With over 10 million users worldwide, Avira has become one of the most popular and well-known antivirus software in the world. Although Avira antivirus wasn’t released until 2006, Avira Operations has been developing its software for over thirty years, making the multinational company, headquartered in Germany, a grandfather of the industry. With the emergence of the digital age, the importance of protecting the average internet-user is greater than ever. This is obviously the view that Avira holds, as it continues to upgrade its software year after year. Avira has begun to offer feature-rich packages capable of meeting the ever-increasing needs of modern internet-users, all while providing the same trusted protection that has built the company the huge customer-base they possess today. Let’s take a closer look at what Avira offers its users.
Protection
Avira’s software has its downsides, but security is not one of them. Avira has some of the best protection on the market. The software consistently performs well in Lab-tests and has won too many awards to list here and now. Some of the security featured offered here include:
- Real Time Malware Scanning: Avira’s software constantly scans your system in real time and checks everything against a huge database of potential threats, detecting and removing viruses, malware and trojans.
- Protection from Fake/Infected Websites: “Phishing” is a scam in which attackers trick you into entering sensitive information by creating fake website. Avira’s software automatically detects and blocks these websites, allowing you to safely shop and bank online.
- Home Network Security: This feature scans and monitors all connected devices and offers solutions to any vulnerabilities found.
- Automatic Updates: No manual update requirement means that you’ll never fall behind or become vulnerable.
Compatibility
- Windows
- Mac
- Android
- iOS
Value
Overall, Avira offers great protection and an abundance of features at affordable prices. The only negative is that you’re required to pay for the most expensive package in order to gain VPN access.
Technical Support
Avira offers its customers support in the form of Email and telephone. The support team is generally well reviewed, although the company suffers in the same ways as some of its competitors. Customers complain of long wait times when attempting to get help via telephone. However, Avira possesses a wealth of tutorials and FAQ’s on their website. We would suggest using those before reaching out to a representative.
Downsides
- Virus Definition Files: Users have complained about these large files taking up significant portions of storage space and bringing the overall speed of their system down. The size of these files, however, is one of the factors which allow Avira to maintain the same level of undoubtable reliability that their software is known for.
- VPN Only Available with the “Total Security” Package: If surfing the web anonymously is important to you, and you’re on a budget, you might be forced to look elsewhere.
- Device Control Can Be Overly Sensitive: Avira’s Device Control feature can sometime be too aggressive, not allowing you to access safe external devices.
Conclusion
Avira is an immensely popular antivirus software, trusted by millions and developed by industry innovators. The software offered has been shown to be extremely secure, passing several independent lab-tests. And while Avira is sometimes criticized for having a negative impact on your system, that impact hasn’t been shown to be significant. If system-speed is the all-important factor in your decision making, you might want to seek a lighter antivirus. Aside from this, Avira is as close to flawless as any software can be.
If you’re looking for an antivirus with exceedingly reliable protection, extra features, and a reasonable price-tag, you could do a lot worse than any of these three packages. With Avira, you’ll be getting award winning software with few significant downsides.