avira

A new Avira antivirus app

If you're a major security vendor, updating your antivirus application once a year is pretty much par for the course. Symantec, TrendMicro, McAfee, AVG, and Avast have all turned in their updates for 2010. Now it's Avira's turn. Avira AntiVir 10--which comes in free, premium, and premium security suite versions--is keeping up with the security status quo, but it falls short of fulfilling its full potential. Read our hands-on review of Avira 2010 to find out how and why.

This week, we also have two tips for you. The first is a detailed look at two … Read more

Avira AntiVir 10 stumbles slightly

Avira's AntiVir has been a player in the security world for some time, but it boomed in 2008 with remarkably strong detection rates. Available today exclusively from CNET Download.com, it still remains near the top of independent efficacy tests. Version 10 of Avira's suites maintain the status quo, but don't really go beyond it with AntiVir Free, AntiVir Premium, and AntiVir Premium Security Suite. The free version is the best-known, and while the 2009 version more or less kept pace with the competition, the 2010 edition isn't quite as good as it could be.

Like … Read more

Show viruses, malware the door

Avira's AntiVir has been a player in the security world for some time; however, in 2008 its status boomed because of its remarkably strong detection rates. It still remains near the top of independent antivirus efficacy tests, but while the 2009 version more or less kept pace with the competition, the 2010 edition isn't quite as good as it could be.

Both longtime and new users alike will note the pop-up ad that appears whenever a program update is downloading; it has been the unaddressed focus of critical and user dislike for several years. While the occasional ad … Read more

Virus buffer

BufferZone Pro for Vista is security software that functions as its own environment. You can surf the Internet through the program's interface and be protected from threats like viruses and malware.

BufferZone Pro for Vista has an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface with a lot of good features to help enhance your computer's security. You have the option to monitor activity on computer peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, flash drives, and USB hard disks, which is a nice benefit. The program comes with its own Firewall and it also has an Event Log that you can check to see … Read more

Set it and forget it in Avira AntiVir 9

Avira AntiVir 9 introduces several new features including one-click threat removal, full antispyware and antiadware protection, a new heuristics detection engine, and enhanced program security.

Combined with its highly rated virus-killing abilities, AntiVir is one of the strongest free security programs around. Check out what you can expect in this First Look video.

Avira builds better free security in AntiVir 9

Avira AntiVir started making waves a few years ago, scoring high on well-respected third-party antivirus detection and removal tests. Released today exclusively on Download.com, AntiVir 9 doesn't appear to have changed much--but that's only because the interface sports the slightest of what's new.

A refreshed banner logo tops the list of UI changes, but it's the long-awaited features in the free version of AntiVir that should pique most users' interest. Anti-spyware detection and removal is now available for the free version of AntiVir as well as the paid upgrades. There's new scanning tech that … Read more

First Look: Avira Antivir 8.0

Barely noticed before last summer, Avira Antivir has received an increasing amount of attention since garnering the highest score of any free security program on AV-Comparatives independent testing service for on-demand testing.

It fares a bit worse on the "Retrospective/ProActive" test, although still better than any of the other applications tested. However, it's hard to find anybody who finds the virus definition file update speed to be fast: it's notoriously slow. We put Antivir through the CNET Reviews Labs benchmarking process and came up with some unsurprising results.

When running alongside other high-drain processes, such … Read more

Avira revamps AntiVir

One of the fastest rising security stars is Avira's AntiVir antivirus and antimalware. Since earning high marks from AV-Comparitives in 2006, it's stayed at the top of the pack and consistently earned scores near or at the top of the charts for both on-demand comparisons and retrospective/proactive tests. The latest update includes an overhauled detection engine that runs faster, a zippier definition file updater, and a retooled interface.

I've been impressed with AntiVir since I found it last October, and the new version works even better. It completed a full system scan on my Windows Vista … Read more

Is there an antimalware Holy Grail?

Excluding Firefox and its 400 million downloads and 120 million regular users, the days of a killer free application dominating hearts and minds are deader than Pets.com. Yet a single malware destroyer is what we're all hoping for, especially since malware and virus threats are as chameleonic as their intentions are devious.

Three antimalware applications have made it to the top of my list: Avira Antivir, AVG Anti-Spyware, and A-Squared Free.

Antivir: Tough to say, but works well

The publisher Avira calls it Antivir. Who knows how it's supposed to be pronounced? What it's called doesn't matter as much as what it does, though, and Antivir is another in a growing list of free antimalware and antivirus programs that does its job well.