With the advent of the pandemic, household internet usage in the US rose by 18% compared to 2019. Even now most businesses are making sure of their online presence just to be prepared for any future onslaughts.
So in this post, we will weigh in on Avast, and look at their premium antivirus offering. In this Avast Premium review, we will walk you through its salient features and answer the question “Is Avast Premium worth it”.
Is Avast Premium Worth it?
Avast is known for its antivirus products and flaunts a global user base of over 400 million users. Recently they have restructured their antivirus products and provided 3 security solutions. Namely
- Avast Free Antivirus
- Avast Premium Security/Avast Premier
- Avast One
You can use Avast antivirus on your Windows and Mac device, and install the Avast Phone security app on Android and iOS devices.
The Avast Free Antivirus scans your system for malware and viruses and protects your devices from malicious websites. However, for advanced security against all internet threats, you have to opt for Avast Premium Security, earlier termed Avast Premier.
Avast Premier/Avast Premium Security Features
- Anti-Phishing
To protect your PC from phishing websites, many antivirus providers recommend installing a separate browser extension. The extension monitors the sites you are visiting and prompts you in case of any threats.
But in the case of Avast Premium Security, anti-phishing security solutions are part of the main suite and you need not install any additional software packages.
If you are about to visit a harmful website, Avast will automatically show a pop-up message and alert you about the potential threat. It traverses through a site’s metadata & website UI and references it against their database to quickly pinpoint potential phishing attacks.
It will also prompt you to perform a complete system scan just to be totally sure you are protected. This feature is also available with the free copy of Avast.
- Do Not Disturb Mode
Want to avoid annoying notifications while live-streaming your gameplay or during a presentation? Simply list your application under the Do Not Disturb mode, and Avast will silence notifications from Avast, Windows, and other third-party apps.
This way whenever your listed applications are in fullscreen mode all notifications will be automatically silenced. And you don’t even need to turn on the DND mode as it remains activated by default.
To enlist an application, navigate to the Performance tab, select Do Not Disturb Mode and add your application to the list.
- Avast Protection
Navigate to the Protection tab to see the Avast Protection items.
The Virus Scans section reveals the different scan options provided by Avast.
You can perform –
- A smart scan of the core system files
- A full scan of your hard drive and installed applications
- Or specify a specific folder or drive that you want Avast to scrutinize.
- You can also run a boot-time scan to scan malware that tries to execute during system startup.
Under the Core Shields, you can configure the various aspects of Avast’s protection, like file protection, mail scanning, behavioral analysis, and protection from web threats. This is a new feature that wasn’t part of the Avast Premier package.
The Virus Chest shows the quarantined files and lets you decide whether to delete them or restore them post-quarantine.
The Wi-Fi Inspector scans your Wi-Fi and tries to identify security loopholes like unsecured networks and weak router passwords. You can also find out all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi and also strangers who are piggybacking on your network.
You can use the Sandbox mode to run suspicious files without jeopardizing other system files. Simply drag and drop files in Avast Sandbox that you aren’t sure about, and Avast will run them in a safe virtual isolated environment to mitigate any potential threat to your system.
This feature is available on Avast Premier/ Premium Security and can’t be used for free.
Avast Firewall and Ransomware Shield let you select the type of protection you want. You can either manually authorize applications to connect to your network or only let Avast decide depending on the application’s history and behavior.
- Privacy
Under the Privacy section, you can find other utilities provided by Avast like Password Manager, Data Shredder, Password Protection, SecureLine VPN, Webcam Shield, AntiTracking, and Sensitive Data Shield.
Of all these features, only the SecureLine VPN needs to be procured as an add-on over your Avast Premium Security subscription. Or you can opt for an Avast Bundle like Avast One that features each and every antivirus solution.
- Avast Pricing
You can use the Avast Free security on your devices for as long as you want. However, for advanced security and protection, it’s better to switch to Avast Premium Security.
During this holiday season sale, the Avast Premium Security will cost you $4.19 per month for a single PC. For a shared subscription of up to 10 devices, it will cost you $5.79 per month.
If you don’t want to leave any stones unturned and want all the Avast security and system tuning tools to be part of your subscription, go for the Avast One plan.
The default Avast One plan can be shared amongst 5 devices and will cost you $4.19. While a shared 30-device plan is chargeable at $5.79 per month.
So if you compare the Avast Premium Security and the newly launched Avast One, from a pricing perspective you get more bang for your buck from the Avast One, during this holiday season.
Note: You can use the Avast Premium Security Plan for free, on a Windows system for a trial period of 30 days. While a Mac user has an extended trial period of 60 days.
Common Avast Premium Errors and Troubleshooting
How to allow a program through Avast?
Generally, Avast prompts you whenever a third-party application tries to access your network. Then you can manually authorize the apps. But sometimes Avast’s firewall will block network access and you have to manually allow a program through Avast.
And this is how you do it.
Click on the Protection tab and select the Firewall option. At the bottom of the screen, you will see an Application settings link. Click on it and add the application that you want to authorize.
And that’s about it. Now you can launch the application and it will be able to access your network.
How to stop Avast from running in the background?
While Avast is running in the background it keeps an eye on all active processes, file movements, and browsing history so that it can easily detect malware disguised as an installer.
That’s why depending on the number of installed applications on your system, Avast can take a chunk off your processor’s memory and affect your system’s performance. So here are a few ways to stop Avast from running in the background.
Disable Avast Shield controls
To disable Avast Shield, right-click on the Avast icon in the system tray, and click on Avast Shield Control.
Now you can choose to disable Avast for 10 minutes to an hour, disable until your system restarts or disable it permanently.
Disable Avast on Startup
To do so, open the task manager and switch to the startup tab.
Scroll through until you see the Avast AvLaunch component. Right-click on it and select Disable. Now Avast won’t be launched on startup, and you have to manually launch it to stay protected.
Note: On disabling Avast none of its security protections will be available, and your system will be vulnerable to malicious websites and applications.
How to resolve Avast firewall blocking network share?
Avast firewall blocks access to machines on the local network or localhost applications when your Avast firewall profile is set to public.
To enable network share, click on the Protection tab, select Firewall, and switch your firewall profile from Public network to Private.
How to resolve the “Avast failed to create rescue disk” error?
If you feel your system is compromised by malicious applications and Avast scans are unable to detect it, you can perform the Rescue Disk operation present under the Virus Scans section.
All you need is an empty USB drive (with at least 500MB space) or a blank recordable CD/DVD. The rescue disk operation will detect and quarantine almost all viruses.
However, due to a bug in one of Avast’s updates, people were getting Avast failed to create rescue disk error. Here’s how to fix it.
First up though, you should try to upgrade Avast and the software patch with the bug fix should resolve the issue.
If you are still getting the error, go to Settings, click on the General tab, and select Troubleshooting. Disable the Self-Defence option, and try to create a rescue disk. Ideally, it should fix the error.
In spite of the above fix, if the error still shows up, format your USB drive with the NTFS file system and the issue will be resolved.
What does free Avast include?
It has a ton of security features that will protect your Windows PC or Mac from malware, ransomware, and phishing websites.
The free version also has a password vault that secures your web passwords and scans your WiFi security for weaknesses. All in all, if you are using your system solely for social media, streaming, and offline usage, the free version will suffice.
That said, the paid Avast Premium Security has a lot more security options than the free version. It provides advanced firewall options, prevents webcam spying, and features other cleanup and performance utilities that can come in handy for netizens.
So if your web and PC usage is strictly restricted to browsing social media platforms and offline usage, the free version will do just fine. However, if you don’t want to compromise with your system’s security and browse through the web without any inhibition then you should subscribe to Avast Premium Security.
Avast Premium Pros
If you upgrade to Avast Premium Security, you need not worry about malware attacks and can browse without bothering about phishing sites. Also, you will be able to leverage almost all of Avast’s security features.
Its robust firewall options will keep your system safe, while the sandboxing environment will let you try out suspicious applications from third-party vendors before installing them on your PC.
Other file and performance utilities are just the icings on the cake. Also if you go for a multi-device subscription, you can share your plan among different devices to bring the subscription charges substantially.
Is Avast premium worth it?
Now that you have gone through the Avast Premium review, you know what the security provider has in store for you. But if you are still in a dilemma from a subscription point of view, here’s what you can do.
Try out the Avast Security Premium for a month for free.
Once the trial expires switch back to the Avast Free Security, and see whether you are satisfied with the level of protection you are getting for your usage.
If you are intimated by its yearly subscription charges, I’d recommend you to look out for Avast discounts and coupon codes. Or you can opt for a multi-device subscription and share your subscription charges with your friends. That will bring down the cost substantially.
So, if you ask me, “Is Avast Premium worth it”, I’d say, yes it is. Given its malware and protection and sophisticated firewall options. Its annual subscription is worth it.
FYI
Is Avast better than Norton?
Both Avast and Norton will provide you protection against malicious applications, phishing websites, and other spyware. However, Avast lacks parental controls, & cloud backup options.
On the other hand, Norton doesn’t have performance or file utilities as Avast does. It boils down to what you are looking for in your antivirus, as both applications stand toe to toe from pricing and core security feature perspective.
Does Avast slow Windows 11?
Avast keeps track of active processes, file movements, and browser actions to prevent your system from cyber attacks. Monitoring at such a granular level does require considerable processing power.
On top of that to keep your antivirus updated, Avast looks out for version or patch updates to enable the latest security features. This adds to memory usage. So in a way, depending on the number of applications installed on your PC, Avast can slow down your Windows 11 system to some extent.
What is better than Avast?
If you are not looking for sophisticated firewalls or sandboxing options, Malwarebytes is one lightweight antivirus solution that might just work for you.
Is Dri Avast Software purchase a scam?
If you are seeing a Dri Avast Software charge in your bank or credit card statement that means at some point in time you had opted for Avast trial and had forgotten to uncheck auto-renewal.
By default, auto-renewal is checked and that’s why the Avast subscription charge was levied on you. To cancel your subscription and get a refund, get in touch with Avast customer support and they will guide you through the required steps.
