Avast! Is a security suite package developed by Avast Software who are a Czech based company who made their debut into the world of business in 1988. This highly experienced company know what they are doing in the cyber security world, that’s for sure! Towards the end of 2016 they bought AVG for $1.3 billion.
Features
One feature stands out to us and that’s ‘Sandbox’ - A tool that allows the user to run any file within a confined and controlled virtual environment. If the file is malicious it won’t cause any damage to the device when in this mode, as it’s not actually running on the device, but in this virtual mode. A very handy and innovative tool to reduce the chance of viruses getting on your device. Avast! also comes with the standard features like, real-time scanning, a quarantine and even bonus features like a password manager and browser security tool. In other words the software is packed full of features.
Security
Avast! is a company with a great reputation and tons of awards to back up this up. Software is always evolving however, so awards can quickly become out-dated and not representative of the current software the company produces. However if the company has so many awards you’d expect them to always produce quality goods.. well that’s not always the case, Norton for example produced a very unstable version of their AV and consumers were going mad, we don’t blame them. Viruses are always being changed in order to get around AVs so if they can’t keep up with the times, serious threats could start to sneak through. We performed our own testing with some of the most recent and aggressive viruses and honestly, the software is performed flawlessly and looks great too.
Support
24/7 phone support is a great addition to their support but they are lacking live chat which is a bummer as it’s such a convenient way of contacting companies these days! Their website however, is stunning! Potentially the nicest site out of all the companies we review. To be able to navigate around a website with ease is truly one of the most satisfying things and trust us, you can do this with Avast! Great work Avast!
Affordability
Avast! offer an amazing free solution which millions of people use but comparing a free version to paid wouldn’t seem fair. Obviously, Avast! also offer a paid solution otherwise we wouldn’t be reviewing them right now. So, their Premier antiirus package works out at $69.99 per year per device. Only offering 1 device protection per subscription is quite disappointing as the average citizen now owns 2.5 internet connected devices! Most companies nowadays will allow at least 2 devices per subscription to cater for the average consumer. However Avast! do offer a 30 day free trial which is a great way to try out their software with no commitment whatsoever.
