Avast Free - Personal Opinion

Product name
Avast Free
Installation (rating)
4.00 star(s)
User interface (rating)
4.00 star(s)
Accessibility notes
Attractive user interface with a lot of fancy colours.
Performance (rating)
3.00 star(s)
Core Protection (rating)
3.00 star(s)
Proactive protection (rating)
3.00 star(s)
Additional Protection notes
Decent web and malware protection.
Scans unknown files automatically
Browser protection (rating)
2.00 star(s)
Positives
    • Freeware
    • Many features
    • Easy to use
    • Ransomware protection
    • Accurate results and reliable antivirus engine
    • Well designed, clear and easy to use interface
    • Multi-layer protection approach
Negatives
    • Features are considered too basic
    • Noticeable negative system impact
    • Resource intensive tasks
    • Antivirus capabilities are average at best
    • Weak protection against zero-day threats
    • Lots of popups when running
    • Irritating privacy settings
    • Includes paid-for components (paywall)
    • Nags about purchasing other version
    • Not as many features as some competitors
    • Scans can be rather slow
    • Can slow down your browsing speed
    • Slows down browsing the Internet
    • Opening, copying or saving a file is noticeably slower
    • Significant impact while playing games
Time spent using product
Reviewed over a 30-day period
Computer specs
Lenovo IdeaCentre Y710 Cube

Intel Core i5-6400
geForce GTX 1070
C: drive
Manufacturer: SanDisk
Interface: SATA
Capacity: 119 GB

D: drive
Manufacturer: Seagate
Interface: SATA
Capacity: 931 GB
Recommended for
  1. All types of users
Overall rating
2.00 star(s)
F

ForgottenSeer 77591

I used Avast Free for a long time but when they started telling users they were at risk(cannot remember for what) I had enough.I was getting tired of asking Avast Forum members what are these risks,can someone explain? Never got an answer.
 
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Syafiq

Level 11
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
May 8, 2017
536
Avast Free, no bundles? XD . How about the Safe Price, Safe Zone(Now it's called Avast Secure Browser), Secure Line VPN(unticked by default), and the "Avast recommends you to install Google Chrome Browser" thing? But thank god, at least we can get rid of them easily via "Customize Installation" :)
 

EndangeredPootis

Level 10
Thread author
Verified
Well-known
Sep 8, 2019
461
What do you mean by :
Scans unknown files automatically,, under Protection Feedback,.
I mean didn't get what you have said
Watching some reviews shows that it sometimes sends a file to be analyzed by their lab.

Avast Free, no bundles? XD . How about the Safe Price, Safe Zone(Now it's called Avast Secure Browser), Secure Line VPN(unticked by default), and the "Avast recommends you to install Google Chrome Browser" thing? But thank god, at least we can get rid of them easily via "Customize Installation" :)
Yeah, I forgot.
 

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
Blocking avastui in firewall to get rid from ads its just not done and what else to do if it brings down detection.... it still sends a lot of telemetry to avast even if you disable things.
I've given up on avast a while ago ... also the forum was hacked in 2014 and they (hackers) got e-mail adres from all members ( have i been pownend ) i still receive lots of phishing mails because of the forum hack :/ (so still difficult to trust avast)
 
F

ForgottenSeer 77591

Avast Free, no bundles? XD . How about the Safe Price, Safe Zone(Now it's called Avast Secure Browser), Secure Line VPN(unticked by default), and the "Avast recommends you to install Google Chrome Browser" thing? But thank god, at least we can get rid of them easily via "Customize Installation" :)
I forgot about Avast turning on your webcam when all you had to do was disable it.Yes you had to click the pop up but it was still a scare tactic.They should do what Comodo does and include a check box for pop ups.
 

monkeylove

Level 10
Verified
Well-known
Mar 9, 2014
489
I'm trying it now, and it feels light: around 1 GB of disk space used and less than 100 MB for memory use. My only concern is popups for upgrades, etc. It's currently set in silent mode, but I assume that notifications for malware detection will still appear.
 

Bryan320

Level 8
Oct 11, 2019
293
Avast could have come so far instead they bloated the product with junk and scare-ware. It use to be a nice little product back in the day. I used it in 2014 and that's the best program version i can remember. What the hell is this company thinking???? Does the CEO have no shame in what he is doing? I dont think it can get much worse then it already has..... Long time users have stepped away from avast because of the unethical business practice's. perhaps the must strange thing of all even with reports on they're web forum they just don't seem to give a flying.... %^&* if you know what i mean...
 

Captain Awesome

Level 23
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
May 7, 2016
1,285
That's doable, the last time i had tried Avast, but when you arrive to the point, where you must block in the firewall your own antivirus, maybe it's time to look for another antivirus...
No, You can just ignore the GUI ADs.It is a free and good basic product. All AV product send some kind of information to 3rd party.You can use Windows Defender but it also send information to Microsoft.Use your "common sense" it is a great tool for your safety & privacy.
 

Burrito

Level 24
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
May 16, 2018
1,363
Don't be taken in by the fallacy of false equivalence arguments.... i.e.... they all do it.. or some other product also does something bad...

It's BS.

Fallacy of False Equivalence

Avast has a history of not being trustworthy.

Not every product does what Avast does.. even free ones.

-Avast sells to third parties
-Avast has a history of including PUPs
-Avast just got caught sucking up unnecessary data in their extensions..

If you are using it -- then you deserve what you get.

I mostly don't respond to threads like this -- as if you don't have the motivation to do just a little due diligence on the products that you are using... that's sorta your problem.
 

Fuzzfas

Level 3
Verified
Well-known
Jan 8, 2013
109
No, You can just ignore the GUI ADs.It is a free and good basic product. All AV product send some kind of information to 3rd party.You can use Windows Defender but it also send information to Microsoft.Use your "common sense" it is a great tool for your safety & privacy.

Burrito described my way of thinking before i did. I am one of those that disabled as much telemetry as possible everywhere. I don't mind if my antivirus wants to upload my hardware config or a malware/suspicious file, but when they start harvesting antyhing they can, add nag screens, "cleaners", "toolbars" etc, my common sense says to look elsewhere, because i start to see the antivirus itself as PUP. I 've stayed a year with no AV too and nothing bad happened, i 've been with MSE too for years and i was fine. So why force myself to endure something that annoys me, when i can use other solutions... That's my take with the way avast has taken.

I used to be an Avast user, back when i could use a "pirate" skin (was it v4 or 5?) and in the first time of the "yellow" GUI... Nowdays... i prefer to use MSE over it... I 'd dare say it's lighter too.

EDIT: I started reading Wilders and DSL Reports Security forum, when i was teenager (WinXP) and i got infected while AVG was watching. So i told myself: "if AVG can't protect you, you must do something about it, go learn more ". Back in those days, the way that the security gurus were "raising up" the newbies, was: "Nothing comes in and out without my permission". Also "if it phones home behind your back, ditch it". That's how i got accustomed too and nowdays i can make some concessions, but when something for example, wants on regular basis to harvest my browsing history or for example, what i do in my PC, it's equivalent to what those days, was called "spyware". Even MSE, when you install it, gives you various levels of "phoning home" permissions, one of which is to not partecipate to MAPS at all and never send a suspicious file.

If all AVs end up datamining like crazy and being bloated, i will just use HIPS. I am also not a believer of the logic "since one does it, never mind if everyone else does it". It's a bit like "since you are being stolen by one thief, never mind if all the town thieves come to steal from you too". That's why i have a firewall that blocks outboud. So that i can minimize the "phoning home" for no serious reason.
 
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