Avira 10 Installation, Configuration and Test
Posted Under: Antivirus,Free PC Security,Free Program
Avira AntiVir Personal V10 is a free pc security program which scans your computer for malware, viruses, potentially unwanted programs (PUP's) and other nasties that lurk on the internet.
It offers realtime protection but the default settings must be changed to achieve good protection and also use a program such as Threatfire alongside it which will offer further protection against zero-day attacks.
Updates are automatic but users still get a popup to try the premium version, many other vendors have stopped this and incorporated a message into the program itself.
It has changed little since the previous version but is not as strong as it was either nor does it offer full screen application or gaming mode which other free antivirus vendors do.
Installation is simple and straightforward and once installed it will download the latest definition updates and perform a quick scan.
The default configuration offers basic protection against known threats but better protection can be achieved by making a few minor changes to the program configuration as shown in the accompanying video.
The left side navigation makes it easy to use with an instant overview of the program status. Events and Reports are listed and further information can be found by right clicking each item.
Under Local Protection is the scanner, where users can choose specific scans or custom scans. Scan for rootkits is not pre-ticked and it is a good idea to tick this box.
Guard scans in the background going through files and folders and will alert users to any suspicious activity as does the realtime scanner module with a popup and bleep and the option to see more detail or remove.
The downside is that when malware is found it scans the computer and removes it partially and this is followed by another warning and further scan to remove threats found and this can be time consuming.
Avira Test
I did test Avira against fresh samples of malware which it did pick up in most cases, and everyone should be aware that there is no 100% security program.
So after removing the malware via the prompts on-screen I also scanned with RKill to remove the malware from running processes as the malware had disabled the firewall and also the installed version of Malwarebytes.
A scan was performed with SUPERAntiSpyware Portable and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which could now run thanks to the use of RKill, as both work slightly differently. The results can be found in the Test video.
Essentially, it is up to users to make informed choices as to what works best for them and what they are comfortable using.
Download Avira 10 free version here - 42MB
Please note that Avira AntiVir Personal is free for personal use only.
Systems:
Windows XP / Vista / Windows7 32Bit and 64Bit machines
Languages available: English, German, Italian French and Spanish.
More details on RKill click here.
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Free PC Security, Avira 10 , Free Antivirus, anti-rootkit, antispyware
Reader Comments
Hi Colin,
I recently had some info,such as it is, regarding the extra Microsoft services that are initiated during a version 10 scan as follows...
"Now i can lighten your observation up, i received the requested information from our development team: These windows services are used to access locked files through shadow copies of such files. The communication is done over the COM+ System application service."
As you can see they don't like to give too much away and don't care too much for small talk at Avira
Kind regards
Tom
Tom - Thanks fr the information. I had about the same success with Avira which is not good PR!
The problem is that the program uses MS services but does not close them when the scan has completed and this also bloats the program and scans are much slower than in previous versions. many users are unhappy with this scenario as it is seen as an unnecessary drain on resources, and I fully agree with them.
This is something that Avira really do need to address as more users are switching to alternatives that do not use MS Services, or close them when finished with.
All the best
Colin