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- 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: 63,571,359
- Downloads last week: 775,743
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 11810 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.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 11810 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 442 user reviewsSee all 442 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"Simply Great Product, n that too FREE!!!!"
Pros: Has it all!!!
great performance from last 1 year!!!
not a single virus problem since thenCons: nothing as such
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"For years others slowed my PC,but this is great!"
Pros: I have this on several PC's, and no problems at all.
Cons: I like everything about this product.
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
Pros: Easy to have, use, and it's there at your finger tips.
Cons: The bottom line, the license key. It's a pain in the..........neck.
Summary: The license key, as I mentioned, is a pain. As for myself, I'm having a bad time with it. Trying to contact a human is impossible. All paper work. The representatives think that all PCs have the same color as theirs, they are wrong. It depends on wh... read more >>
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
"The software works great...and it's FREE!"
Pros: Doesn't make my computer slow. Doesn't make my other programs fail to run properly. Doesn't shut my computer down for hours when it catches a threat. It just deals with it.
Cons: I haven't found anything that I don't like about it yet.
Summary: I have used Norton and McAfee products for several years. Each time I got a new one, I hated it worse than the last time! The programs do their job, but they also create problems with everything else. After about every fourth update, my Outlook w... read more >>
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0 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Avast Home Edition - Free Antivirus 4.8.1356
Pros: I am using avast pro 4.8 and i dont have to worry about viruses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cons: No Cons!!!
Summary: The best anti virus ever!!
- See all 442 user reviews Write review
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