Is it the best antivirus in 2021?
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Avira offers a powerful cloud-based antivirus scanner and a wide range of really good additional security tools for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS users, all for an excellent value. Avira’s anti-malware engine performed very well in all of my tests, blocking and removing 100% of malware samples, including all viruses, spyware, and ransomware. In fact, Avira’s anti-malware software is so good that it has been licensed to many antivirus programs, such as TotalAV.
Avira also includes the following features:
- Firewall.
- Web protection.
- Performance improvement tools.
- Virtual Private Network (VPN).
- Password administrator.
- Booster game.
- And a lot…
Most of Avira’s features are top-notch – the performance optimization tools are excellent at cleaning and speeding up the device, the password manager is comparable to the best independent software, and the web protection is better than the built-in web protection in Chrome or Firefox.
However, the VPN does not consistently work with popular streaming sites, and I would like to see Avira offer comprehensive parental controls like Norton and McAfee. And speaking of families, I’d also like to see Avira offer a family plan for up to 10 devices (which McAfee also offers) – at the moment, Avira’s high-end plan only covers up to 5 users.
Avira also offers the best free plan on the market, With real-time protection, web protection, a password manager, and other features that no other antivirus software offers for free in 2021. Avira paid plans are among the cheapest on the market, plus they all come with risk-free software for a period of time. 30 days money back guarantee.
RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS – TRY AVIRA NOW
| overall rank | #6 out of 66 antiviruses |
| Firewall | number |
| VPN | Yes (with unlimited data) |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Pricing | Starting from / year |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days |
| Operating systems | Windows, Android, Mac, iOS |
Avira full review
Avira offers excellent malware protection, a plethora of useful add-ons, and an easy-to-use control panel, all for a really good price.
Avira’s malware scanner has excellent 100% malware detection rates, its web protections are excellent at detecting and blocking online threats, and its password manager is as good as most standalone password managers.
Avira also has the best free plan on the market, as well as competitively priced paid plans that offer more value than most other antivirus software.
Avira security features
Virus Scanner
Avira has a powerful cloud-based antivirus that compares files with a large directory of malware and also uses heuristics to detect zero-day threats. The cloud-based scanner offloads the CPU-intensive process of analyzing your files to a server in the cloud, allowing Avira to use the most advanced scanning tools without slowing down user hardware. Due to its effectiveness against all kinds of malware, Avira’s scanning technology has also been licensed to many antivirus software vendors, including TotalAV and Systweak.
To test the Avira scanner, I downloaded and hid just over 1,000 test files all over my device, including ransomware, trojans, spyware, malicious keyloggers, and rootkits. Avira detected 100% of my test files, which is very impressive Only a few competitors, such as Norton, Bitdefender, and McAfee, scored perfect in our malware test. The full system scan took just over an hour and I didn’t experience any noticeable slowdown on my machine – McAfee even slowed my machine down a bit during a full disk antivirus scan!
I really like the variety of scans Avira offers, which allows users to schedule shorter scans for specific areas of interest. In addition to a full system scan and quick scan, Avira includes the following scans:
- Smart scanning.
- rootkits.
- local drive.
- external device.
- active process.
- my documents.
- Windows system.
Avira’s Smart Scan is really useful, as it checks for malware, network security issues, outdated software, privacy vulnerabilities, and device performance concerns – it’s basically a comprehensive malware scanner, system optimizer, and network security monitor.
I was really impressed with Avira’s Smart Scan. In less than a few minutes, it found 17 privacy settings that could compromise the security of my data, including location sharing and app permissions that were giving apps unnecessary access to all my data. The smart scan also found nearly 1 GB of junk to clean up, 4 outdated apps that needed updates, and 3 apps that were slowing down the computer’s startup.
Avira also makes it easy to fix any issues Smart Scan finds. By clicking Fix problems, Avira updates apps, clears unwanted files, and reconfigures settings to address privacy concerns.
Avira’s other specialized scans can come in handy for a variety of issues – especially for tech-savvy users who think they know which part of their system is infected. Offering specialized scans like rootkit scanning, external device scanning or Windows system file scanning can be a real time saver for knowledgeable users.
However, most users will simply want to use full disk scan or smart scan tools to scan all of these areas at once (especially because many advanced malware files can replicate themselves and hide in different parts of a user’s system).
Overall, Avira anti-malware software is one of the best anti-malware software on the market It is fast, does not slow down the system, and is excellent for detecting and blocking all kinds of malware. Avira also offers a number of system scans, including very specific options, such as a rootkit scan. There is also a smart scan that checks for system vulnerabilities and performance issues, and makes sure that everything on your device is working as it should.
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web protection
Avira’s Browser Safety extension blocked the majority of phishing sites, ads, and trackers in my testing, but it wasn’t an effective defense against exploit attacks. The extension is available in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Opera. First, I tested Avira’s Browser Safety extension against dozens of known phishing sites and blocked almost all of them – with much better results than the built-in protection in Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
Browser security is great for blocking ads and online trackers as well. I compared Browser Safety to uBlock Origin and visited 5 websites that are heavy with ads. As you can see, Browser Safety outperforms uBlock Origin on most sites:
| # of ads blocked by browser security | # Ads blocked by uBlock Origin | Browser security success rate (compared to uBlock Origin) | |
| https://www.msn.com | 46 | 30 | 153% |
| https://www.yahoo.com | 109 | 936 | 12% |
| https://www.aol.com | 116 | 117 | 99% |
| https://www.wired.com | 134 | 62 | 216% |
| https://www.tmz.com | 147 | 107 | 137% |
However, I was really disappointed with the protection from Avira Browser Safety exploit. Exploits are web-based tools that take advantage of a software vulnerability to gain access to a user’s devices and even install malware. Most of these exploit attacks are well known and many browsers and web shields can detect them and block websites with vulnerabilities. However, in my testing, Avira Browser Safety only detected about 10% of the exploits I tested against it (for comparison, Bitdefender’s Web Protection feature detected 100% of the exploits in the test).
In general, Avira’s web protection is very good, but the protection against exploit attacks is very poor. I would like to see Avira improve its anti-exploit capabilities, especially since Avira Browser Safety has an exceptional ad and tracking blocker that also blocks phishing sites more accurately than Chrome or Firefox.
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Device optimization tools
Avira’s system optimization tools are really good It’s easy to use, can free up space on your system, and includes useful metrics to help users map their system’s performance over time. Key Avira device optimization tools include:
- Computer junk file cleaner.
- Startup Optimizer.
- Driver update.
- Battery usage manager.
- Booster game.
PC Junk File Cleaner detects unwanted and unused files and folders. during my tests, Avira has found more than 1.3 GB of unwanted files clogging your hard drive. Avira has also flagged some files and folders I may have wanted to keep, allowing me to choose whether or not I want to delete them. Avira’s Junk Cleaner is really good – only TotalAV is able to detect and remove junk files in addition to Avira.
Startup Optimizer shows which programs are slowing down your computer’s startup time, This allows you to turn off programs at startup or remove them completely. Users with significantly slower boot times can opt for Hyper Boost, where Avira requires you to restart your device 5 times to analyze and optimize your boot sequence. This Hyper Boost feature is a bit time consuming, but could be a really useful tool for anyone who struggles with a buggy boot sequence. Another thing I really like about the startup optimizer is that it keeps track of your computer’s load time and displays the data on an easy-to-read graph.
I was also affected by Avira driver updater, which checked all my programs and let me know about outdated ones. Keeping software up-to-date isn’t just about performance or quality — software updates often contain security patches that close vulnerabilities. Avira driver update software is a really useful security feature that can ensure that your device is protected from the majority of known exploit attacks.
However, the battery usage manager is not that impressive It can put your system into low power mode, dimming your screen and blocking automatic updates, but it doesn’t track apps or processes that consume battery life, like Android and iOS for mobile users.
Game Booster is a nifty tool that closes background apps, stops unnecessary services, and optimizes network settings to improve CPU performance during high-performance games. In my testing, I experienced a noticeable performance difference when using Avira’s game booster, especially with online games like Destiny 2 that often experience slowdowns due to network connectivity issues. I had less lag and didn’t have any of the choppy lag I see often while playing online games.
However, I still think BullGuard booster is much better, due to the way it actually reallocates system processes on multi-core computers so that games can run more efficiently – BullGuard and McAfee game boosters are the only tools on the market that have actually allowed me to increase Graphics settings and frame rates while playing.
But overall, I’m really happy with Avira’s device optimization features – it’s among the most advanced system tuning tools I’ve tested.
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Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Avira’s Phantom VPN offers good security, provides a decent server network, maintains fast speeds, has a no-logs policy, but is unable to constantly access streaming sites. Phantom VPN forefront With unlimited data Bundled with Avira Premium President bundle, while lower-tier plans are limited to just 500MB of browsing data per month (which isn’t much at all).
Phantom VPN also has:
- 256-bit AES encryption. All user information is protected by unbreakable encryption.
- Strict no-logs policy. Avira does not keep records of the websites you visit or the files you download.
- DNS leak protection. Phantom VPN supports both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.
- Malware blocker. It prevents you from visiting malicious websites.
- Multiple server locations. 1,400 server locations in 37 countries, including state-specific locations in the USA. Do not forget forefront Users can access all 1,400 servers, but the free version only allows access to one virtual server.
- kill switch. Automatically blocks internet connection when VPN disconnects (Windows only and …
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