Avast is among the most popular antivirus programs for PCs. It provides a variety of protection against ransomware bots, spyware and Trojans while also providing a number of useful tools, including a password manager and VPN. This program comes with a device lock feature that assists in locating lost devices and protects your data from being accessed by unauthorized users. It employs a behavioral analyzer to detect new threats. It can perform a system scan in just a single click.
The malware detection capabilities of the program are not perfect and takes a bit of time to complete the system scans. This makes it less than ideal for those who are busy. Its heuristic analysis tool isn’t like those in premium software, and could be susceptible to false positives. Sandbox technology isn’t nearly as effective as other competitors, either but it does perform well enough to keep the majority of malware from your computer.
Despite these issues it still provides solid protection for Wi-Fi, files and ransomware. You can customize your settings and add additional exceptions to the scanning rules, and the application’s Scan Central and Online Security web extensions make it easy to find and manage all your security features.
Upgrade to Avast’s paid plan and you’ll be able to take advantage of a variety of extra features. This includes a heuristic scan that runs your files in an isolated system in order to detect more sophisticated malware and a privacy adviser that helps you adjust your account settings for Facebook, Reddit and Twitter to protect your privacy. Additionally, you receive a password manager, a secure browser and PC speedup that optimizes your PC’s performance.