Avira Free Antivirus

 

Avira Free Antivirus is one of the most traditional and respected antivirus programs on the market.

Available for a few years now, this program has won a large number of fans by combining uncomplicated functionality and reliability in its scans.

To keep your computer protected against threats and malware attacks - including viruses, spyware, phishing and adware - the application offers powerful tools for monitoring, identifying and removing virtual pests. All in real time.

Download and installation

On Baixaki, you can download a file that functions only as the Avira installer. When you run it, the program starts the transfer and then implements the protection software.

It is also worth noting that the application offers and installs by default complementary tools, but that have no relation to its operation. If you do not want such additional content to be applied to your PC, be sure to deselect the check boxes for it.

When Avira runs for the first time, all available database updates are performed. It is also recommended to perform a general scan of the system to make sure there is nothing wrong, and after that just leave the program to monitor everything by itself.

Safety first

As soon as you open the Avira Free Antivirus home screen, you are presented with a summary of the machine's current security situation. There are mechanisms available that indicate whether the PC and Internet protections are active and whether the firewall is on, and shortcuts to start a database update or a full system scan.

Accessing the scan menu, you find a wide variety of other scanning options, such as files from a particular folder, just Windows directories, drives connected to the computer, running processes, and more. In the real-time protection section you can also check how much content has been scanned and whether any loopholes, threats or malware has been found.

As with most antivirus programs, Avira Free Antivirus also provides features for scheduling automated activities, a place to quarantine suspicious files, and a history of all actions performed. What makes this program different is the provision of a function to monitor everything that your children do on social networks such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Sharing information

Recently, Avira decided to integrate its products more efficiently. To this end, the company has created a kind of information sharing center for the different Avira software products that you use. This starts with the control panel offered in the Notification Area, next to the clock.

Here you can open the antivirus, as well as request the download and installation of the browser protection, system acceleration, personal data encryption, and the device location feature in case of theft. In addition, a shortcut to your online account is available.

In turn, in this profile, you can manage and view some details of the company's software in use. In the case of Avira Free Antivirus, relevant events that have occurred recently (such as a detected virus or a potential threat sent to quarantine) and necessary actions are listed, including database updates and a full system scan.

For those who want even more protection

This is the free edition of Avira's antivirus. So it is worth noting that some of the features present in the Avira Free Antivirus interface can only be used by subscribers of its paid version. This is the case, for example, with the browser security feature and the email protection tool.

Our review of Avira Free Antivirus

If you're looking for a way, as far as possible, to protect your computer against attacks from malware and cybercriminals, it's worth giving Avira Free Antivirus a try. This program is one of the more traditional alternatives for this, and such respect from the market has not been earned by chance.

Fresh look, but functionality retained

Avira Free Antivirus has undergone considerable changes in its interface, which has become simpler and more minimalist. Visually, it is still understandable both because it is organized and because it is fully translated into Portuguese, which means that the assimilation of its operation happens in an uncomplicated and pleasant way.

Despite the visual redesign, the program has maintained the efficient and practical features so that your web surfing is protected, as well as the information stored on your PC stays out of reach of virtual pests and malicious people.

Full integration

One of the problems with this free version of Avira is the limited features. Here you don't have parental control, for example, which allows parents to have more control over what their children access on the web. This feature is important and would undoubtedly add a lot of value to the application, but unfortunately it is only offered to those who buy a license.

But if anything is missing, the integration with Android is present and is defined as a positive thing. The features that can be accessed through the laptop keep your PC safe and increase control over the tool, something always valuable for those who want to avoid major inconveniences.

Another point that can help is working together with a security bar for the browser. This extends Avira's reach and ensures a few more details in favor of privacy and security of your browsing, all without causing any inconvenience to the user.

In action

The installation of Avira Free Antivirus remains simple, and so does the database update system, ensuring efficiency when it comes to hunting down and eliminating any kind of threat. As for the program's performance, we have nothing to complain about.

During our tests, the application demonstrated stability and all tools performed as expected. When it comes to scanning speed, we should point out that this performance parameter can vary greatly depending on the amount and type of files kept on the PC.

In our case the complete system scan took approximately 20 minutes. It was not the fastest scan that we have seen, but we can't say that it took the longest either. Also, Avira Free Antivirus does not seem to be that demanding when it comes to hardware.

It is possible that some software and certain Windows processes become a bit sluggish when running a scan, but nothing to worry about. Perhaps, machines with more modest configurations can feel the "weight" of its execution and make it impossible to use other programs, but this would also happen with other antivirus in the category of Avira Free Antivirus.