control over how it protects your computer.

While this all sounds fantastic at face value, it may not do you a whole lot of good in the long run since Avira Free isn't proactive in its protection and fails to provide a wide range of protection methods for your computer. For example, it doesn't protect against malicious websites. It also doesn't scan emails for viruses or other malicious items. Most other comparable software does protect against these threats, so if you are worried about threats while you are online, you may want to go with one of Avira's competitors, such as Avast Free or AVG Free.

While the free version of Avira does find and destroy viruses, it doesn't prevent you from downloading viruses in the first place like comparable antivirus software does. This leaves your computer open to attacks. If the software doesn't catch the attack immediately, your computer can end up being damaged before the next detection scan locates and deals with threats.

One of the major drawbacks to Avira Free is that it contains advertisements. This is a way for the software's developers to make money without charging you to use the software. While it saves you money, it can be annoying to people who aren't used to having advertisements in their control panels. Other free security software contains no advertisements because it is shareware, which means that it was created without profit in mind.

Most of the drawbacks to Avira Free outweigh its benefits if you go online on a regular basis. You can find antivirus software that provides much better overall protection, even if you must sacrifice some detection quality. If you don't want to make that sacrifice, consider using Avira in conjunction with another free security software application that can protect your computer against online attacks. This approach will provide you with prevention, detection and removal that you can rely on.

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