28 Feb Why Should You Have Avast Installed on Your PC?
A computer that has been exposed to virus attacks is more damaged than a computer that is affected physically. Not having a safety mechanism for your system is like providing a red carpet entrance to the viruses. To save your computer and data, everyone needs to install a comprehensive antivirus program against such attacks e.g. Avast.
Did you know that there’s a cyber attack taking place every 39 seconds on average? Through SQL injection attacks, DDoS attacks, phishing, and malware attacks like spyware, adware, and Trojan horse!
For all you know, someone might be trying to get access to your system at this very moment as even big companies are vulnerable to data leaks. One such example is Yahoo, where they lost the data of 3 million accounts and users in one of the biggest data breaches of history!
But how can you minimize the risk of data breaches?
While these companies should work on preventing security breaches, as individuals, your best bet is to get a reliable antivirus program for your device.
Protect Your Computer.
What is Antivirus Software?
In case of any unusual activity, these programs choose to block or remove the corrupt files and programs.
When viruses remain undetected, they wreak havoc on systems. In this world of technology, with its ever-growing security threats, it is a smart decision to stay up-to-date with antivirus software. Even the smallest crack in the security system can give cybercriminals access to your data.
Malware software maliciously interferes with the regular operations of computers and mobiles. They destroy or collect data, present unwanted advertising, or expose devices to external control. There were 9.9 billion malware attacks in 2019 alone, up from 8.2 billion in 2015.
How do malware attacks harm you?
You’ve been hacked!
In case your system’s safety is compromised, the following things can happen to your computer:
- It might slow down
- Your data might get corrupted
- Your files might get deleted
- The hard disk can get reformatted
- Computer crashes frequently
- Loss of important data
- Inability to perform tasks properly on the computer or internet.
How does Antivirus Software protect you?
In these situations, antivirus software illuminates the dark world full of viruses. They provide many different solutions to your security issues:
- Protects against transmission of viruses
- Blocks ads and spam content
- Acts as a shield against hackers and other threats
- Also protects removable devices
- Safeguards your data and files
- Firewall Protection
- Limits access to websites
- Password protection
- Cost-effective
What is Avast?
Avast Antivirus is an internet-security providing service, available on multiple computing platforms like Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. This service caters to the market of computer security, browser security, antivirus software, antispyware, firewalls, and more.
In 2017, Avast was one of the most popular antivirus suppliers, with the largest market share among antivirus applications. In 2018, Avast earned the highest score in ‘Protection’, in a test conducted by AV-TEST, by detecting all the malware samples used. The Avast antivirus application for mobiles also earned a 100% score in a test conducted by AV-Comparatives in the same year.
Due to the high number of malware attacks, the company operates in 186 countries, especially targeting countries like India, Thailand, and Vietnam. Avast was in second place, behind Symantec during November 2020, claiming 11.93 percent of the market.
Avast Antivirus has two editions; a Free Edition that offers all the services without needing any money. And, a Premium Edition that requires a subscription.
One expects a freeware to come with only the basics, with the advanced features reserved for the premium plan buyers. The majority of antivirus providers offer full-scale products even with free plans. One such example is Avast Free Antivirus, which provides a range of products compared to its commercial competitors.
Freeware should not be compared with paid editions. So, definitely paid security suits are far better as they come with more advanced features. Purchase the paid licenses of premium edition security suits if you want the best protection for your businesses. Thus, Avast is the best option to choose in the free category but it cannot be compared with the protection level of a premium edition anti-malware program.
Features of Avast
Alongside excellent antivirus protection, Avast features a network security scanner, a password manager, browser protection, and more. It is an amazingly vast collection of security features for freeware.
Avast Subscription Plan
However, Avast is a free product for personal use only. For businesses and corporations, upgrading to Avast Premium Security is necessary.
Once installed, Avast also offers a default Security Browser that is private, secure, and fast. It also suggests a discounted upgrade to the premium plan that you can reject. In case of rejection, they offer a 60-day-trial of the premium plan as they want you to try the full collection!
Avast also gets tested voluntarily regularly. Antivirus programs getting tested means that they get to analyze their services. If the score is high, they get to brag. But if it is low, they can examine their results and improve.
Extensions
Furthermore, Avast offers online security extensions for Chrome and Firefox. If you already have Avast installed on your PC, the extensions get added to your browser as a bonus.
This extension analyzes your search results and categorizes them into three; red, green, and grey. Green means the site is safe, red means there has been some suspicious activity and grey means it’s yet to be analyzed. One can also mark the sites safe or unsafe from the toolbar.
The extension detects trackers linked to the sites and displays them in the toolbar, as well. Clicking on the details provides all the background data on such trackers so that you can block some or all of them. This extension also cancels out any typos so that you don’t end up clicking on a typosquatting website.
Malware Detection
Avast usually filters out suspicious sites and issues warning signs against such websites. Online security extension furthers the features, by offering maximum protection against cybercrimes.
Avast is generally pretty good at detecting malware. If you were to willingly run Avast on a folder full of malware samples, it’ll kill 80% of them before they could even launch. It’s pretty accurate with the detection process and will only ever skip past one or two malware, the low-risk ones.
Avast scans the data files on a device considerably fast. It examines the files looking for browser threats, apps with missing security patches, and “advanced issues”.
They also offer a boot-time scan, designed to eliminate extremely destructive and persistent malware. This scan runs before Windows boots up so that the Windows-based malware doesn’t have any chance to defend itself. However, this does take a lot of time so you might need to set aside a couple of hours for this.
Phishing websites are easier to create as all it involves is a convincing replica of bank sites, dating sites, social media sites, etc. Anyone who enters their data on the site has immediately lost access to all their sensitive information.
The best security providers need to identify frauds in real-time, especially the ones that are comparatively new. Avast is capable of doing this; the company brags about its advanced real-time phishing detection technology.
Do you even need an Antivirus Program in 2020?
It’s a long-lived belief that Apple systems are immune to computer viruses. Yes, Macs are a bit better at handling malware attacks by themselves but they’re definitely not immune. Apple has suggested that its users enhance the computer’s already solid security with antivirus software.
Microsoft has Windows Defender, a legitimate antivirus protection plan already built into Windows 10. The Windows Defender is built into the OS so it doesn’t hog any additional resources. It also gets updated regularly with new data all the while keeping the latest threats at bay. Windows Defender when up-to-date is a solid wall built against malware attacks and more, similar to how macOS offers a strong shield.
Regardless, every computer should be required to have antivirus, whether it’s an Android, Linux, macOS, Windows, or any other operating system. It’s as simple as how one should wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. One can never be too careful because disaster can come knocking at any point in time.
But just how the defenses have gotten better, the cyber-criminals are still out there. They want nothing more than to take your data, interfere with the system, and cause mayhem by getting inside your PC. Even the thought of it is terrifying, but since most of our life is now online, the threat is as real as ever.
Do you really still not have an antivirus installed on your PC? Go ahead and install Avast on your system right now and guard your data!
And don’t forget to visit our Blog to read more articles like this one, while you’re at it!
Sources: Avast Antivirus
