Avast is a well-known antivirus program having millions of users worldwide. Still, many users over the web have found it suspicious and reported it as a threat to their PC. This made the existing and potential Avast users worry about if it is safe to use or not. To know about the reality, we installed and used the free version of the Avast antivirus and have concluded certain points that will be shared here.
If you also have the same question, “Is Avast Safe?” on your mind, this post is specially written for you. Here, you will find the most genuine answers to all your questions related to the legitimacy of Avast.
What is Avast?
Avast is an Antivirus program available for Windows, Mac, Android as well as iOS users. It is a very popular tool that is known to protect your computer from harmful viruses, malware, spyware, and all the other threats. This tool comes in a free and a paid version. The free version comes with certain limitations that make you think about switching to the paid version. Acast Antivirus has more than 400 million users globally and the number is growing every minute.
The key things that make Avast an outstanding antivirus program is the user-interface, protection, and additional utilities like a safe browser, VPN, and computer optimizer. All this makes Avast worth having for both the beginners as well as the power users.
Difference Between Avast Free & Avast Premium
As I mentioned above, Avast Antivirus has two editions, a Free Edition that offers all the services without needing any money. And, a Premium Edition that needs a subscription. Here is a complete differentiation between the Free and the Pro edition. You can use it to decide which one is suitable according to your needs.
Highlights of Avast Free Edition
- Detects and Remove Virus and other Malware.
- Protection level: Normal.
- Able to Scan for Wi-Fi Security Weakness.
- Secure your passwords.
- 24×7 Protection.
Highlights of Avast Premium Edition
- Detects and removes all kinds of Viruses and Malware.
- Protection Level: Advanced.
- Avoid fake sites for safer shopping.
- Secures your passwords.
- Safely run suspicious apps.
- Advanced firewall to block hackers.
- An extra layer of security to prevent ransomware.
- Blocks webcam spying.
- Blocks phishing emails.
You can find the pricing for the Premium Edition in the Avast Store.
Is Avast Safe?
Yes, Avast is safe 99 out of 100 times you use it. Avast is a good antivirus program that can help you protect your PC. However, rarely it may start creating certain issues and we will discuss that instance in the later sections. For now, let’s find out briefly if Avast is safe and how is that so. We will take a look at different factors of our activities on the PC that Avast monitors and offer protection for.
Is Avast Safe for Threat-Protection?
Avast Antivirus provides excellent real-time threat protection against viruses and other malware. The virus definitions are regularly updated to stay aware of the new threats. However, the free version only offers a mediocre level of protection. If you are a regular user or a business owner, I’d recommend using the Premium Edition of Avast to stay protected against all kinds of threats. From this, you can conclude that Avast is safe for threat protection only when you have the paid version.
Is Avast Safe for Web Browsing?
Avast Antivirus provides real-time monitoring when you use its browser known as Avast Secure Browser. It offers excellent internet security and privacy. The Pro Edition of Avast also provides secure web browsing through other browsers like Edge and Chrome also. But, you must grant required permissions for that. One limitation of the free version is that it doesn’t offer safe and secure browsing. Therefore, Avast is safe if you are browsing through the Avast Secure Browser.
Is Avast Safe for PC Optimization?
PC Optimization is the aspect for which Avast makes you raise your brows. While using the free version of Avast Antivirus, we found that it heavily slows down your PC and then offers unnecessary optimization. It is able to clean junk and remove unwanted software but you can do that manually as well. You don’t need Avast for that. The free version forces you to upgrade to the Premium edition as it doesn’t have some needed features for better optimization. Hence, Avast free is not safe for PC optimization as it may lead to performance issues.
Is Avast Safe for Privacy and Security?
Avast is considered safe when it comes to your privacy and security. However, Avast free has a known history of collecting your browsing history. But, there aren’t any such reports about the paid version. Also, Avast Premium comes with excellent password protection, blocks webcam spying, and blocks phishing emails. You can use the Avast VPN as well to browse the web anonymously. Therefore, Avast is somewhat safe for your privacy and security.
Is Avast Safe for Protection Against Online Attacks?
The free version of Avast will not protect you against the attacks from hackers as it doesn’t have a firewall. So, you must upgrade to Avast Premium if you want to stay protected against any kind of online attack. Also, the pro version blocks fake shopping websites so you don’t use your credit card information in bad places. The free version is not able to do that. So, Avast is safe for protection against online attacks only when you have the pro version.
Is Avast a Virus?
No, Avast is not a virus. It is an antivirus that has the purpose of defending you against viruses. However, sometimes Avast itself may turn into a virus. This may happen when a virus or malware infects the core files of Avast and makes it malfunction. It is a rare case but still has happened as reported by several users. When this happens, Avast will install its own browser as default without your permission and will update itself randomly without your control.
Also, Avast will automatically reboot your computer without asking for your permission even. This may lead to losing your important work. And, you can’t even uninstall it when it becomes a threat. You must use special tools to remove it then.
Our Conclusion
After going through all these aspects, we can conclude that the answer to the question “Is Avast Safe?” is Yes. Avast is safe but only when you have the Premium version of the antivirus. The free version comes with only limited features and may slow down your PC, and even turn into a threat itself under the worst-case scenarios. So, I wouldn’t recommend using the free version. If you have it, you can uninstall it and see for yourself how heavily it has been impacting the performance of your PC.
That’s all for this post. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any suggestions regarding anything mentioned here, feel free to catch up to me in the comments section. I’ll be up for a discussion there.
