Filed under: Security, Windows
Avast - the world's most popular free antivirus - version 5.0 now available for download
by Lee Mathews Jan 19th 2010 at 7:09AM
As with previous versions of Avast, there are both free and pro versions - as well as a a full internet security suite. It's Alwil's first suite, and a relative bargain at $59.95 per year for three computers. Norton - still the big dog in paid antivirus - charges $69.99 for a single machine.
What's new in version 5? Like many other AV developers, Alwil has made the new version lighter on system resources. They've cut down the total number of system processes Avast creates and boosted scanning speeds. The new behavioral shield provides solid heuristic detection for threats not yet included in Avast's definitions.
The professional version also adds sandboxing - which you can leverage outside the antivirus program itself. Want to run your web browser in Avast's sandbox? Go right ahead. It's an excellent way to add another layer of protection to your system and it's not coming at a premium price -- Avast Pro goes for $39.95.
In AV Comparitives December 2009 rundown, they had this to say about Avast:
One other big change in v5? The default interface. Gone is the blue and gray, gone is the tape-deck styling. Take a look at our Avast 5 beta version gallery to see what the new version looks like!"This year, Avast! showed big improvements in its detection rates and reduced its number of false alarms. Its on-demand scanning speed is one of the fastest."
Once the v5 download links are live (and they should be after 8am EST today), you'll find the new free version on this page.
edit: It's up! As noted in the comments, you'll find Avast version 5 here:http://www.avast.com/free-
Chromatic is one of the best time-wasters I've recently come across. It's all about the gameplay -- no Flash graphics here. You play a "circle" (it doesn't really have a name in the game). You move around with the arrow keys, and you change colors with Z, X, and C.
You can either be red, blue, or yellow, and you can switch at any time during the game. Each color has different capabilities -- yellow can double-jump, while red has a longer dash (which is like a forward sprint, activated by double-pressing DOWN).
Each ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stinky Peterson said 8:39AM on 1-19-2010
Good to see it finally come out. It was about time they had a major update; it was a long time coming.
Reply
chucka-power said 8:09AM on 1-20-2010
yeah it's free....but you stillt have to register it after 90 days or so, right? -.-
Reply
chocholo said 9:26AM on 1-19-2010
There is also new website launched with the version 5, link to the free version download page is http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
Reply
temptation said 9:50AM on 1-19-2010
The link isn't working for me, are they just getting hit really hard or is it on my end? Using chrome I'm just getting 404 for the past half hour.
NiagaraUniv said 9:34AM on 1-19-2010
Looks like chocholo's link is down? At least it is for me - using FF 3.5.7
Reply
NiagaraUniv said 9:37AM on 1-19-2010
Looks like chocholo's link is down. At least it is for me, using FF 3.5.7.
Reply
der_tuxman said 11:40AM on 1-19-2010
Most popular? How? I thought Kaspersky and Symantec were "most popular"? However, I'll stick with NOD32 for now. avast! was disappointing when I tried it.
Reply
Lee Mathews said 11:44AM on 1-19-2010
Uhh...they're also not free, bro...Avast is the most popular _free_ AV.
der_tuxman said 11:50AM on 1-19-2010
Ah. A free AV? Free means bad detection rates. Never saw a free AV with a good detection rate AND few false positives.
(However, Avira is the most popular FREE antivirus. Sucks in false positives, too.)
Schwinn said 12:56PM on 1-19-2010
According to AV_Comparitives (http://www.av-comparatives.org) in the August 2009 test:
Detection rate / false positives / scan speed
NOD32 = 97.2% / few / average
Avira = 99.4% / many / fast
Avast = 98.0% / few / fast
AVG = 94.0% / few / slow
Looks to me like Avast is doing pretty well in detection rate and false positives (this was also Avast 4.8)...
der_tuxman said 12:58PM on 1-19-2010
They compared the paid versions.
chrisaroz said 2:23PM on 1-19-2010
I get more computers into my shop that are infected while "protected" by paid programs than free. Avast FREE outperforms almost every paid app out there.
Lee Mathews said 2:25PM on 1-19-2010
Tux, there's no difference between the engines in Avast free and Pro. They're identical.
der_tuxman said 2:32PM on 1-19-2010
chrisaroz: This solely depends on its users.
Lee: avast Pro detects more. Spyware and rootkit protection is not included in the Free version, right?
Lee Mathews said 2:33PM on 1-19-2010
That's not what Steckler (CEO) told me...he said it's the same beast.
kai said 3:41PM on 1-19-2010
@der_tuxman: Stop trolling, Avast Free and Pro have had the SAME detection for ages, they've said that many times in their blog. It's AVG Free that lacks rootkit detection.
About the popularity, they say Avast is the most popular free AV because they recently reached the 100 million registered users milestone.
Reply
TheOneAndOnlyJH said 9:36PM on 1-19-2010
I'll take a look at the reviews on this when I reformat my computer. For now I'll stick to Comodo though. It's nice to have firewall and antivirus in one program with one control panel. Oh, and it has pretty good spyware protection as well (they call it Defense Plus). I've been clean and had no problems with it for a couple years. I also like how configurable it is.
But if the reviews on Avast are spectacular, it's worth another look later...
Reply
James said 1:34PM on 1-29-2010
I used Avast from 2004-2007. I also installed it on all the computers for my friends and family that I am responsible for keeping running. The amount of system resources that real time protection take is just too much for me. I have gone without any protection for 2 years now and I have not been hit with a single virus. I also tried Microsoft Security Essentials. However, contrary to all the reviews, I found that it also used too many system resources.
If you use Adblock Plus along with something like W.O.T., and you don't click on any questionable links, (such as prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies, etc.) you will be just fine without Avast.
Reply
dXm99 said 10:16AM on 1-30-2010
I also used Avast for cuple of months and switched to Comodo due Avasts high memory usage. Later on used Avira, tried Avast 5, tried Comodo 4 beta and returned to Avast5.
On 512 MB system:
Avira: 60MB (+ anoying ad pop ups)
Avast: 25MB !!!
Comodo 4 beta: 130 MB (it is still beta and it do provide more layers of protection but i have limited resources)
ALWIL did amazing job on biggest flaw of Avast.
c.reuter said 4:25AM on 2-05-2010
nunca te orvidares
Reply