Is Avira Worth It
Ronald Frison
For many people, the point of buying a laptop is to have a computer that you can take with you on the go. If you are planning on taking your laptop to class or to do work in a park or caf, you might want to consider a lightweight option. Yet convenience can come at a price, as a lighter laptop might mean one with less power. Typically, a more powerful laptop comes with a bigger battery that adds extra weight.
Ideally, you want a laptop with a battery that can last a least 7-8 hours. If the one you like does not offer this kind of endurance see if it at least has a quick-charge function that gives it an extra couple of hours when plugged in for just 15 minutes.
RAM (random access memory) also affects the performance of a laptop. It is the main memory of a computer, so the more, the better. Even the cheapest laptops come with 4 GB of RAM, which potentially is enough for very basic use but a minimum of 8GB is recommended. However, a laptop with 16 GB is usually not that much more expensive, so spending a little more might be worth it in the end.
Pro tip: You can upgrade the RAM on your laptop, so if you are unsure about how much you need or restricted by your budget there are options to increase it later. Just make sure you buy a laptop with this capability!
Matte displays have an anti-glare coating that prevents them from showing reflections and makes them a better choice if you will often use your laptop outdoors. The tradeoff is matte screens tend to have lower color accuracy.
Glossy screens tend to be brighter, with higher contrast and more accurate color. Yet this can also be a disadvantage. Highly sensitive to light, it produces noticeable reflections that make it practically unusable in direct sunlight.
In the end, there is no right or wrong decision. Deciding which is right for you comes down to personal choice and a consideration of the type of work you want to do on the laptop and where you will use it most often.
You just bought a new laptop, so why not start taking care of it from the get-go? One way you can keep your new laptop at peak productivity and performance is by installing powerful antivirus software to protect your device against cyberthreats. You can opt for a free antivirus like Avira Free Security that covers all the bases with a comprehensive set of security, privacy, and performance features.
To put that in perspective, Bitdefender Premium Security has a similar feature set to Prime with a full VPN and a password manager. It covers up to ten devices, but is priced significantly higher at $79.99 in year one, $159.99 on renewal.
If price is a priority, look at Norton 360 Deluxe, too. It has a full VPN and a password manager, but also adds parental controls and 50GB cloud backup, and covers up to five desktop and mobile devices for $49.99 in year one, $119.99 on renewal.
Keep in mind that the differences between providers are tiny, though - often just one or two threats missed out of thousands - and Avira does score maximum protection marks in some tests (MRG Effitas, AV-Test Windows.) It may not quite offer market-leading performance, but Avira still delivers above-average protection which does a great deal to keep you safe from threats.
We ran the top benchmark PCMark 10 on a test laptop, both before and after installing Avira. The results (4,566 before, 4,579 afterwards) suggested that Avira may have fractionally improved speeds rather than slowed us down, though not really enough to make a visible difference.
Avira did extend our full device boot time (Windows plus all our startup apps) from 81 to 92 seconds, but even that was a decent performance. Norton had a similar effect, stretching our boot time to 91 seconds, and Bitdefender (101 seconds) and Avast One had even more of a drag on our startup speed at 102 seconds.
If it does break something, though, Privacy Settings can restore the default settings with a click. Experts can even inspect Privacy Settings various options manually, and enable or disable whatever they like.
There are modules to find large files and folders, for instance. In a click or two we uncovered 6GB of unnecessary large files, including an old archived Outlook PST file and a bunch of ancient videos from a long-lost mobile phone.
A Duplicate File Finder helped us find more files that we had copied around our hard drive, then forgotten about the originals. Deciding which to keep and which (if any) to delete takes time and thought, but with almost 20GB of duplicates on our test laptop, it was well worth the effort.
Software Uninstaller is an advanced version of the Windows Control Panel uninstaller which gives you multiple ways to inspect your system. We were able to review recently-installed apps; the apps that took the most space; Windows Store apps, Windows updates, system components and more.
The system works largely automatically. We tapped an Analyze button, it found 100+ startup items within seconds and decided what to do with them. We accepted the default settings and restarted to check the results.
The first restart was disappointing, with Avira reporting a boot time that had actually lengthened by six seconds (from 53 to 59.) We looked at the settings for an explanation, found nothing, rebooted again, and this time our boot plummeted to 33 seconds.
Avira says the service only supports 150+ apps, a relatively small number: Microsoft Office, Adobe apps, browsers, media players and so on. Software Updater has been around for a very long time, though, and in our experience it does a very good job of keeping a system patched.
Keep in mind, though, that many software updaters are available in a free form, allowing you to sample them before you buy. Avira Software Updater Free is available on the Avira site, and there are some excellent free specialist tools in Home Updater, and WingetUI.
Avira Prime for Mac is a decent mid-range security suite offering antivirus, web protection, the full Avira Phantom VPN, data breach monitoring via Identity Assistant, and performance options to delete junk files, uninstall unwanted apps and control your startup software.
A straightforward interface makes this all very easy to operate. Most key functions are listed on a left-hand sidebar, and clicking something like Virus Scans takes you to a page with the relevant options (Quick, Full and Custom scans.)
Malware protection is a little disappointing. AV-Comparatives gave Avira a protection rate of 99% in its last Mac test, placing the company last out of nine contenders. (Bitdefender managed 99.7%, Avast a perfect 100%.)
Avira Antivirus Security and VPN for Android has a decent free version with some useful features: basic antivirus, a limited 500MB a month VPN, data breach monitoring, device cleanup to find and delete junk files, and an app locker to prevent others running sensitive apps unless they know the PIN.
The app does a fair job of the security basics. The app and web protection automatically protected us from threats; the VPN connected quickly when we needed it, and a straightforward interface ensures most features are no more than a couple of taps away.
IOS security apps are generally light on features, and Avira Security is no exception. Only web protection, data breach monitoring, the password manager and VPN have made it from the Windows edition across to your iDevice.
Mike is a lead security reviewer at Future, where he stress-tests VPNs, antivirus and more to find out which services are sure to keep you safe, and which are best avoided. Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace. The early PC viruses caught Mike's attention, and he developed an interest in analyzing malware, and learning the low-level technical details of how Windows and network security work under the hood."}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Mike WilliamsSocial Links NavigationLead security reviewerMike is a lead security reviewer at Future, where he stress-tests VPNs, antivirus and more to find out which services are sure to keep you safe, and which are best avoided. Mike began his career as a lead software developer in the engineering world, where his creations were used by big-name companies from Rolls Royce to British Nuclear Fuels and British Aerospace. The early PC viruses caught Mike's attention, and he developed an interest in analyzing malware, and learning the low-level technical details of how Windows and network security work under the hood.
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Avira is one of the better antivirus solutions out there, with decent lab results, a fantastic interface and good pricing. However, it falls short in a few regards, barring it from the upper regions of our rankings. Check out this full Avira review for the details.
Even the free version of Avira is staggering in its feature set, but Avira Prime is worth it despite the high price tag. Check out what makes this program worth the cost and give it a shot with its 30-day free trial.
Avira is absolutely packed with features. Every section of the application includes a flood of new options to speed up your computer, scan for malware or even update your drivers. Not only does it bring a ton of luxury features to the board, such as a built-in virtual private network, it makes managing your computer convenient and easy, in general.
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