AVIRA Free Anti-Virus Version (10.2.0.700) – Freeware Review

The Rating Scale Breakdown:

• 0  – 0.5 – Abysmal
• 1.0 – 1.5 – Terrible
• 2.0 – 2.5 – Poor
• 3.0 – 3.5 – Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 – Great
• 5.0 – Excellent

• Undetermined – Too soon to tell or lacking evidence to provide a solid answer
• Not Tested – Has yet to be requested or there is some limitations to prevent accurate test results

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Price: Free

A. Installation AVG – 5.0 “Excellent“ – Really easy to install and often. You won’t even require reboot.

B. Un-installing AVG – 4.5 “Great“ – Very easy to un-install. But you will require a reboot. To completely remove AVIRA from your system————————–

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C. Stability Of Program – 1.5 “Terrible” – We have received an OVERWHELMING NUMBER of e-mails about the lack of stability with the new AVIRA Free Anti-Virus (10.2.0.700)

DISCLAIMER: In this case both myself and my team have experienced the same issues as reported by our readership. It TRULY IS A SAD DAY for all AVIRA FREE ANTI-VIRUS supporter out there.

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D. Has AVIRA Free Been Compromised By Hackers Or Virus – 5.0 “Excellent” – No issues reported thus far

E. Speed of Scan – 3.0 “Average “ – Pretty slow when you compare it to most other freeware anti-virus software out there.

F. Does AVIRA Free Do Automatic Updates By Itself Without Any Issue – 4.0 “ Great“ – Yes, and this time around there seems to be no stalling and or hanging. When we manually update AVG. As we have seen in older versions of AVG Free 2011.

G. Internet Browser Cookie Detection Rate And Removal Test – 1.5 “Terrible“ - You are way better off with something like SUPERAntiSpyware or CCleaner that is more dedicated to removal of Internet cookies. AVIRA’s Internet cookie detection rate is terrible even with the option active and checked off.

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1. Anti-Virus Detection Rate Test:

1A. Windows XP – 3.5 “Average“

1B. Windows Vista – 3.5 “Average“

1C. Windows 7 - 3.5 “Average“

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2. Anti-Spyware – 1.5 “Terrible“ – AVIRA still seems to miss very common and not so common spyware/adware. You are much better off with SUPERAntiSpyware or Spybot as your adware, spyware, malware protection.

3. AVIRA WebGurad - 3.0 “Average“ - Not a fan. But it can be very very useful to some.

4. AVIRA Security ToolBar - 2.0 “Poor“ - This toolbar can cause crashes on a number of Internet browsers. And it is really hard to un-install. We also noticed it caused some strange behavior when dealing with certain websites.

5. Residential Shield Test - 5.0 “Excellent“ – Avira even with all the issues related to Avira’s new service pack 2. AVIRA has one of the best residential shields I’ve come across.

6. Root Kit Detection Rate - 4.0 “Great“ – Even thou AVIRA does not have a dedicated Root Kit scanner like the new AVG 2011 does. It still has a rather good detection rate overall.

7. AVIRA Support – Not Tested- With only a free rather complex forum to use. This has to be one of the easier parts of AVG to rate SADLY.

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My Overall Score: 38.5/75

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51.3 % = D

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My Final Verdict -PART 1- Avira Free seems to have suffered from a pre-mature SERVICE PACK 2 release (This still remains the case with yet another minor update to it). There are still so many issues with this updated version. I don’t even know where to start. AVIRA seems to fail at almost all of what it was actually good at before Service Pack 2 was let loose on the public. You can’t trust AVIRA to scan by itself anymore. The new toolbar is pretty much a waste of time and will often lead to drastic cut in Internet browser speed. The new toolbar may even cause your Internet browser to not even load up or stall and or hang.

My Final Verdict -PART 2- I highly recommend you stick with AVIRA Free Anti-Virus (10.0.0.652) also known as the PRE-SERVICE PACK 2 version of AVIRA. I highly recommend you disable AVIRA’S PRODUCT UPDATES. Until all of the kinks of SERVICE PACK 2 have been patched.

Some of our readers have even blocked all UPDATES including AVIRA’s Virus Definitions. BUT that is not something I would personally recommended as  it would defeat the purpose of having a virus program such as AVIRA free installed.

I would be more inclined to recommend to just skip or un-install AVIRA and install AVG or  AVAST Free instead. Just to avoid this headache all together.

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Here are 2 links to download AVIRA Free Anti-Virus:

1. http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-free-antivirus (AVIRA’s Main Site)

2. Download link not available at this time for this version (Via download.com/Cnet)

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Till The Next Review,

Kirbe