- Pros
Excellent scores in our hands-on tests. Good scores from independent labs. Wi-Fi inspector. Password manager. Numerous useful, security-related bonus features. Pro-only Sandbox and Real Site features.
- Cons
Password manager features limited. Some bonus features require separate purchase. Pro-only features don't merit the price.
- Bottom Line
Avast Pro Antivirus 2017 offers the same wealth of features as its free edition, and not a lot more. It's an excellent product, but for most people the free version will suffice.
Bitdefender and Avast both make you pay more for a firewall, either as a part of Avast Pro Antivirus ($49.99 per year) or with Bitdefender Internet Security (starting at $44.99 per year). In this comprehensive Bitdefender vs. Kaspersky guide, you’ll see the features both security companies offer in each of their security products, as well as how they compare to each other in terms of malware protection, system performance, user interface, and more. Avast vs Bitdefender, who wins the battle for the best free antivirus There isn’t really a clear cut answer to this question. Both Avast and Bitdefender fit into their own niches that will appeal to different kinds of users. Malware Removal Assistance For Windows Malware Removal Assistance For Mobile Malware Removal Assistance For Mac. Security News Technology News Hardware News. Avast free vs Bitdefender free for newbies about security. See below post. I know longer reccommend Bitdefender. Last edited: Aug 5, 2014. Get the best price for the Best Antivirus Software 2018-2019. Bitdefender Antivirus Mac is a popular option at the top of the price range. It's in the top 3 bestselling antivirus programs and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as McAfee LiveSafe 2017 or AVG Ultimate. • Avast security products are available for various platforms such as Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone or iPad. Bitdefender security products are available for Windows, Mac and android but its major focus is on Windows PC.
Clamxav Vs Avast For Mac
Every antivirus utility must perform the basic tasks of keeping malware from getting a foothold on your computer, and cleaning up any infestation that already exists. Some products go way beyond the basics; Avast Pro Antivirus 2017 is one such. Among many other impressive bonus features, it includes a basic password manager and an unusual tool that checks the security of your entire network.
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Almost half of the commercial antivirus products that I've reviewed cost about the same as Avast—$39.99 per year for one license. Four of my Editors' Choice antivirus products come in at this level: Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2017, Kaspersky, Norton, and Webroot. The fifth, McAfee, costs $59.99 per year, but it lets you install protection on an unlimited number of Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
Were it not for 'Pro' in the title bar, you'd be hard pressed to distinguish this product's main window from that of the free edition. It has the same slate-gray background and left-rail menu, with a few buttons and panels in green and purple. Sounds strange, but it works. When you click Protection in the menu, though, you'll notice a couple of items freed from the padlock icons they displayed in the free edition. However, the vast majority of this product's advanced features also come with the free edition. And unlike many vendors, Avast doesn't prohibit use of the free edition in a commercial setting. You'd think being so generous with the free version would cut into sales, but this model seems to work for Avast.
Shared Antivirus Features
As mention, this product includes all of the features found in Avast Free Antivirus 2017, and that's saying a lot. Rather than repeat myself, I'll direct you to read that review, so I can focus here on what's special about pro. First, though, I'll review the shared features.
Lab Test Results Chart
Malware Blocking Results Chart
Antiphishing Results Chart
All five of the independent antivirus labs that I follow include Avast in their testing. I would characterize its results as good, but not quite great. My aggregate lab score calculation assigns Avast 8.7 of 10 possible points. Kaspersky Anti-Virus owns this test, with a near-perfect 9.8 points.
In my hands-on malware protection test, Avast detected 97 percent of the samples and earned 9.7 of 10 possible points, a very good score. However, Comodo, PC Matic, and Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus all earned a perfect 10 points.
After I got past an initial kerfuffle involving an incompatibility between Avast and my antiphishing test tool, the antiphishing component did excellent work. Its detection rate was just 2 percent below that of antiphishing champ Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic, and it scored significantly better than the protection built into Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer.
Shared Bonus Features
It's quite amazing how much security goodness Avast packs into its free antivirus. The Wi-Fi Inspector component performs the unusual task of scanning your network (wired or wireless) for security problems. Its Software Updater looks for browsers and other software targets that are missing important security patches. You can create a bootable rescue disk in case aggressive malware makes the system unbootable. There's even a password manager, albeit a simple one.
Other bonus features show up when you install the Online Security browser extension. It warns you away from unsafe links in search results, actively blocks ad trackers, and even corrects your URL typos. The SafePrice extension perks up when it sees you shopping and searches for better deals on your selections. The hardened SafeZone browser kicks into Bank Mode when you visit a financial site. This is a separate desktop that's isolated from malware, keyloggers, and other unwanted hangers-on.
Security Upsell
On the Privacy page, you'll find a button to invoke the SecureLine VPN. Clicking it gets you a warning that your connection isn't private, along with a Go Private button. Clicking that button gets you…pricing information. SecureLine is a separate purchase, even in the Pro antivirus.
Selecting Cleanup from the Performance page gets you a similar experience. When you click the Check My PC button, it reports that it found things like junk files, obsolete Registry data, and inefficient system settings. But when you ask it to resolve those problems, once again you get a price list, just as in the free antivirus.
Cleanup is also a premium feature in AVG AntiVirus Free, but with a difference. With AVG, when you invoke PC TuneUp, you get a one-day free trial of the full product.
So What's New?
All of the features I've described to this point also come with the free antivirus. So, just what do you get when you spring for the paid edition? Avast has done some tuning of the message, but the for-pay features remain on the techie side.
Previously called Secure DNS, Avast's Real Site component secures your system's connection to a reliable, non-sketchy DNS server. DNS (Domain Name System) servers exist to translate human-readable domain names like www.pcmag.com into IP addresses like 23.204.109.42. If cyber crooks manage to subvert your system's DNS settings, they can redirect your browser to a fake website, leaving the Address Bar showing the URL you expected. This kind of DNS poisoning is like phishing, but more pernicious. Real Site isn't a very sexy feature, though. You can't see the threat it protects against, and you can't see that it protected you.
When you have a program that might be dangerous, but still want to run it, run it in Avast's Sandbox. Avast virtualized all file and Registry changes made by the program. When it terminates, all of those changes vanish. But really, how often do you need to run sketchy programs? In addition, the sandbox's privacy settings can occasionally interfere with the operation of a sandboxed program. For example, one of my test programs that resides on the desktop couldn't load its data file.
By default, Avast identifies sandboxed programs by attaching a flag above the title bar, but you can set it to use a colored border instead. That's about the extent of the Sandbox settings accessible to ordinary users. Just about everything else requires serious tech chops.
Why Pay?
Avast Pro Antivirus 2017 got good scores from the independent labs, better scores in my hands-on tests, and an excellent score in my antiphishing test. To the cornucopia of bonus features found in its free counterpart, it adds protection against DNS poisoning and a sandbox for running iffy programs safely. The problem is, those added features just don't merit the price. Most people will be fine with the free edition.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2017 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus get great scores from the testing labs. McAfee AntiVirus Plus protects all of your devices, not just one. Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic piles on spam filtering, password management, and a powerful intrusion prevention system. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus is the lightest and tiniest antivirus around. Each of these has its merits, and each is an Editors' Choice for commercial antivirus.
Avast Pro Antivirus 2017
Bottom Line: Avast Pro Antivirus 2017 offers the same wealth of features as its free edition, and not a lot more. It's an excellent product, but for most people the free version will suffice.
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Avast
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Disqus| Price | $29.99 | $59.99 |
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| Money back Guarantee | ||
Scanning | ||
| Real-time Antivirus | ||
| Manual Virus Scanning | ||
| USB Virus Scan | ||
| Registry Startup Scan | ||
| Auto Virus Scanning | ||
| Scheduled scan | ||
| Anti-Spyware | ||
| Anti-Worm | ||
| Anti-Trojan | ||
| Anti-Rootkit | ||
| Anti-Phishing | ||
| Anti-Spam | ||
| Email Protection | ||
| Chat/IM Protection | ||
| Adware Prevention | ||
Compatibility | ||
| Windows | ||
| Mac | ||
| Android | ||
| IOS | ||
| Easy of use | ||
Extra features | ||
| Personal Firewall | ||
| Parental Controls | ||
| Gamer Mode | ||
| VPN Service | ||
| Smartphone Optimizer | ||
| Device Tune-up | ||
| Safe browser | ||
| Live Help | ||
| Phone support | ||
| Email support | ||
| Ticket support | ||