- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000
- Date added: July 24, 2008
- Total Downloads: 30,369,878
- Downloads last week: 658,460
- See full specifications
A newer version of Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 2871 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
For a free antimalware and antivirus app that also runs in your system's background, AntiVir works surprisingly well. Its scans are flexible, allowing the user to fully scan all hard drives, choose a preloaded scan--for rootkits, for example--or customize a scan. Combining the antimalware with the antivirus is a luxury in a free scanner. After testing on several machines no viruses turned up, although several malicious hidden files did rear their heads. The heuristic scan can be turned on or off completely or partially, with three different intensity levels.
The quarantine is extensively thorough, too. The spreadsheet layout displays all relevant information about the quarantined file, and gives you options to scan it again, restore, delete, and more. The scheduler is fully customizable. Definition files are available at Avira's Web site if needed, and the help features are excellent, as well, with a description box relaying mouse-over information on each feature. Version 8.0 has introduced a faster engine and a faster definition file update, both of which are instantly noticeable improvements and yet still a bit slow.
Initial concerns about the real-time Guard protection hamstringing system performance proved groundless. Although we could shut off AntiVir and its Guard, there was no way to remove the icon from the system tray or stop the occasional ad placement by Avira. The Complete Scan is no longer numbingly slow, but it will pauses midscan to let you know when it's found a threat. That's good for killing nasties, but it also means that the scans needs baby-sitting.
Despite these hang-ups and the nag screen that follows updates, we found AntiVir to offer such effective protection with such a well-rounded set of features that as long as the definitions file updates keep coming, this app is our first line of defense.
Watch the CNET video review of Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus:
Publisher's description
From Avira :Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is a comprehensive, easy to use antivirus program, designed to offer reliable free of charge virus protection to home-users only. Avira offers: Extensive Malware Recognition of viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, worms, etc. Automatic incremental updates of antivirus signatures, engine and entire software. Permanent virus protection, with Virus Guard real time monitoring. Install and configuration in just a couple of steps. Virus protection against known and unknown threats, using an advanced heuristic system. Scheduler where you can set the scanner to make automatic virus scans or updates on your system. Forum and phone support, Knowledge Base with virus descriptions available on Web site. Vista Support. Rootkit Detection and Removal. Version 8 adds an enhanced interface, a modularized AV-search engine for improved scan performance, an integrated failsafe security system, and SMTP support for AntiVir MailGuard.
Version 8.1.0.326 features new Fast Activation Tool (FACT), which enables the licensing of products on-line during installation.
What's new in this version:
Version 8.1.0.326 features new fast Activation Tool (FACT), which enables the licensing of products on-line during installation.
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 of Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
- Average user rating: 3.9 stars out of 2871 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
-
Showing 5 of 143 user reviewsSee all 143 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
16 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Version: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
"You can not find better protection for free."
Pros: Avira's detection rate surpasses AVG and Avast, uses less resourses, easier to use, and offers top of the line protection. I also like it better than Norton and McAfee, and they are not free.
Cons: Nag screen to purchase.
-
8 out of 10 people found this review helpful
Version: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
"Good detection, mediocre removal."
Pros: Good malware detection.
Light on resources.
Cons: Mediocre removal rate.
Doesn't have any self defense module, can be easily damaged by malware.
Doesn't have spyware or adware detection.
Slow update servers, often busy
-
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Version: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
Pros: Tried all of them, and Avira consistently finds stuff the others miss.
Cons: Annoying nag screens; update server often too busy.
-
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful
Version: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
"Excellent Free NOD32 alternative with easy to track Reports~~"
Pros: -I've been using Antivir PE Classic for my PC since 7.x having learnt the NOD32 2.7 enterprise license from the company I work for won't cover NOD32 3.0 or Eset SS, presuming there will be limited support for the outdated version
-Unbroken chain of Advanced+ adwards from AV-Comparatives for On-Demand scans
-Automatically upgraded to 8.0 and then 8.1 without interference with the stability and integrity of the WinXP registry
-Easy to Schedule weekly scans and cleans
-Comprehensive reports make it easy to track malware alerts and specific updated files during automatic updates
-For more than a year Antivir PE has been getting along very well with Threatfire, Windows Defender and Firewall, IE7, and other XP SP2+ built-in security mechanisms
Cons: -Splash Screen on Windows Start-up
-Nag Screen after definition or programme updates
-Unable to set default action for real-time AV Guard and require a user to choose action from a list
-For these reasons I cannot recommend or install any copy of this excellent product to the Machines of my friends' who asked for my help. Since I am not prepared to advice them via phone or house calls whenever a Nag Screen or a Malware Alert pops out from any of their screens
-
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus 8.1.0.326
"Works very well,and it's free!"
Pros: Does a good job ,but,what do you do about the warnings?
- See all 143 user reviews Write review
Submit your review
Previous Versions:
