Avira Free Security for Windows — Advanced Cloud-Based Malware Scanner with System Cleanup

Safety can be used online to block trackers and ads.

But I was disappointed with Avira Safety’s exploit prevention.

Exploits are web-based tools that exploit software flaws to install or gain access to malware. Many exploit attacks are well-known and can be blocked by most internet shields and browsers. Avira Browser Safety didn’t detect all exploit attacks I tested but it did detect about 10%. Bitdefender’s protection feature detected 100%.

Avira web protection is excellent. It does not provide exploit attack protection. Avira Firefox Safety’s tracker blocker and ad blocker blocks phishing websites more effectively than Chrome or Firefox.

Device Optimization Tools

The system optimization tools by Avira are great. They are easy to use, free up system space, provide useful metrics, and help users chart system performance over the course of time. Avira offers several tools to optimize devices.

• PC junk cleaner.
• Startup optimizer.
• Driver updater.
• Battery usage monitor.
• Game booster.

This computer junk cleaner detects junk and unused files.

Avira discovered more than 1.3GB of junk files on my hard drive during my testing. Avira indicated files and folders that I might want to keep, and allowed me to decide whether to delete them. Avira’s junk cleaner is very effective. TotalAV can also detect and remove junk files.

This startup optimizer will reveal which programs slow down your computer so you can stop them starting to start at startup. Avira provides a Hyper Boost option for users experiencing slower boot times. Avira will ask you to reboot your computer five more times in this mode to optimize the boot sequence. This Hyper Boost feature is a bit slow to set up but it can be a useful tool for anyone who has a bad boot sequence. The startup optimizer tracks the time it takes to load a computer and displays the data in an easy to read graph.

I was also impressed by Avira’s driver-updater. It scanned all my programs and alerted me if any were outdated. Software updates not only improve performance but also provide security patches that close security gaps. The driver upgrader by Avira is a very useful security feature that can ensure your device is protected from most known exploit attacks.

The battery usage manager may not be very useful, but it can put your system into low-power mode which will dim the screen and prevent automatic updates. It doesn’t keep track of which apps are draining your battery life like iOS and Android.

Avira’s Game Booster, a useful tool, shuts down background services and stops unneeded services. It optimizes the network settings to maximize CPU performance, especially for online games such as Destiny 2, where slowdowns may occur due to poor network connectivity. It experienced less lag with online games than I did with online ones, and there was no intermittent slowdown.

BullGuard’s booster is my favorite. Because it reallocates CPUs among multiple-core processors, games run more efficiently. BullGuard and McAfee boosters are my only options for increasing my gaming graphics settings and frame rate.

Overall though, I am very satisfied with Avira’s device optimization features. These are the best system tuneup tools I have ever tested.

Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Avira Phantom VPN offers good security and a solid network. It is also capable of maintaining fast speeds and does not log any activity. It is however not able access streaming sites consistently. Phantom VPN Pro unlimited data is available in the Prime package by Avira. The lower-tier plans, however, offer 500MB per month of browsing data (which isn’t much).

Phantom VPN also supports

• AES encryption at256 bits All user data is encrypted with unbreakable encryption
• A no-logging policy. Avira won’t log your visits or files downloaded.
• DNS leak Prevention. PhantomVPN supports IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.
• Blocks malicious websites.
• Multiple server locations. 1,400 server locations in 37 Countries, some in particular states of the USA. Pro users have full access all 1,400 server locations. The free version only has one virtual host.
• The kill switch. It blocks internet connection automatically if VPN is disconnected. Only available for Windows and only with Pro edition.

Avira’s VPN speeds can be quite fast. My speeds dropped between 25-30% during my tests and was comparable to ProtonVPN which is one of the best standalone VPNs. Avira’s VPN allowed me to surf the web, download videos, and play games without any downtime. Although I experienced slowdowns connecting to distant servers, especially long-distance ones, this is normal with VPNs.

Phantom VPN allows you to connect up to five concurrently. This is a lot considering that the industry average is between 5 and 7 devices. Avira VPN is not compatible for smart TVs, routers, or game consoles. Users who want to protect multiple devices at home may find it difficult. ExpressVPN can be installed on any device and is a standalone alternative. CactusVPN allows unlimited simultaneous connections, while some VPNs allow multiple concurrent connections.

Avira VPN did not work with any streaming sites I tried. My tests showed that I could not access Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+. ProtonVPN and ExpressVPN are fast VPNs that stream well.

Phantom VPN is compatible with all the major torrenting clients. It also supports P2P traffic. Other VPNs that have antiviruses, such as McAfee Safe Connect and Norton Secure VPN, do not allow torrenting.

Phantom VPN is a standard VPN. It’s a good value for the Avira Primepackage, and is a great value. However, there are better options available for standalone use. Avira Phantom VPN is an excellent choice for anyone who needs a fast, reliable, and secure VPN with multiple international server locations.

Password Manager

Avira’s password manager offers intuitive interface, secure password storage, and security features. Norton Password Manager is also very good. Avira is one of the few password managers that allows unlimited storage and syncing across multiple devices. Avira Antivirus Pro and Avira Antivirus Pro plans both come free with Avira Password manager Pro.

Avira’s password manager includes these key features:

• 256-bit encryption.
• Login with Biometrics to your mobile device
• Two-factor authentication (2FA).
• Password generator.
• Autosave & auto-fill.
• Data breach monitoring (Pro version).
• Password vault auditing (Pro version).

Avira’s password manager dashboard is very clean and simple to use

The browser extension can automatically save your login information and generate strong passwords. It is available for Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera.

The browser extension does not have a password generator. The desktop application has a password generator. It would be great to have one in your browser extension, so you can create new accounts.

Avira also has a mobile app. This app allows you to sync logins from your vault from any device.

The vault monitoring tool by Avira is excellent. It can organize all of my unsafe logins, no matter if they are old, repeated, weak, or new. To improve my vault health, I can go down and modify them. It does a great job, even though I wish Avira had a password-auto-change function similar to Norton or Dashlane. Data breach monitor provides live updates whenever your logins are detected in public data breaches.

Avira’s password manager lacks certain features. It does not work with 2FA tokens such as YubiKey. It doesn’t support live darkweb monitoring or family password vault sharing like 1Password. It’s still a good password manager.

Avira Password manager is a great choice for those who want a simple and secure password manager that also includes helpful extra features. Many of the features are also available for free.

Additional Features

Avira offers many more features, including:

• File encryption. Passwords can be used to protect files and folders
• File deletion. Makes it impossible for hackers to retrieve files.
• Monitor network traffic. This displays the number of connected applications and allows you to terminate some.
• Process manager. Monitors all processes and stops them when they aren’t needed.
• Disk defragmenter. This increases the speed and organization of hard drives.
• Deleted files can be restored
• Safe Shopping This browser extension suggests shopping online to get better deals.

The file shredder is a great tool. It took only seconds to wipe my entire hard drive. Avira offers many useful features such as the file shredder, disk defragmenter and process manager.

Safe Shopping Browser Extension didn’t impress me. It did not notify me of better deals and sometimes provided humorous alternatives. It alerted me about a low-price Amazon Terrarium while I was looking for Animorphs books.

Avira is easy to use and set up

Avira has been the most user-friendly anti-virus I have ever tested.

Installation took less that 10 minutes. Avira was quicker than other antiviruses like TotalAV. The entire installation of Avira took only 10 minutes.

Avira makes it simple for non-tech-savvy users of Avira to run an antivirus scan and use the device optimization tools.

I could schedule scans in a matter of minutes by clicking on the calendar icon and setting scan frequency.

Avira has many scanning options. This is one the best perks. This can be overwhelming for those who are not conversant with technical terms. However, Avira’s interface makes it easy to scan and schedule.

Avira was capable of scanning my entire computer and not affecting my CPU. This is a far better result than when I ran McAfee and Panda. While running a virus scan, they both occupied more than half of my CPU. Avira allowed me to continue using my computer as usual while the scan was ongoing. I was able to view YouTube videos and edit them without any system slowdowns.

Avira is easy to install and use. Avira’s installation and use is simple.

Avira Mobile App

Avira’s mobile app is compatible with iOS and Android. It offers many useful features and a simple user interface.

The Android app was tested on my Nokia 6-1 smartphone. I also tried the iOS app on my iPad.

The Android antivirus scanner was quick and easy to use. It took less than 5 minutes, and it didn’t slow down. I downloaded an enormous Android-specific Malware Database. It returned the exact same result as the desktop app: 100% of my test files were either deleted completely from my phone or placed in quarantine.

These are Avira’s mobile applications:

• Web protection.

• Anti-theft device finder.
• Camera protection and microphone protection.
• App locker.
• Call blocker.
• VPN.
• Password manger.
• Performance optimizer.
• Alerts for Identity Breach
• WiFi network scanning.
• Protection for Siri (iOS only).
• iOS upgrader (iOS only).

The microphone protection and permissions manager are great features. It can sometimes be difficult to track which apps have what permissions. I find the prompts on my iPhone very useful in managing them.

The performance optimizer also works well. Avira allowed me to free up space on my microSD cards and made my phone much more responsive.

It’s not the strongest feature of Anti-Theft, but it works well. It found my device at the home of my neighbor across the street. The accuracy is acceptable. It works much better than Apple’s and Google’s devices locator applications, which I found a bit cumbersome. Avira’s anti theft function is not nearly as impressive than Norton’s. Norton can locate any device within 65ft.

Avira’s mobile applications have many features. They offer advanced malware and app scanning, optimize device speed, monitor privacy violations and provide a variety of anti theft tools.

Avira Customer Support

Avira offers excellent customer service. Customer support is excellent via telephone and online.

Avira offers a variety of customer support options.

• Email support.
• Telephone assistance.
• Online knowledgebase.

Live chat is not available. This is my preferred option.

Avira does not offer customer support to paid users. It is very helpful and provides detailed answers to most problems.

Premium users have access to a toll-free number. It offers support between 9-11 Central European Time for over 30 countries, including many European and Asian. It is not accessible to all countries. They can call another number, but they will be charged at the local rate.

Avira phone support was very helpful in answering all my questions about the installation.

Premium subscribers can also contact support via email. Avira responded to my message within 24 hours. They should have replied sooner, I believe. Norton’s support team will respond within two hours.

Overall, Avira offers decent customer support. Avira’s knowledge base is a great resource. Telephone support is excellent, while email support is sometimes slower. However, support reps are extremely helpful.

Is Avira a Good Antivirus in 2022?

Avira is still one of the best antiviruses on the market

High malware detection rates, a wide range of internet security features and a user-friendly interface support this claim.

Avira is easy to use, even for those who are not tech-savvy. Avira is light for advanced antivirus scanning. It uses less CPU than other antiviruses.

The number of extra features, such as the secure password manager, device optimization tools and automatic software updates, impressed me. The VPN is great, but there are better standalone VPN options.

Avira could be even better if it had parental controls, identity protection and stronger mobile anti-theft features like McAfee or Norton. Avira is still an excellent value antivirus with great additional features.

Avira is a great low-cost antivirus program that we highly recommend. You can try it risk-free for 30 consecutive days with the 30-day money back guarantee.

Is Avira’s anti-virus protection effective?

In my tests, Avira had a 100% detection rate of malware. The real-time scanner engine as well as the antivirus scanner were able to detect and block ransomware, rootkits, and other malware.

Avira’s cloud technology and scanning engine has been combined to deliver lightweight, thorough malware detection. It is as effective as McAfee premium products for antimalware protection.

Is there a free version of Avira?

Avira offers a free version of its antivirus, which uses the same powerful scanner engine that the premium one. Avira’s Free Version provides instant protection. This is an unusual feature in antivirus programs!

Avira Security is my top-rated free internet safety program for 2022. The free version doesn’t have many extra features.

Avira Prime includes all the premium features that Avira has, such as a password manager, system optimization tools, and a decent VPN at an affordable price.

Is Avira going to slow down my computer?

This lightweight antivirus software takes up very little time than other brands.

Avira’s scanning engine uses cloud-based technology. Avira’s servers secure scan files. Bitdefender, a rival, uses cloud-based scanning technology to perform high-performance antivirus scans with no CPU drain.

Is Avira’s VPN secure to use?

Avira’s VPN can be used securely.

Avira VPN is great for torrenting, browsing and gaming but not streaming.

The reliable VPN ExpressVPN offers great streaming capabilities.