ConclusionĪvast Premier is a very well-designed program with all kinds of extra features that will appeal to security conscious users looking for more than just antivirus protection. Nevertheless, if you are a Keybase user, turn off the program before scanning for sensitive documents. That is admittedly an edge case as Keybase is a niche program.
Avast also inspected folders that weren’t even on my PC via the Keybase.io desktop program for Windows. For example, it included many Word documents in the “Employee documents” section likely because they were my old articles with company names in the title. It did a good job, though there were a high number of false positives. We also looked at how Avast’s Sensitive Data Shield performed, since that feature is likely to be intriguing to most users. With Avast installed the file took one hour, fifteen minutes, and five seconds.
In our more-punishing Handbrake test, our test PC typically takes one hour, fifteen minutes, and 30 seconds to transcode a 3.8GB MKV file using the Android Tablet preset. With Avast running, it got 2515, which is well within the standard margin of error. When we ran PCMark 8’s Work Conventional test-a simulation of web browsing, video chat, word processing, and spreadsheet editing-without Avast running, our test PC netted a score of 2517.
You’ll also find Avast’s firewall settings, a Wi-Fi inspector, Real Site phishing protection, Ransomware Shield (which monitors specific folders for ransomware threats), the aforementioned software updater, and a sandbox to wall off suspect files from the rest of your PC.Īvast Internet Security’s Data Shredder feature.ĭuring our benchmarks, Avast had no drop in performance. There’s Rescue Disk, which puts a version of Avast Antivirus on a CD or USB stick to more effectively scan and remove stubborn malware.
Protection is where you can run antivirus scans, as well as get access to a roster of other security features. This is also the section where you can get direct links to Avast’s catalog of Android and iOS apps. The main interface has one button to run a quick scan for viruses.
The Status section is pretty simple with a basic green check mark when all is well. The program’s primary background is a bluish gray, with the active section in the left rail highlighted in purple.Īvast Premier features four main categories: Status, Protection, Privacy, and Performance. The program also uses color effectively to help convey important information. The program uses a fairly standard design that includes a left rail with a pop-out menu, and a main screen that displays the settings and primary interface for each feature. Avast Internet Security’s “Status” section.ĭespite being packed with features, Avast manages to not overwhelm the user with a messy interface.