Avast Free Antivirus Vs Avast Premium Security

[Rosalee Ocegueda]

AvastAntivirus is a family of cross-platform internet security applications developed by Avast for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Avast offers free and paid products that provide computer security, browser security, antivirus software, firewall, anti-phishing, antispyware, and anti-spam, among other services.[2]

In January 2020, multiple news sources reported that Avast Antivirus, through a subsidiary, was selling the browsing history of Avast Free product users. Though the company claimed all data was "de-identified", it was reported that the sold data could possibly in some instances be linked back to people's real identities, exposing every click and search they had made.[5][6][7] In response, Avast announced that it would close the subsidiary over the data privacy backlash.[8]

According to articles published Monday by Motherboard and PCMag, Avast's antivirus software appears to track users' clicks and movements across the web, collecting data on things like Google searches and visits to LinkedIn pages, YouTube videos, and pornography websites.

The software is used by more than 400 million people around the world, Avast says. And, according to Consumer Reports testers, it ranks among the best free security software options available to PC and Mac owners. The same goes for Avast's AVG-branded software.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Avast said: "While we acted fully within legal bounds, always remaining vigilant to protect our users' privacy, we have listened to recent feedback and have already taken steps to align with the expectations of our users."

In July 2019, the company began testing a prompt that explicitly asked users whether they wanted to opt-in to such data-sharing during all new downloads of its desktop AV software. It's now in the process of rolling out that prompt to all existing AV users.

On its website, Avast says that most of the company's offerings collect some kind of anonymous user data, which is then used to improve the products and help the company react quickly to security threats.

The site doesn't mention anything about sharing data with outside companies. But Avast's privacy policy does say that consumer data is "stripped and de-identified' and used by Jumpshot to "provide trend analytics" for other companies.

Having your search history and internet-browsing habits collected and sold may make you uncomfortable, but antivirus software goes a long way toward keeping malware out of your computer and fending off ransomware, phishing attacks, and other threats.

One thing you can do right now, though, is adjust your privacy settings. Avast's website provides instructions on how to limit data collection, including halting distribution to third parties for "analysis of trends, business, and marketing."

"For the free options, it's very difficult to know what they're doing and not doing with the data they're collecting," Fitzgerald says, "because the terms in the policy are so vague. It's just not realistic for a consumer to read them and understand what's happening."

I write about all things "cyber" and your right to privacy. Before joining Consumer Reports, I spent 16 years reporting for The Associated Press. What I enjoy: cooking and learning to code with my kids. I've lived in the Bronx for more than a decade, but as a proud Michigan native, I will always be a die-hard Detroit Tigers fan no matter how much my family and I get harassed at Yankee Stadium. Follow me on Twitter (@BreeJFowler).

Once we were set up with the app and our subscription, the main page was divided into four sections: Core Shields and Virus Chest, which were also part of the free account, and then Wi-Fi Inspector and Ransomware Shield, part of our Premium subscription only.

Overall, we were happy with how Avast performed in our test in general. While no antivirus software is 100 percent effective, Avast certainly met our standards in terms of digital security and virus detection.

Aside from our own extensive testing, we also looked at independent lab data from AV Test3 to see their results for Avast. In their latest testing of Avast, the software scored a six out of six score across the board. Those are impressive scores. Additionally, it was able to detect 100-percent of widespread and prevalent malware.

Note: Aside from the one-year plan, Avast also offers plans for two and three years, but they are only available for purchase in the app itself, available for macOS, iOS, Android or PC.

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If you're searching for antivirus software, Avast is a good investment. Third-party tester AV-TEST gave it perfect scores across its Windows, macOS, and Android platforms. With competitive pricing, a free version, and a 30-day free trial, we think Avast antivirus is worth checking out.

All About Cookies RatingOverall Rating: 4.8AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.Editorial Rating"Avast is still a good option if you want antivirus protection while shopping or working online, and desire features such as ransomware and phishing protection. This is especially true if you want more straightforward software without some of the bells and whistles other products may offer."

In 2020, Avast was reported to have shared and sold user data. According to the company, the data was stripped of personally identifiable information. That would make it difficult, but not impossible, for hackers to decrypt.[1]

Following the reports, Avast's CEO announced plans to shut down operations at Jumpsot, which was the third party in charge of selling browser history data.[2] Its since created links that read "Do Not Sell or Share My Info" to comply with the CCPA, but it may also be a relief for privacy-concerned users.

Avast is still a good option if you want antivirus protection while shopping or working online, and desire protection from ransomware and phishing. This is especially true if you want more straightforward software without some of the bells and whistles other products may offer.

If you're in need of parental controls but interested in Avast, you can always purchase a parental controls app separately. We've compiled recommendations for the best parental control apps to help guide your search .

Avast is a straightforward antivirus for people who want good security without a ton of extras. For software with good overall security scores and additional features like a virtual private network (VPN) and identity protection tools, the prices are reasonable. Other antivirus products cost two and three times that, though they may offer more features for the money.

The Smart Scan ran in about two minutes and checked more than 160,000 files. After it finished scanning, we received a notification in Scan Central that the premium features were maximizing our security. These features are Ransomware Shield, Network Inspector scanning, and Real Site for fake websites.

Using the scanning features was easy, and there were no issues with either Deep Scan or Smart Scan. For more specific scanning, Avast offers a Targeted Scan where you can select only the files or folders you want to check. It also offers a Boot-Time Scan, which will scan your device during the next system startup.

One of the most common methods of phishing is through email. In an email, a scammer will send links or attachments that lead you to malicious websites and attempt to steal your information. Avast's paid plans include the Email Guardian feature, which scans your direct emails and flags anything suspicious.

Avast Premium Security offers a firewall, but only for devices using Microsoft Windows. It monitors network traffic between your device and outside networks to keep unauthorized users from invading your security.

All Avast plans offer ransomware protection options for various file types, including videos, photos, and documents. You can tailor these preferences as you like, but all are turned on by default, except for the System option.

You won't get any fraud-specific features with Avast until the Avast One Platinum plan. You'll be able to monitor for changes to your credit with all three major bureaus and be alerted of these changes. Other than that, Avast doesn't offer anti-fraud features.

The Network Inspector (formerly Wi-Fi inspector) is helpful for reminding users to run a scan when joining a network for the first time. That could prevent users from downloading malware from an unsecured network.

Finally, Avast Secure Browser is a free download that aims to protect users when online. It blocks malicious websites and downloads, hides what you type online so others cannot intercept your communications, and comes with a banking mode, designed to keep your financial data safe.

We test the antivirus products we review by running an EICAR test. EICAR stands for the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research, which provides a safe and legal framework to test antivirus software for malware detection, potentially unwanted app (PUA) detection, and phishing detection capabilities.

With antivirus, it's also important to review third-party test results for an unbiased look at how the software works. AV-TEST is an independent organization that tests and rates antivirus software in realistic scenarios against real-world threats. It tests antivirus for protection, performance and usability with a maximum of 6.0 points in each category.

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