Electronics & Computers Deals here!
- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
- Date added: September 25, 2009
- Total Downloads: 63,901,492
- Downloads last week: 741,971
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 11822 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: Seth Rosenblatt on September 23, 2008
This impressive software provides the same steadfast protection of well-known antivirus programs, yet it's surprisingly free.
Avast Home Edition guards your PC and the network with multiple shields that scan executables and files. You can select parameters for scanning, and even choose wildcards to exclude specific file types. You can adjust the sensitivity level for the program's detectors when it comes to scanning downloaded files, instant messages, e-mails, and a host of P2Ps. Its efficient interface opens up window after window to tweak its settings to your liking, for novice to advanced level protection.
Though it took quite some time to run, we're impressed with this application's boot-time antivirus scan. Fortunately, if you're in a pinch you can bypass it. If malicious contents are detected, Avast comes to the rescue with handy virus cleanup tools. Some decent PC controls are even handed out here. You can block certain URLs and file operations, such as writing to files or even renaming, deleting or formatting them.
With immediate real-time protection, clockwork updates, and much more, this free software is highly regarded in our book.
Watch the CNET video review of Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus:
Publisher's description
From Alwil Software :Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus, Checkmark certified anti-spyware & anti-rootkit package. Avast includes the following components: On demand scanner with skinnable simple interface, just select what do you want to scan in which way and press the Play button; On access scanner, special providers to protect the most of available e-mail clients; Instant messaging--ICQ, Miranda; Network traffic--intrusion detection, lightweight firewall; P2P protection for Kazaa, BitTorrent; Web shield--monitors and filters all HTTP traffic; NNTP scanner--scans all Usenet Newsgroup traffic and all operations with files on PC; Boot time scanner--scans disks in the same way and in the same time as Windows CHKDSK does.
What's new in this version:
Version 4.8.1356 has solved a memory leak in the GZIP unpacker and solved vulnerabilities in AavmKer4.sys, aswMon2.sys and ashWsFtr.dll.
More popular Antivirus Software downloads
- 2,099,912 downloads 1. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
- 1,271,461 downloads 2. Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus
- 741,971 downloads 3. Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus
- 94,139 downloads 4. Avast Professional Edition
- 54,308 downloads 5. Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition
- See all Antivirus Software downloads
User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 11822 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 454 user reviewsSee all 454 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"Superb Anti-Virus that is easy to use and FREE"
Pros: Unobtrusive, FREE, easy to set up, only maintenance is you need to re-register once a year for a new key, doesn't slow your computer or consume large resources like bigger named products
Cons: No scheduling of scans. A very small price to pay for a free product.
Summary: Avast is far easier to set up than AVG
Is much slimmer in memory than Norton/Symantec
Doesn't hog resources or slow your PC like many other products
Uses about 4MB of memory, and if you turn off the notifications tha... read more >> -
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"Good things in life are always for free!"
Pros: It is all pervasive, have benefitted from it at least on 3 occassions - warned and hence protected - the updates are automatic and unobtrusive.
Cons: I dislike nothing and honestly cannot bear to be ungrateful at all!
Summary: Thank you! What can i say!
-
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
Pros: Avast! is less intrusive than most other anti virus applications and stealthily protects your system. Does the job and is a completely free utility.
Cons: The interface is a bit 90's but otherwise no issues with theproduct itself.
-
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
Pros: Easy to use, easy to update
Cons: Lack of multi schedule scan
-
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"Very light weight,but efficient program."
Pros: Runs nicely in the background,little or no disturbance to other programs!!
Cons: I have no negative comments.
Summary: The product is very easy to download and install,no problem at all,As I said above it causes no interference with other programs. Very pleased over all,that I downloaded and installed it !!!!!!!!!!
- See all 454 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
- See more CNET content tagged:
- ALWIL Software,
- Avast,
- Avast Home Edition,
- protection,
- scanner
Previous Versions:
