A newer version of Avast 4 Professional Edition is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- Average user rating: stars out of 453 votes Back to product review
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User reviews
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8 out of 23 people found this review helpful
3 stars
Version: Avast 4 Professional Edition 4.0.235
"Not bad at all. I can give it 3.75 stars compared to paid only scanners."
Pros: I'll admit, It's tough to get a five start review on a security application (of any type) from me. This is a good program. Unfortunately, it's not that different from the free version. It has a few more settings and one additional shield. It's a customizable program and once you find the right skin at "Avast" it becomes a nice, user friendly GUI. Like in the free version, I recommend, for your first scan, turning the scan setting to deep scan. It takes longer but is more effective. This application has good active protection, good detection and removal on viruses, trojans and worms. Updates are automatic, unobtrusive and smooth. It's compatible with "Vista" and would not be a bad choice. I like it better then "Norton" and McAfee"
Cons: At $39.95 per year, it would not be in my first three choices, but thats only my opinion. My first two are "Kaspersky" and "AntiVir Premium". not necessarily in that order. The only flaws I see in this application are an occasional false positive and an occasional, fail to block. One of the false positives that occur are in "system restore points", where other software has been uninstalled and a trace is left over.
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
5 stars
Version: Avast 4 Professional Edition 4.0.235
Pros: it has more shields and more everything
Cons: the spyware shield is a little weak and need to add zero day attacks
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5 stars
Version: Avast 4 Professional Edition 4.0.235
Pros: it as more then free
Cons: wish the extra in the free ver app
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5 stars
Version: Avast 4 Professional Edition 4.0.235
"Not only the detection rate counts!"
Pros: According to AV- Comparatives Avast earned a advanced plus on demand detection of virus and malware in February 2008. That is a fine reward.
But I do not think that this is the main rational argument for considering Avast. Some other antivirus software scores in this regard even somewhat better.
The main arguments for using Avast, apart of being free, are all its special features. What comparatives and Virus Bulletin does not consider are just those features and they are not either supposed to consider them. They consider mainly only two things and those are the detection rates and that the software does not make so called false positives. Those considerations are extremely important but, please, do not consider them as the whole truth but only a very important part of the whole truth.
Also consider those very important features Avast has such as resident protection, P2P shields, web shield, script blocker, boot time scan, virus chest (which protects in a vault, against malicious attacks, certain files which are very important for the operating system), network shield (a lightweight firewall) and other features.
In other words, no good having a good detection rate if the software does not also have a good capability of detecting malware and not just in the laboratory, but also in the real practical world.
Alwil is the company which makes Avast and Alwil is indeed a very serious company. It does not nag you even if you only use the free version, that is Avast Home Edition, with all sorts of ads asking you to upgrade. This makes a difference and actually tells you something. It tells you that they are serious. They make a software which is considered to protect you in the real world. They have seriously considered all those features when they made Avast.
Apart of all this it also protects you from spyware and rootkits. It has a lot of skins to choose from which makes it in fact really special and attractive. Those properties are also very important.
I loved my Avast so much that I upgraded very recently, for a three years lease, to Avast Professional Edition.
I have been using Avast constantly in three different laptops for three years (HP, Acer and now Sony Vaio) and I have had no problems whatsoever. I have tried other antivirus software and made some online scanning and my PC seems, according to those scans, that it is free from malware. Avast has, in other words, protected me very well with no false positives and has also been very stable.
Cons: None!
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
4 stars
Version: Avast 4 Professional Edition 4.0.235
Pros: I have used many other antiviruses but this one is really the best !!
It has slowed down my computer a bit but the advantages are alot !!! it control every part of the system including IE, P2P e-mail and ..
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