Sep 08, 2009 avast! Antivirus 2.74 only got a mediocre reading (3 of 5 stars). ClamXav got a much better rating. Not sure why you need any of them. Perhaps it gives you piece of mind but I haven't used any and had no problems since 1985. Avast makes quite a thing about its free antivirus offering, giving a good breakdown of its feature set and companion programs online, as well as, naturally, offering a range of upgrades to. Avast Free Mac Security caught 99.9 percent of all malware, packs in a password manager, barely leaves a smudge on system impact and doesn't charge a dime. If only it caught 100 percent of malware. 2) It needs to be noted that the products of AVG Antivirus are available for a wide variety of platforms, including Mac OS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and FreeBSD. 3) AVG is affordable. 4) AVG AntiVirus has good malware detection and a light system impact. Never install any commercial 'anti-virus' or 'Internet security' products for the Mac, as they all do more harm than good, if they do any good at all. Any database of known threats is always going to be out of date.
Besides AVG AntiVirus FREE, another solid free security option for Windows is Avira Free Antivirus (sometimes also “misspelled” as Advira) from Germany. How does it compare to Avast Free Antivirus? Both products are very similar to great sets of features. However, Avira is scoring lately as #1 antivirus in the independent tests, especially in the virus and malware detection and a low number of false positives.
On the other hand, Avira is much more aggressive in terms of up-selling to paid versions and the pop-up offers are extremely annoying. Of course, Avast is using them too, but not that frequently. Anyway, let’s take a closer look at both products and see which one is the best.
Avira has also recently started pushing a new product called Avira Free Security Suite which combines all Avira free products – Antivirus, Phantom VPN (500 MB/month), Password Manager, System Speedup, Scout (browser) and Software Updater. Obviously, the whole free suite requires much more system resources, so we recommend staying with the basic Free Antivirus and adding the components you need.
Feature Comparison Table – Does Avira Offer More Than Avast?
Avast definitely offers more in terms of advanced features and tools like Home Network Security for scanning router vulnerabilities, Browser Cleanup for scanning browser extensions, or Software Updater for scanning outdated software in your system. Avira is purely an antivirus, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Both products offer an option to create a bootable disc with the latest antivirus version to clean your system when it doesn’t start.
The only feature which has Avira on top of Avast is the Firewall management. It’s not a built-in Firewall, it’s just providing front-end management for the default Windows Firewall. What is nice about Avira is that it doesn’t require a user to register/activate the product (as Avast does). So you can install and use the product for free forever.
Impact on the System Resources – Which Product is Lighter?
We have measured the impact on the system resources using two ways:
In the boot time test where less is better, it took only 28 seconds (on average) to load Windows desktop when Avira Free Antivirus was installed. The same operation took 30 seconds (in average) when Avast Free Antivirus was installed. Default boot-time without any antivirus solution in place took 28 seconds. So according to our testing, Windows loads faster with Avira. Actually, Avira has no delay or impact on the system startup.
Avast vs. Avira – Performance Test Results
In the second area, we have tested computer performance in various areas and impact of the Avira or Avast on the results. Avast scored 2,138 points and Avira got even slightly more –2,147 points. The default performance without any antivirus installed was 2,156 points. So the overall impact on the system performance is really low for both products, but again Avira is the winner here.
Final performance test results are highlighted in the chart below. You can clearly see the difference between no antivirus and Avast or Avira present. Please note the vertical axis ‘Performance Score‘ is not starting from 0, but from 2,116 to clearly show the small differences.
You can find more details about how we tested in the ‘Additional Notes‘ section at the end of the article.
Avast Security For Mac DownloadUser Interface – Is Avast Easier to use Than Avira?
Avast user interface is really nice and clear. There is only one main action leading to Smart Scan, which runs all seven Avast scans: compatibility, viruses, outdated software, browser add-ons, router issues, performance, and weak passwords. The green button ‘UPGRADE‘ (or ‘ACTIVATE‘) leads to a comparison table of Avast Free Antivirus and Avast premium product (Avast Internet Security).
The status is also indicated by color when green obviously means ‘You’re protected’. The left menu is easy to navigate and structured in four groups – Status (home screen), Protection, Privacy, and Performance. At the bottom part, there is usually an up-sell banner which is quite soft and does blend nicely within the Avast interface.
The whole Avast interface is quite large (1010 x 674 pixels) and will not work on 800 x 600 pixels screens. On 1024 x 768 pixel screens it takes almost whole monitor space.
Avira user interface was completely redesigned in the 2019 version and looks so much better compared to the old one. Although it is much nicer, it is definitely not better in terms of user experience. It kind of lacks the main call-to-action to lead user – there are several different elements which attract user attention (‘Get Pro’ and ‘Register’ buttons in the header, almost invisible button for a quick scan, and a bottom banner promoting mobile security).
The left menu is quite straightforward and allows a user to open quarantine (virus chest), schedule a scan or disable specific protection modules (real-time protection, firewall).
Avira Free Antivirus 2019 User Interface
Similar to Avast the status is also indicated by green colors and the message ‘Your computer is secure‘. The components ‘Web Protection‘ and ‘Mail Protection‘ are available only in the paid versions. Game Mode is no longer available in the 2019 version, not sure why it has been removed. What is nice about the interface is that there is no up-sell banner in the whole user interface. The only way to up-sell within the interface is the green ‘Upgrade Now‘ button.
You can start system scan or update directly from the main page although it’s not much visible. Settings are accessible through the cog wheel in left-bottom part of the user interface. Unfortunately, you can’t change program language using the settings.
Localizations/Translations – Is The Product Available in my Language?
Both Avast and Avira are available in plenty of languages, of course for free. But Avast offers many more.
Avast languages (46): Arabic, Belorussian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (United States/United Kingdom), Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Pirate talk, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil/Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese
Avira languages (12): English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional)
What is really annoying is that you can’t change the language manually within the Avira product. It’s somehow automatically detected based on the system settings.
Popularity – Which is the Most Popular Free Antivirus? Avast or Avira?
The better product is, the most users it has. It’s simple as that. However, it’s not easy to say which is the most popular antivirus, if Avast or Avira. For expressing popularity we are using several, publicly accessible methods: official websites, OPSWAT reports, CNET Download.com ratings and social media.
1. Official SourcesAvast For Mac 10.6.8
According to the official website, Avast is protecting more than 400 million users worldwide, but that also includes AVG products. Last publicly available number was 230 million users before the AVG acquisition. Avira is not stating user numbers publicly anymore before they usually claimed to have over 100 million users. In the recent tweet, Avira stated over 500 million users are protected by their technology. Based on these reliable claims, Avast has at least twice more users than Avira.
2. Antivirus Vendor Market Share by OPSWAT
OPSWAT is regularly releasing reports about the antivirus market share. Data are based on the OPSWAT GEARS software installed on the client machines. According to the latest report from December 2017, Avast is dominating the worldwide market with 19%. Followed by ESET with 14.03% and Malwarebytes with 12.73%. Avira is in the eighth position with 5.81%. It is also important to mention Microsoft for some reason is not included at all.
Avast vs. Avira – Market Share Report December 2017 by OPSWAT
3. CNET Download.com Ranking
Download.com by CNET is the World’s most popular download portal. According to its popularity rankings, Avast has more total downloads – more than 406 million, while Avira has ‘only’ 147 million. Avast is also leading the most popular downloads list for the recent week, while Avira is not even in the top 20.
However, these stats are influenced by each vendor download model. Avast is sending visitors from Avast.com to Download.com while Avira is downloaded from their own internal servers which are not counted to Download.com statistics.
Avast vs. Avira – Number of Downloads & Rating on CNET Download.com June 2017
Both vendors have great editor’s rating of 4 stars (meaning excellent), but Avast has better user/community rating of 4.5 stars versus Avira’s 4 stars.
4. Number of Fans on Social Media Networks
Another way how to measure product/company popularity is by the number of fans/followers on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. Avast is leading on Facebook with 4.1 million fans vs. Avira’s only 1.2 million. On Twitter, the difference is even bigger. Avast has 181 thousand followers and Avira only 19 thousand.
Avast vs. Avira – Number of Fans/Followers on Facebook and Twitter
Independent Labs Test Results – Will Avira Protect You Better Than Avast?
If you are looking for a more advanced comparison of antivirus protection, the best resources are the independent test labs. These labs are regularly performing various tests like how many viruses will get through the antivirus software, or which vendor offers better performance.
In most of the independence tests, the winner is Avira, whether it’s the Real Word Protection Test or Performance Test. Avast is usually in the top 3. However, Avira usually sends their paid product (Avira Antivirus Pro) for testing while Avast is being tested on the free version.
Selection of the most important and relevant test results is below:
Respected computer magazine PCMag gave Avast rating of 4,5 stars and Editor’s Pick award in their comprehensive comparison of free antivirus solutions written by security expert Neil J. Rubenking. Avira got only 3,5 stars.
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Our current Editors’ Choice products for free antivirus utility are Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free. Both get very good scores from the independent labs, and in our own tests as well. Both include some useful bonus features.
Neil J. Rubenking for PCMag
System Requirements & Compatibility – Will the Product Run on my Computer?
Both products will run on a majority of today’s computers as there are no special requirements. The major difference is that Avira is not supporting older versions of Windows (XP or Vista), but it will probably run there too. Both Avast and Avira are also fully compatible with the latest Windows 10.
System Requirements for Avast Free Antivirus 2019
System Requirements for Avira Free Antivirus 2019
Test Conclusion – Both Avast and Avira are Worth of Trying!
Both products have their pros and cons. Avira is definitely more straightforward product with simple features but a better level of protection. Avast offers great protection and lots of extra features on top.
We don’t want to recommend only one of them, instead, we would like to encourage you to try both, and see if Avast or Avira will suit you better. Even they are offered completely for free, the level of protection you will get is comparable with the paid-for antivirus solutions. The download links are below.
If you are looking for premium protection, check out our Internet Security suites comparison including Avast, AVG, Avira, ESET, and Norton (Symantec).
Additional Notes
Information about the product features has been obtained from the official websites of each vendor. If you believe we have stated something not correct, please let us know, and we’ll fix it immediately. Our intention is to offer a fair and fact-based comparison of each product.
For measuring the boot time we have used a free tool called BootRacer. We have tested Avira Free Antivirus 2016 (2016.0.7163) and Avast Free Antivirus 2016 (2016.11.1.2253) released on February 3, 2016. Both tests were performed on a Windows 7 Professional x64 computer with CPU Intel Core i7 @ 2.70GHz and 8 GB RAM.
For measuring the overall PC performance we have used a free tool called PassMark PerformanceTest which tests various areas including CPU, graphics, disk, and memory.
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Everybody needs antivirus protection. You, me— everybody! And I don't mean the antivirus built into Windows—it just doesn't measure up. Fortunately, you can get that protection without spending a penny. AVG AntiVirus Free, for example, has millions of users worldwide. In our own tests and tests by the independent labs, it earned very good scores.
In 2016, Avast acquired AVG. Both product lines continue their separate existence, but the underlying antivirus protection engine is identical, as evidenced by the results from my tests and independent lab tests. Why does the company keep them both? AVG and Avast Free Antivirus have huge followings, but globally each is strong in different areas. The combined company has a worldwide reach.
Of course, AVG only makes money if somebody purchases the for-pay security suite. There's a certain amount of upsell when you go to install the free antivirus, but it's much more laid back than that of, for example, Avira Antivirus. You can choose the free antivirus or start a 30-day free trial of the suite.
Last time I reviewed this product, it installed AVG Zen as a management and launching utility for AVG products. With the current product line, AVG Zen is defunct. You install an antivirus, you only get an antivirus, which I like. Also, there isn't a Pro edition of the basic antivirus. If you click one of the pro-only features in the free antivirus, it suggests you upgrade to the AVG Internet Security - Unlimited suite.
Is Avast Any Good
The product's user interface features green and white text on a slate-gray background. It clearly distinguishes free from premium features. It marks the panels for Computer and Web & Email protection as basic protection. Full protection includes panels for Hacker Attack protection, Privacy, and Payment protection. All three display a lock icon; clicking them invites you to upgrade to AVG's security suite.
Lab Scores: High and Plentiful
You might not realize this, but in most cases antivirus companies pay for the privilege of having products tested by the independent labs. The company does benefit; a high score gives it bragging rights, while if the score is poor, the lab helps the company work through what went wrong. With a free antivirus that doesn't bring in any income, a company might be tempted to avoid the expense of testing. Not AVG. I follow four independent testing labs that regularly release reports on their results; all four of them include both AVG and its cousin Avast.
The analysts at AV-Comparatives perform a variety of security tests, of which I follow four. Products that achieve the necessary minimum scores receive a Standard rating, while those that show advanced features and capabilities can rate Advanced or Advanced+.
Out of the four tests, AVG and Avast both received three Advanced+ ratings and one Advanced. That's quite good, but Bitdefender Antivirus Plus took Advanced+ in all four tests.
AV-Test Institute reports on antivirus capabilities in three areas: protection, performance, and usability. With six points possible in each category, the maximum score is 18 points. AVG took six points for usability, meaning it didn't erroneously flag valid programs or websites as malicious, and six more points for malware protection. It came close in performance, with 5.5 points. Avast precisely matched that score.
A total of 17.5 points is high enough for AV-Test to takn AVG a top product. Note, though, that Avira, Bitdefender, Kaspersky Free, and Vipre managed a perfect 18 points.
Jun 29, 2016 Review of Avast Free Antivirus for Mac. Avast is one of the most popular free antivirus programs, and they have a version for Mac OS X. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac offers most of the same features, is free to download, doesn’t include advertisements, and is generally unobtrusive. Avast Security is a free antivirus that stops malware & finds Wi-Fi security weaknesses. Free Download! In order to view this page correctly, you must have a JavaScript-enabled browser and have JavaScript turned on. Avast free antivirus pour mac os x. Download Avast Free Mac Security 2018 for OS X and protect your Macintosh with the best antivirus & security app. Review, install or uninstall. Download Avast Free Mac Security 2018 for OS X and protect your Macintosh with the best antivirus & security app. Review, install or uninstall. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac is Avast's answer to concerns about how to browse safely. The application is packaged with a brand-new, easy-to-understand graphical user interface, with access to all. Avast Free Mac Security 2018 Avast Free Mac Security 2018 Download – You like your Mac, and also rightfully so. Which is all the more need to safeguard it with the most preferred Mac protection offered. Macs need protection, too Mac OS X is thought about one of the most protected os offered. However today’s risks [].
Trying to come as close as possible to real-world conditions, the experts at SE Labs capture drive-by downloads and other web-based attacks, using a replay system to hit each tested product with the exact same attack. The very best products receive AAA certification; others may be certified at the AA, A, B, or C level. Like Avast, AVG received AA certification.
Quite a few products managed AAA certification in the latest test from SE Labs. Among them are Norton, Trend Micro, and Microsoft Windows Defender Security Center.
MRG-Effitas reports its test results a bit differently from the other labs. Products that don't manage perfect or near-perfect protection simply fail. AVG achieved Level 2 certification in the all-types malware protection test, meaning that it let at least one attacker install, but remediated the problem within 24 hours. Avast also received Level 2 certification in this test, and it passed the banking Trojans test. The banking test didn't include AVG, but I assume it would have achieved the same success as Avast.
Of the products I track, 10 don't appear in results from any of the labs. AVG and Avast are among the elite 10 that show up in all four lab reports. I use an algorithm that normalizes all the results to a 10-point scale and produces an aggregate score from 0 to 10. The aggregate score of 9.4 points for these two free antivirus products is impressive; only a few have done better. Bitdefender is at the top, with 10 of 10 points, and Kaspersky runs close behind with 9.9 points. Avira made a decent showing, with an aggregate score of 9.1 points based on results from all four labs.
Very Good Malware Protection
Malicious software from the Internet must get past numerous defenses before it can infect your PC. For example, AVG could block all access to the malware-hosting URL, or wipe out the malware payload before the download finishes—I'll discuss those malware protection layers shortly.
If a file is already present on your computer, AVG assumes it must have gotten past the earlier protection layers. Like Avast, Emsisoft Anti-Malware, McAfee, and a few others, it gives those files a final scan before they execute.
To test AVG's malware-blocking abilities, I opened a folder containing my current collection of malware samples and tried to execute each one. AVG blocked about three quarters of them immediately, wiping them out so fast it left Windows displaying an error message stating that the file could not be found. It eliminated most of those that did manage to launch before they could fully install. I tested Avast simultaneously, with precisely the same results.
Both products detected 89 percent of the samples and scored 8.9 of 10 possible points. That's not bad, but Cylance, F-Secure, Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic, and McAfee share the top spot, with 9.3 points.
When tested with my previous malware collection, Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus earned a perfect 10 points. Given that the samples were different, I can't make a direct comparison with more recent tests, but everyone likes a perfect score.
When AVG detects a file that's completely unfamiliar, it prevents that file from launching and sends it to AVG headquarters for analysis. One of my hand-coded analysis tools proved suspicious; AVG killed the process, triggering a Windows error message. To show it wasn't really an error, AVG attached a CyberCapture tab to the error message. Once AVG exonerated the program, it ran without any interference.
Suspicious activity by a few other files merited special scrutiny. AVG displayed a message stating, 'Hang on, this file may contain something bad,' and promised an evaluation within 15 seconds. All my hand-coded testing utilities triggered this warning; all three got a clean bill of health. Avast offers precisely the same protection for unknown and suspicious files.
The samples I use for the malware blocking test stay the same for months. To check each product's ability to deal with the very latest malware, I start with a feed of malware-hosting URLs supplied by MRG-Effitas. I try to launch each one, recording whether the antivirus blocked access to the URL, vaporized the malware download, or totally missed the boat.
I test URL after URL until I've recorded data for 100 verified malware-hosting URLs, then I tally the results. AVG blocked access to about 60 percent of the URLs and eliminated almost another 30 percent at the download stage, for a total of 91 percent protection; Avast turned in identical results. That's pretty good, but quite a few products have done better. Norton and Bitdefender share the top score, 99 percent protection, with McAfee AntiVirus Plus and Trend Micro close behind at 97 percent.
Excellent Phishing Protection
Phishing websites don't need fancy coding tricks to infest visitors with malware; instead, they aim to fool the user. They simply create a convincing imitation of a sensitive site, perhaps a bank, or PayPal, and strew links to that fake site around the Web. Any user who logs in, not realizing it's a fraud, has just given away a secure account to the fraudsters. If a thousand netizens spot the fraud and just one fecklessly logs in, that's a win for the bad guys. And when the authorities put the kibosh on the fraudulent site, the fraudsters just pop up another one.
I test antiphishing using the very newest phishing sites, preferring ones that haven't yet been fully analyzed and blacklisted. I launch each probable phishing URL in four browsers. The product under test protects one of the browsers, naturally. The other three rely on protection built into Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. As with my other hands-on tests, I challenged AVG and Avast at the same time.
Any coder can write a phishing protection module that blocks site found on official blacklists. The best products use real-time analysis to identify frauds that are too new for the blacklists. AVG clearly has this capability; the company touts its enhanced machine learning and image recognition technologies. In testing, it proved quite effective.
With an impressive 98 percent detection of phishing frauds, AVG joins an elite group with top scores in this test. Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security, ZoneAlarm, and Avast also managed 98 percent. Bitdefender weighed in with 99 percent, while both Kaspersky and McAfee managed a perfect 100 percent detection.
Scan Choices
AVG's main window features a big Scan Computer button. Just clicking it launches what AVG calls a Computer Scan. This isn't the full scan of your entire computer. Rather, it checks for insecure browser add-ons, runs a fast check for active malware, and scans for performance issues. On my standard clean test system, the scan finished in about five minutes. It reported no malware or browser problems, but it did find some performance issues.
Specifically, AVG reported hundreds of broken Registry items, 2GB of 'system junk' files, and seven programs slowing down performance. Alas, clicking the link to resolve these problems just brought up a screen suggesting I purchase AVG TuneUp. A similar feature in Avast also reports problems, and likewise requires payment to fix them. Clicking Performance Scan on the page of scan choices got me the same treatment.
Avast's Smart Scan performs those same three security checks, and more. It adds a scan for network security, unpatched security vulnerabilities, and weak passwords.
As noted, clicking Scan Computer just scanned the system for active malware. For a full scan of the entire computer, I launched what AVG calls a Deep Scan. It must have been very deep; the scan took slightly more than two hours, about the same as the Full Virus Scan in Avast. That's well over twice the current average of 50 minutes for a full scan. You should run a Deep Scan after installation, to root out any existing malware, but after that the product's real-time protection should be enough. You can also choose to scan all removable media, or scan specific files and folders.
The Boot-Time Scan isn't installed until you first choose to run it. This scan aims to wipe out persistent malware that doesn't yield to the regular antivirus. It does so by launching before Windows does, meaning it launches before any Windows-based malware can defend itself. You simply select Boot-Time Scan and reboot. Avast offers a very similar feature, though it's installed by default rather than on first use.
Bonus FeaturesAvast Free Mac Security Reviews
The AVG SafePrice browser extension keeps an eye on your online shopping. If it finds a better deal than the items you've selected, it shows what it found. For some sites it also offers coupons. It's functionally identically to Avast SafePrice.
Both Avast and AVG offer a Do Not Disturb mode, which postpones scheduled scans and suppresses notifications when you're using specified programs. This is a pretty common feature in modern antivirus programs, but many of them switch into this quiet mode automatically when you launch a full-screen program, without requiring you to make a list.
In testing, I noticed that AVG Web TuneUp didn't appear in the test system's browsers. My company contact confirmed that this component no longer installs as part of AVG's free antivirus. Avast retains its very similar Avast Online Security feature, which marks up dangerous links in search results, actively blocks ad trackers and other trackers, and corrects mistyped URLs to avoid typosquatting attacks.
![]() Avast
The final bonus feature is a little hard to spot. Buried in the right-click menu for files and folders, you should find a new item titled Shred using AVG. If you choose this item, AVG overwrites the file's data before deleting it, thereby foiling any attempt to recover the deleted file's data. Avast offers a similar feature, but only at the for-pay suite level.
Is Avg Any GoodA Very Good Free AntivirusAvast Download For Mac
The core antivirus engine in AVG AntiVirus Free is the same as what powers Avast Free Antivirus, as evidenced by identical scores in independent labs tests and our own hands-on tests. However, the two products diverge significantly when it comes to useful security bonuses. With Avast, you get a password manager, a network security analyzer, a full set of web security tools, and more. AVG doesn't come close. Avast remains an Editors' Choice for free password manager, overshadowing its cousin, AVG.
Kaspersky Free is our other Editor's Choice free antivirus. Where AVG and Avast gets very good ratings from the four independent labs that I follow, Kaspersky routinely takes perfect or near-perfect scores. It comes with a bandwidth-limited VPN, but not many other frills. The key with Kaspersky is getting lab-proven antivirus protection without any cost.
Bottom Line: AVG AntiVirus Free offers precisely the same antivirus protection engine as Avast Free Antivirus, but lacks the impressive collection of bonus features that you get with Avast.
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