Verdict
Avast is best known for its free antivirus products , but its paid - for service is also well worth a look , offering excellent support for older PCs , public presentation like to Microsoft Defender , and shed - loads of extra features .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Avast ’s free antivirus ( now calledAvast One Essential ) is one of thebest devoid Antivirusoptions around , especially on an older version of Windows . However , Avast One Premium – its paid - for sib – brings some unnerving lineament to the static itself .
At the time of writing , Avast One Premium presently survive alongsideAvast Premium Security . Avast One is clearly the more polished merchandise , with only minor feature conflict , so it ’s likely that the two will be merged earlier , rather than afterward .
Avast also owns theAVGrange of antivirus services , which partake in the same malware - detection locomotive . The interrogative sentence is whether Avast One Premium can stand up to thebest antivirussoftware such asTrend Micro Internet SecurityandNorton 360 .
Pricing
Avast One has a great introductory price of $ 50.28/£39.99 , which gets you a five - equipment subscription that will cover roving devices as well as Windows and macOS PCs . But note that the renewal fee is a rather painful $ 99.99/£79.99 , which does n’t compare well to premium - priced rivals fromESETto Trend Micro .
Avast One is very new , so it is n’t currently available to buy in shop . However , if Avast Premium Security is anything to go by , you should be able to purchase your updates for significantly less if you corrupt your antivirus subscription through Amazon .
Malware detection performance
These tests were carried out on Avast Free Antivirus , but are still valid for Avast One Premium since the substance malware detection engine is the same .
Avast accomplish perfect slews in AV - Test ’s latest substantial - man photograph and reference filing cabinet - scanning test , with only one false cocksure . It blocked 99.7 % of malicious message in AV Comparatives ’ real - world protection tests – the same asMicrosoft Defender , with a single false irrefutable .
AVG and Avast use the same malware detection engine , and usually perform identically in detecting tests . However , although each was only compromise once in SE Labs ’ tests , Avast had to negate one virus after infection , while AVG just blocked it . Neutralisation is a less favorable final result , and the account weight chew over this in Avast ’s 97 % security rating .
Features
Avast One Premium shares many of its features with Avast One Essential , its free vis-a-vis . These admit on - need and scheduled malware scanning , real - time protection , e-mail and WWW auspices , ransomware protection and a elementary firewall ( really a subsidiary user interface for the Windows firewall ) base solely on granting per - app memory access .
While the gist virus protection is the same , paying user get more of the Avast ’s special features . These let in an unlimited VPN ( a interlingual rendition ofAvast SecureLine ) as well as an active password protection that will supervise up to five email addresses and alert you if they ’re included in a breach .
You also get a more full featured Software Updater , with the ability to install updates for your third - party software , as well as to merely inform you of their handiness . Keeping software up to date is critical if you want to quash vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malware .
Other spare feature admit dedicated webcam protection that you could make as strict as you like , to the detail of block any software package from accessing the webcam ; Web Hijack Guard , which authenticates universal resource locator against Avast ’s ownDNS host ; a driver updater , and more .
The new Avast One interface is definitely skillful to interact with than the dark tones of Avast Premium Antivirus , although grey - on - white text is n’t the most readable for those using small screens . There ’s a lot of unused space on the domicile tablet that could be used for cutoff tools , since everything is cram together on the Explore tab key ; but at least you have it off where to look for any open puppet .
You ’ll line up all Avast ’s setting via a push button in the Account tab , where you could configure demeanour , notification , alert auditory sensation and app exceptions and restriction . If you desire to enable Silent mode , that can still be done either in these stage setting or via the right - pawl menu on the telling area icon .
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Should you buy it?
Avast One Premium is absolutely jam - pack with features to improve your calculator ’s performance or supply margins of extra security measure . If you enjoy muck around , this one comes with a full toolbox . If you ’d rather just install your antivirus and blank out about it , it is n’t the best option .
Avast ’s malware detective work engine is normally just as in effect as Microsoft Defender ’s , but very occasionally misses malware in test . Trend Micro Internet Security and Norton 360 perform well , but at the cost of more nettlesome mistaken positives .
Final Thoughts
Avast One Premium is a small expensive when you consider the replacement cost of £ 79.99 – but you may buy it for a lot less and it does pile in plenty of feature of speech . I particularly like the addition of webcam protection , a breach chequer and extra update tools .
But if you wo n’t use those pecker , then Avast is no more accurate than Microsoft Defender , which is free . That said , like its free variation , this is an extremely effective antivirus for honest-to-goodness PCs running Windows 7 , 8 and 8.1 PCs .
Trusted Score
How we test
We use every antivirus suite ourselves , so we can check out their various features , from scanning selection to integrated extras such as parental ascendency .
The result we use to assesmalware sleuthing performancecome from reputable testing houses including AV - Test , AV Comparatives and SE Labs .
FAQs
Yes and no . There ’s a free tier called Avast One Essential , as well as a pay - for tier up called Avast One Essential ( reviewed here ) which provide extra features .
Avast One Premium costs $ 50.28/£39.99 in the first year , but the renewal price will be increased to $ 99.99/£79.99 .
