The Download Blog

Avira AntiVir started making waves a few years ago, scoring high on well-respected third-party antivirus detection and removal tests. Released today exclusively on Download.com, AntiVir 9 doesn't appear to have changed much--but that's only because the interface sports the slightest of what's new.

Avira AntiVir 9 introduces one-click infection removal with multiple options for customization.

(Credit: Avira)

A refreshed banner logo tops the list of UI changes, but it's the long-awaited features in the free version of AntiVir that should pique most users' interest. Anti-spyware detection and removal is now available for the free version of AntiVir as well as the paid upgrades. There's new scanning tech that can crack open "locked" files and verify that they're not malicious, along with improved internal security to prevent AntiVir's files from being maliciously altered. AntiVir 9 also offers a rebuilt heuristic detection engine, and according to Tony Anscombe, director of consumer products for Avira, Download.com reader comments have been the impetus for the new one-click threat removal option--no more baby-sitting the scans.

The one-click threat removal is a nifty quarantining feature that logs and sets aside all detected threats so you can deal with them individually or as a group at the end of the scan. It's simple, but means that you can run a scan at night and not worry about the scan pausing and waiting for user input before it continues.

Click on the Configuration button on the right-side of the central pane, and check off Expert Mode on the upper left-side of the box that opens. In the options tree below it, go to Scanner, then Scan, then Action for Concerning Files. From there, you can choose an Automatic or Interactive reaction. Under Automatic, you can choose a primary and secondary action, as well as copying the file to the quarantine before taking any other action. Interactive offers you a round-up at the end of a scan, and Combined or Individual notification mode for users who want to deal with infections all at once or one at a time.

Except for the banner, AntiVir 9 looks exactly like AntiVir 8.

(Credit: Avira)

The other new features, from the anti-spyware to the rebuilt heuristic engine, are not as easy to demonstrate since we don't maintain a virus or spyware zoo at CNET for security reasons. However, it's worth mentioning that Avira has expanded the AntiVir free version to include their anti-spyware and anti-adware detections. In previous years, the premium version of AntiVir earned very high marks from both independent testers Andreas Marx (results) and Andreas Clemente.

As program upgrades go, AntiVir is worth some of the hoops that users must jump through to get on board. The upgrade is a time-intensive process, requiring some minor user input and rebooting your computer. Also, users will have to go to the Download.com product page and actively download the new installer. Version 9 won't be pushed to existing users for another month.

Savvy users will notice the removal of the on-demand e-mail scan, and AntiVir is still challenging--and by challenging, I mean a massive headache of pain--to fully uninstall. Despite these hang-ups and the nag screen that follows the multiple definition file updates that occur daily, AntiVir offers such effective protection and a well-rounded set of features that as long as the updates keep coming, it should remain on the top of any free antivirus users' list.

Barely noticed before last summer, Avira Antivir has received an increasing amount of attention since garnering the highest score of any free security program on AV-Comparatives independent testing service for on-demand testing.

It fares a bit worse on the "Retrospective/ProActive" test, although still better than any of the other applications tested. However, it's hard to find anybody who finds the virus definition file update speed to be fast: it's notoriously slow. We put Antivir through the CNET Reviews Labs benchmarking process and came up with some unsurprising results.

When running alongside other high-drain processes, such as iTunes file conversion and while running MS Office, Antivir scored high. CA Antivirus and Panda 2008 were the top two products, followed by the premium version of Antivir and then the standard version, but all others tested including AVG Anti-Virus, Kaspersky, and Avast fell in behind them.

The MS Office test produced far less staggering results. With Antivir Personal completing the test in 271 seconds and Antivir Premium finishing in 270. The fastest of the 12 products, Panda 2008, scored 269.67 seconds, while the slowest, F-Sure, hit 273.33, so Avira was more toward the average here than in the other tests.

Overall, Avira slowed down the test machines somewhat, but it caused less drag on system resources than most--but not all--of its competitors. Boot time tests placed it at an average of 30.85 seconds, one second slower than Kaspersky, two seconds slower than BitDefender, and nearly two and a half seconds slower than the premium edition of Antivir. In scan testing, Antivir scored second-fastest after Panda 2008, and nearly three times faster than AVG Anti-Virus 8.0.

Combined with its high marks for removing and preventing infections, I remain convinced that Antivir is the best free antivirus on the market right now.

One of the fastest rising security stars is Avira's AntiVir antivirus and antimalware. Since earning high marks from AV-Comparitives in 2006, it's stayed at the top of the pack and consistently earned scores near or at the top of the charts for both on-demand comparisons and retrospective/proactive tests. The latest update includes an overhauled detection engine that runs faster, a zippier definition file updater, and a retooled interface.

AntiVir's clean layout belies the powerful features within.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I've been impressed with AntiVir since I found it last October, and the new version works even better. It completed a full system scan on my Windows Vista computer in about 20 minutes less than under Version 7, and definition file updates took about half the time they used to. Obviously, that's just an empirical eyeballing of the speed changes, but a third of an hour faster is certainly not insignificant and addresses my main problem with the previous version: that updates were painfully slow.

Avira states that the performance difference is because of modularization of the engine, which allows it to search faster and receive critical updates more quickly. A new failsafe system ensures that even during program code updates, the virus and malware detection engines are never offline. Whether this affects how it deals with viruses and malware remains to be seen, but since it sits at the top of the pack, everything should be fine as long as it doesn't get worse.

Check boxes give users the power to quickly narrow down their in-program searches.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The big change in the interface is the addition of a left-side navigation that makes it much easier to drill down to the features that you want to focus on. The spreadsheet-style layout hasn't changed, but it's organized better. The Events log defaults to show all, but check boxes make searching for and focusing on updates, for example, or detections, convenient and uncomplicated to manage. A row of icons above the spreadsheet helps users manage reports and get to more specific details.

Other new support includes built-in outgoing e-mail checking courtesy of a new SMTP function for the MailGuard, although this might be hamstrung in corporate environments, and support for Vista Service Pack 1. Changes to the Pro version includes the addition of a Web site scanner, while the Premium Security Suite includes the WebGuard and integrated file backup services.

Hands-down, Avira AntiVir has been not just the best freeware security program I've used, it stands up better than favorably to the big-box software competitors.

Excluding Firefox and its 400 million downloads and 120 million regular users, the days of a killer free application dominating hearts and minds are deader than Pets.com. Yet a single malware destroyer is what we're all hoping for, especially since malware and virus threats are as chameleonic as their intentions are devious.

Three antimalware applications have made it to the top of my list: Avira Antivir, AVG Anti-Spyware, and A-Squared Free.

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The publisher Avira calls it Antivir. Who knows how it's supposed to be pronounced? What it's called doesn't matter as much as what it does, though, and Antivir is another in a growing list of free antimalware and antivirus programs that does its job well.

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