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Avast Home Edition
Price: Free

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Overall

Reviewed By: Wayne Williams

This review updated: 03/01/2008
Featured in magazine:
Issue 178
Manufacturer Contacts:
Web Address: www.avast.com


Avast's free anti-virus tool is packed with features. As well as real-time and on-demand protection, it can check your computer for viruses before Windows loads (although this feature isn't available for Vista), scan incoming and outgoing emails and analyse files downloaded using file-sharing and instant-messaging programs. The Network Shield defends against internet worms and if you accidentally try to download an infected file, the Web Shield will spot this before it's even on your computer. This shield can also be used to block specific web addresses.

If a virus does somehow get onto your system and wreak havoc, Avast's Virus Recovery Database (VRDB) will attempt to repair damaged files using integrity information gathered previously.

The commercial version of the software has two interfaces to choose from – Simple and Enhanced. The free edition only offers the basic one, which means many of the configuration options are unavailable. The interface is rather unusual too – looking more like a media player than a virus scanner – but you quickly get used to it.

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