Avast Antivirus Review 2024: Before You Buy, Is It Worth It?

Avast Antivirus Overview

While Avast previously violated the people’s trust by selling user data, it’s since shut down its data-selling subsidiary and has been redeeming itself. To see if it’s truly a trustworthy and secure option now, I extensively tested Avast and its various security features.

During my tests, I found that Avast is a solid antivirus with strong malware detection scores and many useful protection tools. Plus, the new Avast One app offers all its key security features in a redesigned and beginner-friendly package.

While the app’s security is quite strong on paper, and the company is taking steps to redeem itself after the data-selling scandal, I can’t fully trust Avast yet. Thankfully, trustworthy alternatives like Norton provide even better security. Also, you get better value for money with Norton, and its 60-day money-back guarantee lets you try the app without risk.

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In a Rush? Here’s a 1-Minute Summary

While its protection is good, Avast was caught secretly selling user data via Jumpshot, its subsidiary company. The data included sensitive information like browsing history, search history, and more. Also, the data wasn’t anonymized, meaning anyone who bought it could figure out who it belonged to.

Thankfully, Avast has since sold Jumpshot and claims that it’s stopped collecting this data. Plus, the updated privacy policy says that users must opt-in for any data collection. While these are positive steps, I don’t believe you can fully trust Avast yet. Thankfully, there are various trustworthy antiviruses you can get if you also have trust concerns.

Virus Scan — Many Scans and an Impressive Malware Detection Score

Avast offers multiple virus scans to check your system for threats. During my tests, Avast’s scans found 100% of the malware samples I hid on my system. However, it also flagged a lot more false positives, so the results are a little unreliable. In contrast, Norton found all threats without highlighting any false positives when I tested it.

You’ll get the following scans with Avast:

• Smart Scan — scans for malware, outdated apps, and other vulnerabilities.
• Quick Scan — checks all vulnerable parts of your system for threats.
• Full Virus Scan — does a system-wide scan to find malware.
• Boot-Time Scan — detects hidden threats by scanning your system before the operating system loads.
• Targeted Scan — lets you specify what folders or files to scan.
• Custom Scan — creates a custom scan with parameters you set.

While the scan speeds vary based on your system, I found that Avast’s scans aren’t the fastest. The Quick Scan takes up to 5 minutes to complete, while the Full Virus Scan took 1 hour and 30 minutes to check my system. You’ll get much faster scan speeds with other top Windows antiviruses.

Real-Time Protection — Various Shields to Defend Against Zero-Day Threats

Avast delivers solid real-time security via multiple shields that monitor all activity on your system. During my tests, I found that Avast’s real-time protection reliably stops 100% of threats from infecting your system. Its core shields include the following:

• File Shield — scans all files that are downloaded or opened on your system.
• Behavior Shield — monitors app behavior and blocks suspicious activity.
• Web Shield — stops you from opening malicious websites and downloading unsafe files.
• Mail Shield — looks for malicious attachments in any emails you open.

Another impressive thing is that Avast’s real-time protection is highly customizable. The settings menu has multiple configurations that let you adjust the sensitivity and other parameters. There’s also a CyberCapture feature, which sends unrecognized files to Avast’s Threat Labs for a deeper analysis.

Note that Avast’s real-time protection flags several false positives. I found it really odd that this app even flags some games as malicious. When I tried to launch Tekken 8 via Steam with Avast running in the background, it flagged the game’s executable file as malicious and stopped it from running. I’ve never experienced other antiviruses flagging legitimate games this way.

Besides the above core shields, Avast has the following to improve protection even further:

• Ransomware Shield — stops hackers and malware from modifying sensitive files and folders.
• Remote Access Shield — blocks any unauthorized attempts to gain remote access to your system.

Overall, Avast’s real-time security is good but needs some improvements. The malware detection scores are good, but the app found a lot more false positives than other industry-leading antiviruses.

Phishing Protection — Reliable Safety Against Phishing Websites

Besides the Web Shield, Avast offers excellent phishing protection to improve online safety further. Phishing attacks can track users into entering sensitive data like logins and card details, so protecting against them is essential. During my tests, Avast blocked most phishing sites I tried to open and gave a notification.

Although it’s effective, Avast’s phishing protection isn’t perfect, as it blocked 86% of phishing domains during my tests. Other top antiviruses like Bitdefender effectively block over 90% of websites carrying phishing scams.

Another web protection feature in Avast is Real Site, which protects you against DNS hijacking. DNS hijacking is when attackers manipulate how DNS queries are resolved to redirect you to a fraudulent website. Avast effectively protects against this by ensuring you always reach legitimate websites.

Firewall — Customizable Firewall With Advanced Security Features

Avast’s firewall is among its biggest highlights. It stands out because it provides multiple ways to customize its settings to your preferences. You can adjust network rules, application rules, and more to ensure the firewall behaves according to your liking. Even if you don’t configure it, the default settings are more than enough for reliable protection.

Another highlight of Avast’s firewall is that it has multiple advanced features you don’t get with other apps. These include the following:

• Leak Protection — stops your system from leaking sensitive data on.
• Port Scan Alerts — informs you if malicious parties scan your system for open ports.
• ARP Spoofing Alerts — warns you about attempted ARP (Access Resolution Protocol) spoofing attacks.

Network Inspector — Monitors Network Safety and Suggests Improvements

Network Inspector is a useful tool that lets you improve your network security. Simply open it in the app and run a scan to check your network and all the devices connected to it for any vulnerabilities that attackers may exploit.

The Network Inspector’s scan highlights various issues, like whether you have a weak password or even open ports that attackers can exploit. Also, it mentions if you’re vulnerable to attacks like DoublePulsar, which installs a backdoor that attackers can use to access your device.

Rescue Disk — Disinfects Deeply Infected Systems That Won’t Boot

Rescue Disk is among the more unique features you get with Avast. It’s perfect for disinfecting Windows systems that won’t boot due to deeply embedded malware. You can install it on a DVD or USB drive and plug it into the infected system to try and remove stubborn malware.

Once you’ve set up the Rescue Disk DVD or USB, plug it into the infected system and wait for it to start. Once you’re in the Rescue Disk interface, update the virus database and scan your device to remove the malware that’s keeping it from booting.

System Performance — Lightweight Antivirus With a Negligible Performance Impact

While it used to consume more resources than other antiviruses, Avast is now a more lightweight app that doesn’t slow down your system as much. Of course, you’ll notice minor slowdowns during system scans and other tasks, but the overall impact is negligible.

The following table demonstrates the slowdowns you can expect with Avast:

Since Avast’s slowdowns are lower than the industry average now, I consider it a decent choice if you want a lightweight antivirus. Of course, your experience will vary based on your system’s hardware.

All things considered, Avast provides decent security with its scans, real-time security, and other protection features. However, it has privacy concerns and highlights more false positives than other top security apps. So, it falls behind the industry’s best antiviruses when it comes to overall protection and trustworthiness.

If you want a comprehensive antivirus that’s trustworthy and has every important security feature, you should get Norton to secure your devices. It highlights 100% of malware without highlighting false positives and has much faster scans.

Avast comes with a wide variety of features. It has a VPN, secure banking, breach monitoring, and more to ensure your devices are protected. Also, you’ll get some great optimization features that help improve performance.

SecureLine VPN — Ensures Online Safety and Anonymity

SecureLine VPN comes with the Ultimate plan and Avast One, and it’s a solid VPN that protects your online safety and anonymity. SecureLine VPN uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption to safeguard your traffic. Plus, it has the following to improve your security and privacy further:

• Kill switch — disconnects your internet to keep you anonymous if the VPN connection drops.
• DNS leak protection — stops your IP address and other identifying information from leaking online.
• No-logs policy — ensures your browsing logs and activity aren’t stored on the VPN servers.

Despite the no-logs policy, I noticed that Avast SecureLineVPN retains some identifying connection information in its logs. It keeps timestamps of your connections, the subnet of your originating IP address, and the IP address of the VPN server. Thankfully, Avast is outside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance’s jurisdiction and has a warrant canary, meaning you’ll know if it’s asked to share user data.

Its network isn’t the biggest, but SecureLine VPN provides a decent server count and spread. It has 700+ servers in 30+ countries, meaning it’s easy to find an uncrowded server that’ll deliver fast speeds. Also, it offers P2P-optimized servers in various locations, thus allowing secure torrenting.

During my tests, SecureLine VPN’s connection speeds were somewhat disappointing. I noticed a 58% speed reduction when I connected to nearby servers, which took my download speed from 33Mbps to 14Mbps. When I connected to a long-distance server in Australia, my download speeds went as low as 8Mbps, causing noticeable slowdowns.

As for streaming performance, SecureLine VPN works with BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Disney+. My US colleagues had no issue using it to access their Netflix and Disney+ libraries, while a friend in the UK streamed shows on BBC iPlayer without issues.

It has some highlights, but Avast’s SecureLine VPN isn’t impressive. You should get a reliable standalone VPN if you want uncompromised speed and security.

Sandbox — Isolated Environment to Test Potentially Dangerous Apps

Sandbox is a useful Avast tool that lets you test unsafe apps. It provides an isolated environment where you can run dangerous applications without worrying about them infecting the rest of your system.

It’s simple to use Avast’s Sandbox — just access the feature via the Protection menu, choose an app, and run it. Avast will then run this app in a sandboxed environment where you can monitor its behavior to see if there’s anything suspicious.

Bank Mode — Provides Safety During Online Banking and Shopping

Another notable feature of Avast is Bank Mode, a protected environment for accessing online banking and shopping. When enabled, Bank Mode launches a separate, isolated environment on your system, allowing you to bank and shop safely with enhanced security measures.

Bank Mode’s secure environment works with all major browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. It’s a great tool if you frequently enter sensitive data like payment details online and need an extra layer of security.

Hack Alerts — Informs About Breached Accounts

Avast’s Hack Alerts feature, a type of identity monitoring, monitors the dark web and notifies you if your credentials appear in any data breaches. Just input the email you’d like to monitor, and Avast will continuously scan your email to alert you about compromised passwords.

What’s great is that the Hack Alerts feature isn’t limited to 1 email. If you’re concerned about multiple emails, you can enter them all, and Avast will monitor them for you.

Software Updater — Updates Apps to Fix Vulnerabilities

Many hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in outdated apps to infect your system, which is why Avast’s Software Updater is a helpful tool. Software Updater scans all your apps and finds outdated ones with vulnerabilities. Plus, it lets you update these apps from within the Avast interface, which saves a lot of time.

Software Updater also includes an automatic update feature. When enabled, this feature will constantly work in the background and ensure your apps always remain up-to-date.

Cleanup Premium — Removes Junk and Optimizes System Performance

I was pleased to see that Avast’s Cleanup Premium is an effective optimization tool. When I tested it, it found registry issues, junk files, and various other issues on my system. When I used Avast to resolve all these issues, my system worked noticeably better, and I had more free space in my hard drive.

Note that the issues Cleanup Premium resolves can reappear over time. So, it’s worthwhile to run Cleanup Premium somewhat regularly to ensure your system always runs at its best.

Data and Privacy Protection Tools — Multiple Tools to Enhance Online Safety and Privacy

Alongside the above features, Avast has multiple extra data and privacy protection functions that add more layers of security. The noteworthy ones include the following:

• Webcam Shield — blocks unauthorized access to your webcam and microphone.
• Data Shredder — shreds sensitive files or entire drives in a secure manner.
• Deleted Files Shredder — shreds the remains of deleted files to ensure they’re irrecoverable.
• Sensitive Data Shield — stops unauthorized processes from accessing sensitive documents carrying personal information.

Overall, I’m happy with the variety of features in this app. However, the past privacy concerns make it hard to recommend over other trusted antiviruses. Instead, you can use a feature-rich alternative like Bitdefender, which performed really well in my tests.

You can use Avast on Windows (7 SP1 and up), macOS (10.11 and up), iOS (14 and up), and Android (8.0 and up). Throughout my tests, I found all of Avast’s apps easy to install and use. It’s simple to navigate their interfaces and find all the necessary features. This also applies to the new Avast One, which offers similarly strong security in a redesigned app.

The only downside is that all of Avast’s apps continuously try to upsell you. If you’re using the Premium Security plan, you’ll constantly get notifications pushing you to upgrade. I got a “welcome gift” when I started its free trial, which was just a discount on a paid subscription. There’s also an entire section in its desktop application for subscribing to other Avast services.

Desktop App — Makes It Easy to Find and Use All Features

Avast’s desktop apps have beginner-friendly designs that even non-technical users can master. The features are divided into Protection, Privacy, and Performance categories, which are all easily accessible via the left-hand side navigation bar.

The only time Avast’s desktop apps feel overwhelming is in the settings menus. Extensive customization is good, but newcomers might have problems configuring the right settings because of the many options. Thankfully, this shouldn’t be an issue for most, as Avast’s default settings are more than enough for reliable safety.

Of course, there are some feature differences between the Windows and macOS apps. For instance, the macOS app doesn’t have the Network Inspector, a helpful tool I often use to check my network’s security status.

Mobile App — Simple to Navigate but Constantly Attempts Upsells

Many antiviruses have limited mobile apps, so I was pleased to see that Avast Mobile Security is just as feature-packed as desktop apps. You’ll get many useful features like virus scanning, optimization tools, a built-in VPN, anti-theft, and more. Note that some tools, like the virus scans, are unavailable on iOS because of its sandboxed nature.

Unfortunately, Avast’s upsells are even more annoying in the mobile apps. Unless you’re using the Ultimate plan, Avast will keep showing annoying notifications about the features you don’t have.

Avast One — Similar Security in a Redesigned Package

Avast One is Avast’s latest release designed to provide a more seamless user experience. With the traditional Avast plans, you have to download some things like the VPN separately. However, Avast One is a redesigned app that provides all of Avast’s features in one package.

Besides providing a more seamless experience, Avast One also looks much better. It has a more vibrant and colorful interface — much better than Avast’s usual dark color palette.

How to Use Avast’s Premium Security Free Trial on Windows

Even though it has all the necessary support channels, I wasn’t too pleased with Avast’s customer support in my tests. The live chat was slow, regardless of when I contacted it, and the phone support queues were always long. The email support is good, at least.

Another letdown is that Avast’s live chat, email, and phone support are only available for Avast’s paid products. So, you must rely on the knowledge base and community forums if you’re using the free plan.

24/7 Live Chat — Helpful but Slow

Live chat is usually the fastest way to get help, but Avast’s live chat felt slow in my tests. It can take up to 5 minutes before you connect with an agent, and they’re really slow to respond. I often had to wait a while before the agent answered simple questions. Thankfully, all the responses were detailed and included the information needed.

While the agents are slow to connect, Avast’s live chat is easily accessible. Just navigate to the support page, click “Contact Us,” and fill out a form to access it.

Phone Support — Reliable Support Channel but Limited Availability

For those who prefer to speak to an agent directly, Avast offers phone support. The phone support option offers contact numbers based in the USA, Australia, and the UK. You can contact any of these numbers from other countries, but remember that you’ll get charged international call rates.

In my tests, Avast’s phone support felt slow, like its live chat. The agents are helpful and will answer your questions once you get in touch, but the queue is always long. You’ll have to wait a while before connecting with an agent, and this can be costly if it’s an international call.

Email Support — Reasonably Fast With Detailed Responses

It used to be slow, but Avast has recently improved its email support. In the past, it could take Avast’s email support nearly 2 days to answer a query, but I always got answers within a day during my most recent tests. The fastest response I got was within 12 hours, which is impressive for email support standards.

Email support’s responses are as detailed as they’ve always been. I asked about the Premium Security plan and Bank Mode feature, and the agent gave me all the relevant information. Plus, they included links to relevant knowledge base articles that further elaborated on the query.

Online Resources & FAQs — Detailed Knowledge Base With Helpful Information

For basic information and troubleshooting help, Avast has a detailed knowledge base with lots of helpful articles. You can learn how to set up the app’s features, fix basic problems, and more. All the guides include step-by-step details, making them really easy to follow.

Besides the help articles, Avast’s knowledge base provides billing help and refund assistance. Also, you can report false positives via this portal to help with Avast’s detection rate. There’s even a privacy request feature that lets you ask about any of your personal information that Avast holds.

Community Forum — Best for Queries That Aren’t Urgent

Avast also comes with a helpful community forum if you have non-urgent queries and would like to contact experts and other users directly. The knowledge base has many users and sections about every Avast product, so it’s a great way to get help with specific issues.

Avast offers multiple paid subscriptions, but other antiviruses deliver better value for money with their paid options. Its free Avast One plan stands out if you aren’t satisfied with Windows’ built-in security but don’t want to pay for a full subscription.

Free Version — Two Different Free Options to Choose From

Avast’s free options include Avast One Free and Avast Free. Of both options, I found that Avast One Free is a much better choice. It includes all the basic functionality Avast Free does, like virus scanning and ransomware protection. However, it stands out by including Avast’s VPN. The free VPN in Avast One is limited to 5GB/week, which is reasonable for a free VPN.

Paid Plans — Multiple Options for Individuals and Businesses

Since the introduction of Avast One, there are multiple paid subscriptions you can choose from if you decide to get Avast. Also, it comes with various business-focused plans that’ll help secure your enterprise. Avast’s home security plans include the following:

Among the available home security plans, Avast One provides the best value. It includes all the features you get with Avast Ultimate, but it packs them all in the same app at a smaller cost. Also, Avast One can protect up to 10 devices, while Avast Ultimate supports 10 devices maximum.

On the business side, Avast offers the following plans to protect enterprises:

The business plans provide many features, and I consider Premium Business Security the best value. Ultimate Business Security has a useful Patch Management feature to fix vulnerabilities, but this doesn’t justify the increased price. Also, pricing for the business plans varies depending on how many devices you need to protect in your enterprise.

Free Trial — Free Trial Premium Security and Avast One

If you aren’t sure about buying Avast just yet, you can get a 30-day trial for Avast One or the Premium Security plan to try the app without risk. Signing up for either trial is simple, but note that Premium Security’s trial doesn’t require a credit card, while Avast One’s trial does.

Money-Back Guarantee — 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Avast provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for all paid plans. It’s easy to get a refund if you’re unsatisfied. Navigate to the support page, choose the refund request option, fill out a form, and you’ll connect with a support agent who will confirm your refund.

When I tested the refund policy, I confirmed my refund within a minute and got the money back in 7 working days.

All things considered, Avast proved to be a good antivirus in my tests. It has impressive malware detection scores and many features to enhance overall safety. However, its customer support needs improvement, and the app doesn’t deliver the best value for money compared to the industry’s best antiviruses.

Despite its impressive security, I still can’t fully trust Avast because of its past data-selling scandal. It’s taken steps to rebuild its reputation by closing its data-selling subsidiary and letting users ask for their stored information via the support page. So, it’s on the right track for now.

Norton is a much better and well-reputed alternative. It has flawless malware detection, many security features, reasonable pricing, and responsive customer support. Plus, the 60-day money-back guarantee lets you try Norton without risk.

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Editor's Note: We value our relationship with our readers, and we strive to earn your trust through transparency and integrity. We are in the same ownership group as some of the industry-leading products reviewed on this site: ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Private Internet Access, and Intego. However, this does not affect our review process, as we adhere to a strict testing methodology.

Written by: Osama Zahid

Osama Zahid is a Writer at WizCase. His forte is antivirus software, and he has written numerous reviews, comparisons, and guides on various cybersecurity products during his time at WizCase. Always on top of the latest software developments, he frequently runs tests to ensure that the information he presents is accurate and up-to-date. Prior to joining WizCase, Osama spent close to a decade writing about a wide range of topics, including AI, cybersecurity, computer hardware, and more. When he isn't sharing his expertise through his writing, he likes to polish his coding skills, head out for late night runs, or immerse himself in his favorite games.