Avast Free Antivirus 2016 - Free download and software reviews

To issue Avast Software
To judge

Point: 8/10 (1 to judge)
Downloads 1198
To use Free
Capacity 160 MB
Update 2016-03-16
Request Windows XP / Vista / 7/8 / 8.1

Avast Free Antivirus is one of the most popular antimalware products around. The 2016 version overhauls the interface, but it could stand to be more informative. Avast Free Antivirus is one of the most popular antimalware products around. download the latest anti-virus software with many new features and updates new virus to destroy the most modern

Pros

A better interface: This year's version gets a row of icons at the top with intuitive images and labels, which animate when you hover over them, to help you see that you've selected them. Clicking each icon drops down a submenu, so you can browse all of them before making a move. If you get lost, just click the home icon that's always in the upper left to return you to the main menu.

Lots of optional settings: Overall, you have a fine degree of control over how Avast behaves. Clicking the gear icon on the far right takes you to Avast Free Antivirus's settings window, which has categories in the left-hand pane, and options for each category on the right. Clicking Active Protection shows you a submenu that breaks down file protection, email protection, and browser protection into three subcategories. Each of the three has a toggle to disable the whole element, which is handy when you already have other software installed that you prefer for one of those three roles. Click Customize to drill down into another set of categories and options specific to that role.

Free syncing password manager: Tools bundled with antimalware suites range widely in utility and quality, and the free suites rarely include a password manager. However, the one in Avast is pretty respectable. It provides extensions for Firefox and Chrome, which you can use to autofill your login information at websites. You create a master password that protects your list of individual site passwords, and you can also sync your list across devices. This requires you to create an account, but it's free. You can also import passwords stored by your browser. Avast doesn't make it clear if its list is encrypted, and the password manager doesn't have many settings to customize its behavior, but if you don't have a password manager, this is a decent entry point.

To sync with Android and iOS devices, you need a different app named Avast Passwords, available for free at the Google Play store and iTunes App Store. The Android version of Avast's security software doesn't bundle the manager, and there is no iOS version of Avast Mobile Security. You can also subscribe to a premium version of the password manager that lets you transmit your login info from your mobile device to your computer, if they are on the same Wi-Fi network, by tapping a button on your screen. This feature costs a modest $10 a year.

Streamlined system software updater: Avast Free Antivirus can quickly scan your computer for outdated software, and updating is integrated into the app's interface. It creates a list of programs that need to be updated, and you need only click the button next to the program's name to get the latest version. Avast noticed that Java was out-of-date on our device, a problem that can create serious security holes. Because of Avast Free Antivirus's update integration, we didn't have to go to the Java website and hunt down the correct pages and links. This might not be important for advanced users, but it also won't get in their way, because the update scan is optional and doesn't hound you to use it.

The main interface of avast! Free Antivirus
Download avast Free Antivirus 2016 - Free Antivirus Software

Cons

The sales pitch can be tricky to navigate: A free program still costs money to make, and its maker will use a variety of methods to persuade you to become a paying customer. Avast Free Antivirus's main method is to put some tools in its interface that redirect you to purchase pages when you click them, or -- in the case of the VPN service -- entering you into a free 7-day trial that you can stumble into if you click too quickly. In the case of Avast Cleanup -- integrated into the Scan menu as "scan for performance issues" -- the tool goes through the process of checking for things that needs to be fixed, then redirects you to sales pitch when you tell the tool to fix the problems that it's discovered.

It's not necessarily a bad thing if an app integrates sales pitches into its interface. However, Avast Free Antivirus indicates two different price structures if you decide to upgrade to Avast Internet Security. The UI tells you that you will be paying $29.99, with an original MSRP of $69.99. But when you click that button, you'll be sent to a window with three choices, where the default choice is a two-year subscription of $39.99. Or you can get one year of coverage for $19.99. None of the MSRPs on this second window screen are $69.99, so it's not 100% clear if this is the same product, or what has been lost -- if anything -- by going from $29.99 to $19.99. On the bright side, PayPal is an option, if you prefer not to use a credit card.

VPN service overstates its abilities: When you log in to the seven-day VPN trial, Avast Free Antivirus tells you, "Your Internet activity is now completely invisible so nobody can spy on you," but that isn't necessarily true. Your Internet service provider can still detect that you're connecting to a VPN, and someone can monitor the VPN's exit point back onto the public Internet and keep logs of that activity. And a VPN doesn't necessarily protect you when you transmit personally identifiable information while using it, nor does it protect you from malware that may already be on your computer, recording what you type or which websites you access.

Bottom Line

According to AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, Avast's antivirus engine is relatively fast and accurate without bogging your system down, making it one of the best free antivirus apps around. And the password manager has cloud syncing across Windows, iOS, and Android devices, a feature that the other managers would usually make you pay for. But it would be better if the free and premium components were more clearly distinguished.

Publisher's Description

From AVAST Software: Avast Free Antivirus 2016 offers an antivirus and anti-malware protection, along with features you're most likely to need, but would rather not think about - like one-click system checks, and unwanted toolbar removal. The free home network scanner now detects 12 more types of router vulnerabilities, and a new password manager feature means your antivirus can now save, and encrypt, all your passwords.

New: Avast Passwords: Change bad habits like storing passwords on your browser, or reusing the same password. Avast's new password manager creates unique, unbreakable passwords for all your accounts - yet only asks you to remember one.

Improved Home Network Security: Even better protection, for everything on your home network. Avast 2016 detects 12 more types of router vulnerabilities so you can keep your printers, network drives and routers fully secured -- in just a click.

Improved Antivirus and anti-malware: We continue to improve the world's most-trusted antivirus and anti-malware engines to keep you better protected. Using security updates the size of a text message, we distribute updates several times an hour to keep you completely up-to-date.

Browser Cleanup: Why let anyone track your searches, or change your search provider without your permission? Browser Cleanup gets rid of any bad add-ons and unwanted toolbars, so you can restore the settings you like.

Improved Secure HTTPS Scanning: Improved WebShield technology allows your Avast to scan all HTTPS sites for malware and threats. And, it whitelists your banking sites and bank certificates too, so that scanning doesn't slow your access one bit.

Smart Scan technology: An all-in-one scan, all in one go. Check your computer's operating status, make sure there are no network threats, malware or viruses, and search for outdated software in just one click. It's the easiest way to stay safe.

What's new in this version: