Troubleshoot Avast Replacement

[Gadsilla]

Briefly explain your current issue(s)

Looking for a new anti virus that I can replace Avast with.

Steps taken to resolve, but have been unsuccessful

I've looked through different forums, and the internet in general. I've found that a lot of lists telling you what AW to buy is often sponsored by the anti viruses themselves, or the creators of the list have some other indirect profit motive. Therefore I don't find it as reliable, unlike this forum which appears very genuine.

Hello, I'm a current Avast user with very little to no experience within the technicalities of how anti viruses work or anything beyond that in this field. I've been using Avast for around four years, and I don't like the direction Avast has taken lately. It appears that Avast is aiming at becoming the jack of all trades, which in my perception often ends up with being the master of none. Avast has also gotten quite annoying lately constantly poking me to purchase a new software they've created, like Avast driver updater, Avast cleanup, Avast securline VPN, Avast passords, ect. I'm using my Avast together with Malwarebytes premium, and I've never had any issue with Malewarebytes.

Here's a screenshot of my Avast: Screenshot - 82e42a86ad54fadfb35ac89581c342ce - Gyazo
It's asking me to purchase Avast cleanup, disguised as me having the ability to clean by clicking ''Løs Problemer'' ''Solve the issues''.

Due to the reasons mentioned above I've decided to not renew my Avast premier and I'm looking for a new anti virus. I'm looking for one that isn't needy, and only serves its purpose as an anti virus. I'd prefer one that uses very little resources. Through my observation on the internet looking at antiviruses it appears that Bitdefender is a very popular anti virus, however there appears to be some sort of eccentric behavior around it which might disguise a reality where Bitdefender isn't as good as it's perceived.

Has anyone tested out Bitdefender and is able to give some sort of recommendation, or review ? I've read through some reviews on this forum, but I did not material that compares Avast to Bitdefender.

 

[Deleted Member 3a5v73x]

Due to the reasons mentioned above I've decided to not renew my Avast premier and I'm looking for a new anti virus. I'm looking for one that isn't needy, and only serves its purpose as an anti virus. I'd prefer one that uses very little resources.

Go for Emsisoft. Bitdefender and In-house engines, one of the best BB's. Great support. No bloat and uneeded features. Very user friendly. You won't regret it based on your needs. Trial it first of course.

Emsisoft | Award-Winning Anti-Malware & Anti-Virus Software

 

[Electr0n]

I have tried Bitdefender total security sometimes ago, but I felt it to be a bit heavy on my system. Bitdefender has great signatures. If you only need an antivirus, you can go for the free Bitdefender antivirus.
I currently use eset nod 32 in one of my machines, it is quite lightweight and set and forget software.
If you are looking for a suite then Kaspersky Internet security is the best choice but it is a bit on the heavy side.
I would recommend you to download the trial versions of Bitdefender and eset nod 32, Kaspersky and try them for yourself to see which plays nicely with your system as user experiences tend to vary accross systems for users. My advice would be to don't get anything beyond the internet security suites.

 

[Bleak]

Don't purchase any product immediately. Use its trial period first and see how it actually behaves on your specific system and your way of using your computer.

 

[tim one]

You can try BD free, quite light and effective, but sometimes buggy, the paid version uses a lot of modules and then it is quite heavy according to my old experience.
Talking about commercial products you can switch to Eset or Kaspersky testing the trial version and then deciding what you prefer.

 

[Nestor]

I've be using BitDefender Internet Security for many years.The two last versions (2017-2018) are quite light on the system, plus i never get seriously infected except some pups, but i think there are better solutions out there like KIS,CIS and Emsisoft.

 

[yitworths]

If you are looking for free alternative try Kaspersky free+NVT OSarmor combo along with some other on-demand 2nd opinion scanner such as hitman pro.

 

[Mahesh Sudula]

Just use Kaspersky Internet security. You never look back and regret.
He mastered "SORCERY" in Cyber security..

 

[Hector1]

In my experience with my oncle (who is the best man in the world for collecting new viruses in the web and who need a clean install every two months) a simple free config in W10 is simple, light and effective: not a single virus in almost two years. The config is Kaspersky free + Voodooshield free+ Adguard addons in the browser. If you want install new software simply disable and then enable Voodoo shield, other prompt is ever Block and you are safe, visit what you want from hotbeutyfulbabies.net to savetheworld.gov is the same

 

[Weebarra]

Like you, i have no real knowledge about AV's but have tried a few and can only give you my experience on the ones i've tried.

Bitdefender was very heavy on my machine (total security) absolute crap support from them whenever there were bugs and there were lots, resulting in me being left with no working AV on my machine for 3 days. Not much for you to configure either but affordable

Kaspersky, i liked, more user friendly and you can configure more if you wish or just use it out of the box, affordable, i never needed support so can't comment on that, no nags to upgrade.

Emsisoft (using now but had never even heard of it before i came to MT) fairly light, in fact, i was unsure it was even active because i was never annoyed by anything, a bit dearer than the other 2 mentioned but provides excellent support but doesn't include a firewall anymore so you will need to decide on one for yourself.

If you want to configure whichever one you trial, there is lots of good advice on how to do that on MT, for the main part i just use them out of the box with no real configuring.

 

[Nestor]

If you choose KIS keep in mind that it make the difference only if you tweak it.You can consult this very useful thread.

How to setup Kaspersky Internet Security 2016 for Maximum Protection (Guide)

 

[shmu26]

Unless you are running Avast in Hardened mode, you are not getting anything so special from Avast, anyway.
You are on Windows 10, so you can use Windows Defender. In recent AV testing, it is comparable or better than the paid AVs -- especially if you enable PUA protection. (I am not talking here about zero-day testing, where Kaspersky usually comes out strongest)

If you want a really strong AV suite, and you know how to tweak it right, then Kaspersky IS is a winner.

But Windows Defender can do an excellent job, too. Especially if you use the free companion tool, ConfigureDefender.
ConfigureDefender utility for Windows 10

 

[uduoix]

Kaspersky, ESET, Emsisoft, G-Data... you can't miss with any of those vendors. Try trial and you'll see which one works for you

 

[Atlas147]

Compared to Avast, bitdefender was extremely heavy on my system, often causing lag on my computer when it was updating it's signatures.

Have a look at Kaspersky, so far it feels as light as Avast and it barely has any ads on the free version so I can't imagine that it would start pushing ads on their paid versions. Although like Avast, Kaspersky also has many functions in their top tier program such as passwords and VPNs but they do not push it as far as Avast driver clean up or updater and stuff.

In my opinion Kaspersky would be the way to go if you want to try something new.

 

[Gadsilla]

Unless you are running Avast in Hardened mode, you are not getting anything so special from Avast, anyway.
You are on Windows 10, so you can use Windows Defender. In recent AV testing, it is comparable or better than the paid AVs -- especially if you enable PUA protection. (I am not talking here about zero-day testing, where Kaspersky usually comes out strongest)

If you want a really strong AV suite, and you know how to tweak it right, then Kaspersky IS is a winner.

But Windows Defender can do an excellent job, too. Especially if you use the free companion tool, ConfigureDefender.
ConfigureDefender utility for Windows 10

I've got my Avast at hardened mode, which is more preferable of the moderate and aggressive mode?

 

[SumTingWong]

You can try BD free, quite light and effective, but sometimes buggy, the paid version uses a lot of modules and then it is quite heavy according to my old experience.
Talking about commercial products you can switch to Eset or Kaspersky testing the trial version and then deciding what you prefer.

The biggest problems of Bitdefender is dead forum support and Bitdefender don't offer any support for the free version of Bitdefender at all. In addition, Bitdefender Free is not compatible with Windows 10 Build 1803 as far as I know. I have used Bitdefender Free for over a year now before upgraded 1803. Now I have to wait for Bitdefender to check if the free version compatible with the Build 1803.

 

[L0ckJaw]

Just use Kaspersky Internet security. You never look back and regret.
He mastered "SORCERY" in Cyber security..

Strange reaction with a G Data avatar

 

[Deleted member 65228]

I agree that Avast has gone down-hill by a long-shot, and quite frankly I do not blame you for wanting to remove it. I believe in the Settings for Avast there should be a way for you to disable advertisements since you're a premium paid user, but I am not sure. I believe a member named @spaceoctopus uses Avast paid so he might be able to help further. All in all, if there is a way to disable it, you might then decide to not want to switch at all if the performance/protection is something you have felt comfortable with for all these years.

I agree with @Bleak, very wise words in my opinion. Most well known and reputable vendors will offer a 30-day trial for their products which you can use before purchasing them, and this gives you a chance to see how the product performs on your environment and whether you feel comfortable using the product.

You could trial different products at different times from a variety of different vendors for a few months and then decide which one you feel comfortable using.

 

[bribon77]

It would be good if you said. If you want a free Av or payment .. But in any case the best from my point of view is to test before.

 

[Islam Gamal]

in my opinion, Avast is a very good and powerful product. you can ignore these messages. it is not a big problem.
i have tried bitdefender last month and believe me you do not need this crab on your system.
it is full of bugs, heavy on system, long updates and sometimes its services can not start correctly and you need to restart.
anyway it is your decision.