As you’re probably surfing the internet and exploring the vastness of it all, you might come to the realization that public information has it’s ups and downs.
Sure, society has pretty much done what the concept of globalization aims to do, but that’s beside the point. What we do on the internet, and our computers for that matter, will sometimes be susceptible to those that want to cause mischief and trouble.
Hence, we have the advent of the Virus-Antivirus War – a battle that’s been going on ever since we heard that Yahoo! wasn’t just an expression anymore.
For this post, I’ll be putting up a review of what I believe is the most efficient (and economic) way to fight viruses. Of course, I’m talking about Avast! 5 Antivirus.
Installation
The installation client of Avast! 5 is merely 48MB, a small amount compared to what it can do as an antivirus software. You can download the free version from Cnet’s download page.
Installation is a breeze, as you’ll just navigate through menus asking you to confirm or approve the default settings. You won’t need an internet connection for installation, but it is highly recommended that you do. The internet connection will allow you to download the latest updates and virus definitions as soon as you finish, so out-of-date databases will be a thing of the past.
Unlike most antivirus software, you won’t need to reboot your system after installation. You can use it right after, and as stated before, it is best you update your virus database for the best protection you can get. Even at a mere 384kbps connection speed, the updates usually take a minute or two to complete.
Avast! takes about 100MB of space on your hard drive. Quite a good investment, if you ask me.
System Requirements
While I have been starting to support open-sourced operating systems such as Ubuntu, it is quite sad to say that Avast! will not be available for the time being. Currently, the minimum requirement of the software is a Pentium 3 processor whose RAM reaches at least 128MB. Free space needed, as stated above, is 100MB.
As for the operating system, you would need a Windows 2000 installation or Windows XP/Vista/7, either in 32-bit or 64-bit versions.
Avast! 5 Key Features
Core and Detection
- Improved Antivirus and antispyware engine
- Real-time anti-rootkit protection
- Avast! community IQ
- Code emulator
- Heuristics engine
- Potentially unwanted programs detection
The features stated above make up the core functionality of avast! 5, foremost of which is the improved anti-virus and anti-spyware engine. The others can be seen as icing on the cake, but I’d like to point out that the Code Emulator does something which we haven’t seen a lot. What it basically does is take an executable file and run it in an isolated environment. Pretty neat.
Scanning
- Boot-time scanner
- Wake-up for scan
- Scheduled Scanning
- avast! Intelligent Scanner
Pretty much self-explanatory here. I like how the Intelligent scanner works though. What it does is prepare a whitelist of applications that are deemed safe and harmless. When this happens, almost 80% of the scanning time is saved, making you do more things on the internet such as writing a blog post about it. ^^
Shields
- Behavior Shield
- Behavioral Honeypots
- File System Shield
- Mail Shield
- Web Shield
- P2P Shield
- IM Shield
- Network Shield
Woah, quite a list we have here. Note that these are basic components of a good anti-virus software, and Avast! seems to have done quite well in this department. You’ll notice that all core areas have been addressed, which would definitely lead to more secure system and an even more secure feeling using your PC.
Other Features
- Smart virus definition updates
- Fast application of updates
- Silent/Gaming mode
- Optimized for latest Intel Core i7 CPUs
- Multi-threaded scanning optimization
- Green computing
- avast! iTrack
- Automatic processing
It’s not hard to see why Avast! 5 has been given quite a recognition – it comes pre-loaded with the some of the best features lying around, aside from the fact that it’s totally free to download.
I’ve been an Avast! user ever since I was in high school, so I would definitely suggest that you use this software for your gig too. And ever since I began using this software, the number of times that my PC has been infected with viruses is zero.