PCAVAST7.RVW 20120727 Comparison Review Company and product: Company: ALWIL Software Address: Trianon Office Bldg, Budejovicka 1518/13a, 140 00, Prague 4 Phone: 00 420 274 005 777 Fax: 00 420 274 005 888 Sales: +42-2-782-25-47 Contact: Kristyna Maz nkov /Pavel Baudis/Michal Kovacic Email: mazankova@avast.com baudis@alwil.anet.cz Other: http://www.avast.com Product: AVAST! antiviral Summary: Multilayered Windows package Cost: unknown Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation 3 Ease of use 4 Help systems 1 Compatibility 3 Company Stability 3 Support 2 Documentation 1 Hardware required 3 Performance 3 Availability 3 Local Support 1 General Description: Multilayered scanning, activity-monitoring, and change-detection software. Network protection including Web and email monitoring. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation The product is available as a commercial package, but is also available as a free download, available for home or non-commerecial use. As previously noted in other reviews, this is highly desirable not simply as a marketing and promotional effort by the company, but because making malware protection available to the general public reduces the malware threat for the entire computing and network environment. One important aspect is that the free version, unlike some antivirus products which reduce available functions, appears to be complete. Scanning, disinfection, network protection, reporting, and management functions all seem to be included in the free version, making Avast a highly recommended product among free downloads. I downloaded the free version, and installed it with no problem. It was compatible with Windows 7, as well as previous versions. The basic installation and configuration provides realistic protection, even for completely naive users. Ease of use With ten basic, and a larger number of minor, functions now included in the program, the interface is no longer very easy to figure out. For example, one of the first things I (as a specialist) need to do is to turn off scanning of my "zoo" directory. I initially thought this might be under the large "Maintenance" button. No, "maintenance" is reserved for upgrading and buying additional features. I did finally find the function I wanted under a much smaller "Settings" tab. However, as noted, most users will not need any additional functions, and need not worry about the operation of the program. The default settings provide decent protection, and updating of signatures, and even the basic program, is almost automatic. (The updates for the free version do push the user to "upgrade" to the commercial version, but it is not required.) I found (eventually) some great functions in the program which I found very helpful. Admittedly, I'm a very special case, since I research malware. But I really appreciated the fact that not only could I turn scanning off for a particular directory (my "zoo"), and that I could pull programs out of the quarantine easily, but that I could also turn off individual network protection functions, very easily. Not only could I turn them off, but I was presented with options to stop for 10 minutes, 1 hour, until the next reboot, or permanently. Therefore, I could turn off the protection for a uick check, and not have to remember to turn it on again for regular work and browsing. However, I cannot commend Avast for some of the reporting and logging functions. Just today it reported an "infected" page, but refuses to tell me where/what it is. In addition, recently Avast has been blocking some of my email, and the message that an email has been blocked is the only available information. Help systems Help is available onscreen, but it is not easy to find. There is no help button on the main screen: you have to choose "? Support," and then, from a list of six items choose the last one, "Program Help." (The standard Windows F1 key does bring up the help function.) Most other help is only available online via the Web, although there is a downloadable PDF manual. Compatibility The system scores well in malware detection ratings from independent tests. I have been running Avast for over a year, and have not seen a false positive in a scan of the computer system. Nor have I noticed any false positive blockages of "known good" Websites or email, although, as noted above, there are some recent events that I have not been able to confirm. Company Stability Avast has been operating (previously as Alwil Software) for over twenty years. The program structure is thoughtful and shows mature development. Company Support As noted, most is via the Web. Documentation The documentation available for download is primarily for installation and marketing. System Requirements The system should run on most extent Windows machines. Performance The antivirus system has minimal impact on the computer system. When performing a full scan, there are other programs that run faster, but Avast runs very well unattended. As noted above, the free version has complete and very useful functionality. Local Support None provided. Support Requirements Basic operation and scanning should be accessible to the novice or average user. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995, 2012 PCAVAST7.RVW 20120727