#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK SOFTWARE#
#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK FREE#
#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK WINDOWS#

This can be almost as problematic as not detecting malware – if legitimate files are blocked or quarantined, genuine programs may not install/run correctly.

#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK SOFTWARE#

There’s not much to choose between the top 3 but MSE is left trailing in fourth place.įalse positives are detections of legitimate software as malware during a system scan.

#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK FREE#

When it comes to Protection – AVG, Avast and Avira score highly (although Avira Free is likely to be a little lower than the paid version tested) but MSE again falls a long way behind. Repair abilities are also close but AVG and MSE fall behind.

MSE has particularly good Usability – perhaps a key factor in its huge popularity.

#AVIRA VS AVAST HOWTOGEEK WINDOWS#

For this reason I rate Avast and AVG as top dogs, followed by Avira, leaving MSE trailing in fourth place.īecause these tests were performed on Windows 7, I wanted to see if the results were different on Windows XP so checked the earlier tests from Jul/Aug 2012 (full results here): hiding all your documents or disabling your antivirus) before you realize you are infected that it is obviously best not to get infected in the first place.

Protection is always more important than Repair – viruses and malware can do so much damage (e.g.

Avira Free is likely to be a little lower than the paid version tested and MSE is a huge way off the pace – the only one of 24 products tested not to achieve certification. When it comes to Protection – Avast and AVG score very well and put many paid products to shame. Repair abilities are close with AVG and MSE falling slightly behind.

Avira falls down a little on usability but this may be because it is the paid version so includes a less user-friendly firewall.

Their latest tests for Sept/Oct 2012 rated the antivirus programs as follows:

PROTECTION – The independent security institute AV-Test publish regular tests of antivirus software. Tip: although not as popular, the latest ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus 10.2 is a surprise package that has leapfrogged above all 4 of its free rivals for protection – and is the only one to include a firewall. It is possible to estimate how good the Protection of Free Avira would be – just as when labs test the paid AVG against free AVG there is only a slight difference of about half a point (the paid versions simply have more features and a firewall) because it’s the same AV engine being used in both. The commercial paid version of Avira was included in the tests because independent testing labs don’t test the free version. The latest versions of each program (and links to my initial reviews) are: I will therefore review the level of protection first and then look at the other features of each program. Those 4 programs are by far the most well known, racking up hundreds of millions of downloads but what’s the best free antivirus? As they’re all free, price isn’t a factor – the most important differences will be in the level of protection they offer – lots of bells and whistles are pointless in a free antivirus program if it doesn’t provide adequate protection. Recently I reviewed the best antivirus programs but one question I keep being asked by customers in my computer repair business is which is the best free antivirus? Specifically, people want to know how the top four compare to each other. Updated 4th December 2012 – new test results. We review which is the best free antivirus – Avast, AVG, Avira or MSE.

Avira vs avast howtogeek