Avast Premium Security review: Strong protection focused on PC security

Price When Reviewed

$51

Best Prices Today: Premium Security

Avast is well-known for its free antivirus software program—and with how extremely rated it’s, upgrading to a paid suite could appear a useless expense. After all, the web is filled with recommendation proclaiming that Windows’ built-in defenses are sufficient.

Those commenters aren’t incorrect per se, however a software program suite like Avast Premium Security packs additional protections towards on-line threats not present in Windows Defender. A pair aren’t even in most competing paid antivirus software. Just as necessary, this specific Avast suite sports activities a sublime, easy-to-navigate interface that streamlines the administration of various options and instruments. It even minimally upsells different Avast providers (which shouldn’t be a optimistic, however that is the world we’re dwelling in).

However, this safety suite lacks complete protection. No VPN or password manager is included. But as you’ll see, its efficiency can carry the day if it suits your type. For some people, it’s going to—as long as they will ignore a few buggy options.

Further studying: The best antivirus software for Windows PCs

What does Avast Premium Security embrace?

Avast Premium Security builds on the corporate’s glorious free antivirus and firewall, which already gives broad safety towards on-line threats. Malware, ransomware, community intrusions, compromised functions, shady web sites and downloads—that’s simply begin of what will get blocked. This safety suite additionally shields towards webcam takeovers; malicious redirects for web sites you go to (aka DNS hijacking); assaults by Windows’ distant desktop protocol; and unauthorized entry to recordsdata with delicate information (e.g., social safety numbers). You can run applications and browse on-line inside remoted environments, too, which retains different apps in your pc from snooping.

Additionally, Premium Security features a utility that permits you to securely delete recordsdata from hard-disk drives.

Avast Premium Security doesn’t embrace VPN entry—that requires a separate subscription or a unique Avast suite. It additionally lacks a password manager and parental controls. You’ll should look elsewhere for these providers, as Avast doesn’t provide them in any respect.

How a lot does Avast Premium Security price?

If bought from Avast, you’ll pay a reduced value for the primary yr, then the usual fee thereafter. Interestingly, Premium Security prices extra for its first yr than one other comparable plan from Avast. Subscriptions purchased by Avast include a 30-day money-back assure and are robotically enrolled in autorenewal.

Single-device plan (1 PC)

• $51 for the primary yr
• $78 per yr thereafter

10-device plan (Multiple units)

• $70 for the primary yr
• $100 per yr thereafter

Avast Premium Security contains Family Sharing, which helps you to invite different customers with separate accounts to share in your system restrict. You can set up Premium Security on PC, macOS, Android, and iOS units.

For greater financial savings on a multi-device Avast Premium Security plan, you should purchase a license by Newegg. You’ll really find yourself paying lower than Avast One utilizing this identical methodology.

Key options of Avast Premium Security

Installation and person interface

To get began, you’ll obtain Avast Premium Security out of your on-line account dashboard, then set up. At the tip of the method, you’ll be prompted to begin a scan of your PC. Only afterward will you get entry to the app.

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The interface for Avast Premium Security is obvious and straightforward to grasp, although some individuals could not like its darkish theme. The navigation bar on the left of the display screen is the place you’ll dive into options, that are grouped by class and represented by massive buttons in a easy grid format. Everything is clearly labeled, with shiny inexperienced used as a spotlight coloration, and options typically have descriptions explaining their goal.

When you first open the app, you’re dropped into the Status display screen, which reveals your PC’s safety standing and a giant inexperienced button that begins a Smart Scan when pressed. You’ll discover different scans underneath Protection, and you’ll tailor the sensitivity and depth of the default scans—Full Virus Scan, Targeted Scan, and Boot-Time Scan—in addition to customized scans to a shocking diploma. (Popular rivals like McAfee and Norton have much more stripped-down settings.) 

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More so than different apps, Premium Security’s function groupings make logical sense. Each function is defined nicely, too. And impressively, Avast sequesters its upsells for its different apps and providers in a single More apps part. If you need to add on providers like the corporate’s SecureLine VPN or AntiTrack software program, you’ll find them quick—or ignore them simply as simply.

Menu choices are neatly packaged as nicely. You can hop into them at anytime from the higher proper nook of the display screen. It’s fast work to tweak what you want—no have to click on round inside the software program to search out every part. Avast nonetheless permits you to minimize over to those settings from inside particular options, too, so this centralized method by no means feels restrictive. Just tidy.

Virus, malware, and risk safety

Real-time safety

Avast continually screens your PC for real-time threats, each native and on-line. On your system, the app watches for uncommon habits from apps, scans recordsdata you add or open, screens downloaded e mail for malicious attachments, and limits entry to your webcam. It additionally controls entry to folders focused by ransomware. (A foul app can’t encrypt the recordsdata if it could’t get at them.) You can customise which folders are protected.

Meanwhile, on the internet, Premium Security scans websites for malware and for makes an attempt to redirect you to pretend web sites. It additionally retains an eye fixed on the site visitors handed to and out of your PC, restricts entry to your browser(s)’ saved passwords, and blocks any distant connection requests from unknown sources.

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Avast Premium Security additionally tracks your e mail deal with (the one related together with your Avast account) on the internet. If it seems in a knowledge breach, you’ll get notified.

Scheduled and handbook scans

Strangely, Avast Premium Security doesn’t robotically arrange scheduled scans throughout set up—a helpful approach to keep the safety of your PC with little effort.

To set up a schedule, you will need to first create a customized scan. You can select to run it only one time, every day, weekly, or month-to-month whereas additionally choosing its depth (Full Virus Scan, Targeted Scan, or Quick Scan). Full Virus Scan offers your system an intensive move; Targeted Scan seems to be at particular recordsdata or folders; and Quick Scan checks over important and generally focused elements of your PC. Custom scans will also be additional tailor-made past these presets.

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For manually run scans, you possibly can select from Smart Scan (which behaves equally to Quick Scan), Full Virus Scan, Targeted Scan, Boot-Time Scan (which hunts for threats earlier than Windows begins), and any of the customized scans you create. You can regulate these scans to be roughly delicate, in addition to the place they dig round in your PC and the way completely. Quarantine habits will also be modified.

Firewall

Avast Premium Security’s firewall utterly replaces Windows’ inbuilt defenses—and boosts the management you recover from the site visitors handed to and out of your PC. Most individuals will do greatest with the default settings, which permits recognized apps to entry the web and requires others to get express approval. But you may also crank up these limitations (or down, although that’s not advisable).

Generally, Avast’s firewall stays lowkey and unobtrusive, although if a presumably compromised or trojan horse tries to connect with the online, a notification will seem. Its largest benefit is how clearly it reveals you which of them apps and providers are at present on-line, in addition to which of them have requested web entry.

Ransomware Shield

Folders typically focused by ransomware get an additional layer of safety in Avast Premium Security, which bars untrusted apps from making modifications (and even outright deletions) to recordsdata in these places. Even if such malware slips by, it received’t have the ability to trigger hassle.

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When first put in, Premium Security retains watch over the Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Videos, and Music folders in Windows, and solely particular varieties of recordsdata. You can increase these parameters to incorporate extra folders and file extensions (or simply all recordsdata). You also can change between the default Smart Mode, which supplies generally recognized apps automated entry, and Strict Mode, which solely lets particularly accepted apps change or delete protected recordsdata.

However, even with this extra safeguard, your greatest protection towards ransomware is a present, offline copy of your recordsdata—like an external drive you solely join when performing the backup. (You can learn extra in regards to the best way to back up your PC in our guide; don’t overlook to comply with the 3-2-1 strategy!)

Additional options

Bank Mode

One of Avast Premium Security’s distinctive options is Bank Mode, which helps you to use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox in a virtualized atmosphere. (Other Avast suites, like Avast One, don’t have it.) Your internet searching is thus remoted from the remainder of your pc, in order that the opposite apps in your PC can’t spy in your exercise. 

If you’re accustomed to Bitdefender’s Safepay mode, Bank Mode will sound comparable, but it surely has a few key variations. It behaves like a desktop atmosphere—you should utilize Chrome, Edge, and Firefox concurrently inside it, if all these apps are already put in in your pc. (Bitdefender Safepay makes use of its personal browser.) You also can pin shortcuts for every app to a taskbar, identical to in Windows. You additionally don’t get any prompts from Avast to make use of Bank Mode when visiting a financial institution web site within the regular manner. You have to recollect to launch it your self.

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Navigating to web sites in Bank Mode feels the identical as in Windows. Even on a slower, outdated laptop computer, searching felt snappy. You also can change settings and even set up extensions on the browser.

Browser extensions

From inside the Avast Premium Security app, you possibly can set up the Avast Online Security & Privacy extension. It provides visible badges to look leads to Google and Bing, letting you realize which websites are protected. They’re a bit of delicate, although—I discovered them simple to overlook at first.

The extension additionally gives anti-tracking, blocks a handful of advert networks, and robotically requests solely vital cookies from websites. The final function is genuinely thrilling—you get far fewer pop-ups asking you to inform the location your preferences.

Data Shredder

This utility securely wipes recordsdata, folders, or complete drives by overwriting them with different information. You can select between three completely different algorithms (Gutmann, Department of Defense 5250.22-M, and random) in addition to a beneficiant most of 100 passes. Selecting a file or folder can really feel clunky—it’s carried out by a file tree, and it’s a must to verify both folders or particular person recordsdata to pick them for reaping.

Used on a hard-drive disk (HDD), Data Shredder is usually a useful gizmo. But you shouldn’t apply it to a solid-state drive, which most trendy laptops and desktop PCs have. Not solely is that this methodology of safe deletion not as efficient, however it could shorten the size of your SSD. (This method is extra advisable.)

Sandbox

This function permits you to run apps in an remoted atmosphere—a approach to maintain the remainder of your system protected should you don’t solely belief this system in query. Its goal is reverse that of Bank Mode, which as an alternative isolates your browsers so nothing can peek in. Sandbox isolates an app so it could’t peek out—nor work together broadly together with your system as a complete.

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When I first tried the function, Sandbox appeared a bit of buggy. Trying to begin it from inside the Avast app didn’t work instantly. Instead, I had to make use of the choice methodology of right-clicking on a program (or shortcut to a program) to begin it up; afterward, I might begin from inside Premium Security. Sandboxed apps aren’t marked in Windows, both. I’d have most well-liked to see a badge or different visible indicator on the taskbar icon, however you possibly can solely see which processes are sandboxed inside Avast.

Sensitive Data Shield

If you’ve got recordsdata in your PC with delicate info (like your paycheck data, passwords, banking particulars, or social safety quantity), you should utilize Sensitive Data Shield to search out them. Once found, different applications in your PC will then have restricted entry to these paperwork, with the intention to maintain malicious apps from discovering and extracting that information. You can manually add recordsdata to the record of protected docs, in addition to block or permit particular apps.

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This function’s scanner is proscribed, although—it solely seems to be for .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, and .xlsx recordsdata. It’s not correct, both. It missed my pattern Excel file containing passwords, and some pattern freelance invoices containing tax data. And whilst you can manually add recordsdata to the protected record, it’s impractical to go this route if in case you have many recordsdata. Avast might (and will) enhance this function by letting you at the very least add entire folders to the record.

(Side notice: Please don’t retailer your passwords in paperwork in your PC. Not all password managers are cloud-based—you possibly can nonetheless maintain every part native whereas strengthening your safety.)

Customer help

Avast gives a support website and help forums for Premium Security, however you may also attain a buyer consultant by cellphone, e mail, or chat. You’ll need to use the cellphone quantity listed inside Avast’s Contact Us page, although, and never the one listed within the app. The latter is for the corporate’s Premium Tech help, which is a separate paid service.

Updates and upkeep

By default, updates for Avast Premium Security’s virus definitions and the app itself occur robotically within the background. These settings could be modified so that you’re solely notified when an replace is offered, or go totally handbook for updates (which isn’t suggested). You also can manually verify for updates by going to Menu > Settings > General > Update.

Performance

In checks carried out by main safety organizations, Avast typically carried out nicely. In AV-Test’s malware and zero-day assault analysis for November and December 2023 (essentially the most present as of this text’s publishing), Avast detected 100 % of the threats. It blocked 210 samples for the zero-day assaults, and 11,859 samples for lately found and widespread malware.

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It posted comparable excessive marks in AV-Comparatives’ real-world safety check for July through October 2023, blocking 100 % of the 512 check circumstances, with two false positives. In AV-Comparatives’ September 2023 malware protection test, Avast was nonetheless robust, although with a barely decrease offline detection fee than the highest performers. It had a 95.3 % offline detection fee, 99.5 % on-line detection fee, and 99.97 % on-line safety fee, with one false optimistic.

Finally, in AV-Comparatives’ November 2023 Advanced Threat Protection Test, Avast detected 11 of the 15 threats—displaying that it’s nonetheless strengthening its skill to catch extra subtle, focused threats like malicious scripts and fileless assaults.

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In my {hardware} efficiency checks, Avast had minimal impression on system sources when left idle within the background—at the very least, not throughout commonest duties. In PCMark 10’s Extended benchmark, which simulates internet searching, video chatting, gaming, and picture and doc modifying in free, open-source apps, the scores didn’t budge. Avast additionally didn’t have a discernible impact on our Handbrake encoding check, which crunches a big, uncompressed video file right into a smaller model. Even when Avast’s Full Virus Scan ran constantly within the background, the efficiency dip was round 10 % for each benchmarks.

However, Avast was startlingly aggressive in its scans when working in Microsoft Office on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint paperwork (as simulated by UL Procyon). When Avast was idle within the background, Procyon’s Office Productivity scores dropped by about 11 %—and that tumbled all the way down to 25 % when Avast’s Full Virus Scan ran constantly. Also of notice: Upon first operating Procyon, Premium Security popped up with a mess of notifications earlier than clearing it for launch. (It obtained to some extent the place I needed to clear the home windows to forestall it from glitching out.)

In brief, should you’re on a much less highly effective PC and also you’re doing heavy work in, say, Microsoft Excel, schedule your full system scans for off-hours. You should still see some results on efficiency when in Office apps, however they received’t be as pronounced.

Conclusion

Avast Premium Security expands the safety of the corporate’s already glorious free antivirus software program, but it surely positively leans towards shielding your PC. For extra safeguards towards on-line threats, you’ll should pay for separate providers (or go along with a rival app). Still, you received’t go too incorrect selecting Premium Security, particularly should you don’t thoughts discovering your individual VPN and password manager providers to spherical out your on-line safety—and don’t thoughts a few buggy options.