The suite had no problem locating and removing our malware samples, but the independent testing labs aren’t so encouraging, with AV-Comparatives and AV-Test typically placing Avast around the middle/ lower middle of their results tables. Still, it didn’t make a significant difference to our PC performance when running other tasks. More thorough antivirus scans achieved average speeds only, and the program won’t back off if you’re doing something else. That’s not something we expect to see in a commercial program, but at least it can be turned off in a few seconds (Settings > General > Smart Scan).
Avast’s GrimeFighter isn’t even included with the product, so this is no more than an advert, which tells you about any "problems" and then requires that you pay more cash to solve them. The Smart Scan doesn’t take quite as long as you’d think - under two minutes on our test PC - but, annoyingly, by default it runs a "GrimeFighter" check for junk files. The Overview screen now opens with a Smart Scan option, too, which runs all these checks at once.
There are separate scans to check for missing software patches, and (new this time) network security issues.
You can run a quick scan, check your full system, removable media, schedule a boot scan, or right-click anything of interest in Explorer and choose the "Avast…" option to check for threats. It’s a comfortable working environment, then, and even Avast newbies will soon be ready to explore what the package has to offer.Īvast Internet Security 2015 offers many scanning options.
An Overview tab provides one-click access to scanning and other common tasks (each of these buttons can be customized with your choice of function), while menus give more in-depth access to the suite’s features. The Avast interface has seen some tweaks, but remains easy enough to use. There were no demands to remove "incompatible software" beforehand (even though our test PC was already equipped with Norton Internet Security), and no need to reboot afterwards: the suite just installed and displayed its main console, a helpful "tutorial" pointing out a few new features. Installing the program proved simple and straightforward. A new "Home Network Security" tool scans your network for security issues, while the "Smart Scan" provides a quick and easy way to check your system for vulnerabilities. This new release further improves your security by blocking "potentially unwanted programs", like browser toolbars and similar adware.