When it comes to free antivirus for Windows computer, your friends will mostly recommend you either Avast Free Antivirus 2019, AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019, or Avira Free Antivirus 2019. But which one of them is the best? All are completely for free and offers plenty of advanced features. We’ll take a look at details on Avast and AVG.
There's a seven-day unlimited-data trial of Avast's SecureLine VPN service, but after that, SecureLine costs $20 a year for a smartphone, $60 a year for a PC or Mac, or $80 for five varied devices. Windows Mac Android Forum. Ask a Question. Is norton worth the money? You may find the answer in the thread: Which is the best antivirus, Norton or Avast? Answered by Gabriella Ceccato. Avast & CC Cleaner were both recommended to me by my local IT technician. Perks Run well Use small amount of space Scans and keeps out malware/Trojan horses.
Two biggest competitors, Avast and AVG, are today a single company. In October 2016 Avast acquired AVG company for $1.3B. From the end-user point of view, there is no change, both brands continue to coexist together. However, they use the same engine and technology in the background – the one from Avast. Feature-wise there are small differences, let’s take a closer look.
Feature Comparison Table – Does AVG Offer More Than Avast?
Both Avast and AVG are offering solid protection against viruses, spyware, malware, rootkits and even ransomware which is a big topic now. Plus you will be secured while browsing online, chatting on Facebook, or watching videos on YouTube. Also, they will protect and scan your incoming and outgoing e-mails if you are using an e-mail client like Outlook or Thunderbird. If you’re a gamer, you can relax – both antivirus solutions offer smart gaming mode and keep themselves silent.
| Avast Free Antivirus 2019 |
AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019 |
|---|
| Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware & Anti-Malware | ||
| Web Browsing Protection | ||
| E-mail Client Protection | ||
| Silent/Gaming Mode | ||
| Home Network and Router Security | ||
| Unwanted Browser Plugins Cleanup | ||
| Outdated Software Scanner | ||
| Spying and Data Theft Protection | ||
| Permanent Deletion of Sensitive Data | ||
| Free To Use Without Personal Registration | ||
| Windows Boot-time | 28 sec. | 33 sec. |
| Performance Test Score | 2,116 pts. | 2,115 pts. |
| Size of Installer | 5 MB | 5 MB |
| Price | Free ($0.00) | Free ($0.00) |
From official AVG website |
With Avast you will get some cool features like Wi-Fi Inspector (formerly called Home Network Security), which scans your home network, Wi-Fi connection, and routers. An easy-to-use tool called Browser Cleanup for removing unwanted toolbars from your browser. Software Updater for monitoring the up-to-date status of the other software like browser, Java, Adobe Reader, etc. And you can ask your IT friend to fix your computer via the secured remote connection.
However, there are some differences. AVG offers spying and data theft protection controlling what kind of data you are sharing with the other applications, and File Shredder which can permanently delete your sensitive information, so they can’t be restored. A similar feature called Data Shredder is available also in Avast, but only in the top-tier product Avast Premier, not in the free one.
A big plus for AVG is that you don’t need to register or give out any personal information. You can just download, install, and keep using it. With Avast you have to activate the product within the first 30 days, and then once a year.
Impact on the System Resources – Which Product is Lighter?
We have measured the impact on the system resources using two ways:
- How long does the computer to boot into Windows desktop while the AVG or Avast is installed
- How does the computer perform in various areas (CPU, Graphics, Memory and Disk operations) while the AVG or Avast is installed
In the boot time test where less is better, it took only 28 seconds (on average) to load Windows desktop when Avast Free Antivirus was installed. The same operation took 33 seconds (on average) when AVG AntiVirus FREE was installed. Default boot-time without any antivirus solution in place took 20 seconds. So according to our testing, Windows loads faster with Avast.
In the second area, we have tested computer performance in various areas and impact of the AVG or Avast on the results. Test results (higher is better) were practically the same for both products, 2,116 points for Avast and 2,115 points for AVG. The default performance without any antivirus installed was 2,150 points. So the overall impact on the system performance is really low for both products.
Final performance test results are highlighted in the chart below. You can clearly see the difference between no antivirus and Avast or AVG present. Please note the vertical axis ‘Performance Score‘ is not starting from 0, but from 2,110 to clearly show the small differences.
Avast vs. AVG – Performance Test Results
You can find more details about how we tested in the ‘Additional Notes‘ section at the end of the article.
User Interface – Is Avast Easier to use Than AVG?
Avast user interface is really nice and clear. There is only one main action leading to the Smart Scan, which runs all seven Avast scans: compatibility, viruses, outdated software, browser add-ons, router issues, performance, and weak passwords. The green button ‘UPGRADE‘ (or ‘ACTIVATE‘) leads to a comparison table of Avast Free Antivirus and Avast premium product (Avast Internet Security).
The status is also indicated by color when green obviously means ‘You are protected’ (note AVG is using the exact same term). Also, you are assured that ‘Everything is up-to-date‘. The top menu is easy to navigate and structured in fours groups – Scan, Tools, Passwords, and Store. What is pretty annoying is the top menu disappears every time you go from the home screen and you need to click on ‘Menu‘ to get it back.
Same as AVG, also Avast is using the bottom space for the up-sell offers.
AVG user interface is quite busy compared to Avast. When everything is fine, you will see green tick marks with the message ‘You are protected‘. The interface will go red if there will be some issue. What is nice is when some of the shields are disabled, you will see immediately which ones as they will also turn in red.
AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019 – User Interface
The main tiles show you the status of the specific shield protection. If you are looking for a scan, it’s the less visible button ‘Scan now‘. The ‘Fix performance’ button sounds pretty interesting, but you need to download other product (AVG PC TuneUp) to actually fix the performance. The last button is for checking if the program is up-to-date, of course, the virus definitions are updated automatically. ‘Join us on Facebook‘ link at the top bar is very visible and somehow distracting.
Bottom of the interface is used as an offer space to buy or try for free the paid-for version.
Localizations/Translations – Is The Product Available in my Language?
Both Avast and AVG are available in plenty of languages, of course for free. But Avast offers many more.
Avast languages (46): Arabic, Belorussian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (United States/United Kingdom), Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Pirate talk, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil/Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese
AVG languages (22): Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Turkish.
Popularity – Which is the Most Popular Free Antivirus? Avast or AVG?
The better product is, the most users it has. It’s simple as that. However, it’s not easy to say which is the most popular antivirus, if Avast or AVG. For expressing popularity we are using several, publicly accessible methods.
1. Official Sources
According to the official website, Avast is protecting more than 400 million users worldwide, but that probably includes also AVG users. The last publicly available number was 230 million users. AVG doesn’t state anymore how many users are using their products, however using simple math it’s around 170 million (400 – 230 = 170). Therefore we believe it’s safe to claim Avast has more users than AVG.
2. Antivirus Vendor Market Share by OPSWAT
OPSWAT is regularly releasing reports about the antivirus market share. Data are based on the OPSWAT GEARS software installed on the client machines. According to the latest report from November 2017, Avast is dominating the worldwide market with 18.48%. Followed by ESET with 13.97%. AVG is still reported as a separate company and didn’t make it into top 10 for June 2017, however, AVG’s share was around 4% in the last few months. It is also important to mention Microsoft for some reason is not included at all.
Avast vs. AVG – Market Share Report November 2017 by OPSWAT
3. CNET Download.com Ranking
Download.com by CNET is the World’s most popular download portal. According to its popularity rankings, AVG has more total downloads – almost 564 million, while Avast has ‘only’ 406 million. However, the recent trend shows Avast is slightly more popular, as it leads the last week downloads number.
Avast For Mac Review
Avast vs. AVG – Number of Downloads & Rating on CNET Download.com June 2017
Avast has higher editor’s rating– 4 stars (meaning excellent), while AVG has 3.5 stars (meaning very good). The user/community rating is also better for Avast – 4.5 stars, while AVG has 4 stars.
4. Number of Fans on Social Media Networks
Another way how to measure product/company popularity is the number of fans/followers on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. Avast is leading on Facebook with 4.1 million fans vs. AVG’s 3.1 million. On Twitter, the leader is AVG with 216k followers vs. Avast’s 181k.
Avast vs. AVG – Number of Fans/Followers on Facebook and Twitter
Independent Labs Test Results – Will AVG Protect You Better Than Avast?
If you are looking for a more advanced comparison of antivirus protection, the best resources are the independent test labs. These labs are regularly performing various tests like how many viruses will get through the antivirus software, or which vendor offers better performance.
Selection of the most important and relevant test results is below:
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- AV-Comparatives Real Word Protection Test Results (November 2017)
- AV-Comparatives Performance Test Results (October 2017)
- AV-TEST Avast Results (October 2017)
- AV-TEST AVG Results (October 2017)
As we mentioned the antivirus engine is the same for both products and that’s also visible in tests. In the latest AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test from May 2017, both Avast and AVG got 100% detection rate with 0 false-positives. Both products also scored the same score on the latest Performance Test.
Respected computer magazine PCMag gives both products the same rating of 4,5 stars in their comprehensive comparison of free antivirus solutions written by security expert Neil J. Rubenking. Actually, both Avast and AVG are their #1 recommendation for the free antivirus software.
Our current Editors’ Choice products for free antivirus utility are Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free. Both get very good scores from the independent labs, and in our own tests as well. Both include some useful bonus features.
Neil J. Rubenking for PCMag
System Requirements & Compatibility – Will the Product Run on my Computer?
Both products will run on a majority of today’s computers as there are no special requirements. In fact, the system requirements are identical since the antivirus engine is the same. You just need to run a newer Windows than 2000, so at least Windows XP with Service Pack 3. Both Avast and AVG are also fully compatible with the latest Windows 10.
System Requirements for Avast Free Antivirus 2019
- Supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 SP1 or higher / Vista / XP SP3 or higher (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64 or above
- Memory: 256 MB RAM or above
- Space: 2 GB of free hard disk space
- Please note that Avast Free Antivirus 2019 won’t work on Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / 2000 / Server, or any other operating system which isn’t specified above
System Requirements for AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019
- Supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP SP2 or higher (any Edition, 32-bit or 64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon 64 or above
- Memory: 256 MB RAM for Windows XP or 1024 MB RAM for Windows Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista
- Space: 2 GB of free hard disk space
- Please note that AVG AntiVirus FREE 2019 won’t work on Microsoft Windows 95 / 98 / ME / 2000 / Server, or any other operating system which isn’t specified above
Test Conclusion – Both Avast and AVG are Worth of Trying!
Both products have their pros and cons. We don’t want to recommend only one of them, instead, we would like to encourage you to try both, and see if Avast or AVG will suit you better. Even they are offered completely for free, the level of protection you will get is comparable with the paid-for antivirus solutions. The download links are below.
From official AVG website
If you are looking for premium protection, check out our Internet Security suites comparison including Avast, AVG, Avira, ESET, and Norton (Symantec).
Additional Notes
Information about the product features has been obtained from the official websites of each vendor. If you believe we have stated something not correct, please let us know, and we’ll fix it immediately. Our intention is to offer a fair and fact-based comparison of each product.
For measuring the boot time we have used a free tool called BootRacer. We have tested AVG AntiVirus FREE 2016 (2016.0.7163) and Avast Free Antivirus 2016 (2016.10.2.2215) released on March 23, 2015. Both tests were performed on a Windows 7 Professional x64 computer with CPU Intel Core i7 @ 2.70GHz and 8 GB RAM.
For measuring the overall PC performance we have used a free tool called PassMark PerformanceTest which tests various areas including CPU, graphics, disk, and memory.
This app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices.
Description
Avast SecureLine VPN Proxy is the fastest and simplest VPN for iPhone to stay safe and completely private when accessing your favorite apps and websites, wherever you are. 100% unlimited!
Avast protects 400 million people worldwide, making it number one on the market. Protect your device too.
WHY IS AVAST SECURELINE THE BEST VPN?
■ Fast and Reliable: Large coverage of servers worldwide ensures the fastest service
■ Unlimited: Use as much as you want without any limitations
■ Simple: Start using with one-button activation
■ Trusted: Join over 400 million users who trust Avast
■ Change Your Location: Connect to servers in 36 countries around the world
■ Uninterrupted Connection: Reconnect automatically when switching from data to Wi-Fi
■ World-class Customer Service: Get fast and reliable support
WHY SHOULD YOU USE AVAST SECURELINE VPN?
■ Encrypt your connection on unsecured public Wi-Fi
Our private encryption VPN ‘tunnel’ prevents hackers from stealing your data via public/open Wi-Fi hotspots. Secure your Wi-Fi and privacy with our highly secure VPN service.
■ Private, anonymous browsing
Browse websites anonymously and get private access. Your Internet connection will appear to originate from a different location. Use it to hide and anonymize your banking logins, chats, emails and payments.
■ Choose your location
It also comes with other advantages such as choosing your location and staying anonymous. If you travel and need access from different locations, you can use SecureLine VPN to connect to servers around the world (e.g. in the UK and USA) to access more online content, browse websites anonymously and get private access. Connect to servers through 52 popular locations in 36 countries around the world.
HOW DOES A VPN WORK?
Avast SecureLine is a VPN service that protects you from data theft by using a virtual encryption shield ‘tunnel’ to secure your public/open Wi-Fi connections. Once secured, your communications are impossible to spy on.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
* Length of subscription: one month; six months and one year.
* Trial: One year license goes with 7 days of free trial that you can cancel anytime without being charged 24h before end of trial.
* Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase.
* Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period.
* Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal.
* Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase.
* Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable
Find more info at https://www.avast.com/secureline-vpn#ios
Privacy Policy available at https://www.avast.com/privacy-policy
Terms and Conditions info at https://www.avast.com/eula
What’s New
We're always improving the experience so we’ve fixed some bugs and improved the performance of the app. Let us know what you think!
Mediocre, not super dependable. Will we get a beneficial update soon?
The updates seem to never really solve the biggest problems. This app, which I have paid for the last two years, frequently drops the connection to the server and does not reconnect. It doesn’t notify you either. I suddenly realize on public WiFi or at home that suddenly I’m no longer connected to my VPN. Happens during active use or idle periods. Additionally, every couple weeks or so it will say that it has to reinstall the VPN profile out of the blue. Closing the app and relaunching sometimes fixes this. Very annoying especially when your connection is no longer secure. Sometimes it asks to reinstall the VPN profile back to back to back even with a reboot of my phone. IPhone 10 and 6+ have identical problems running this app. I’m going to start looking for a better VPN service before my next years payment. Time to do some homework and hope to not deal with the same frustration with other providers. I’m even willing to pay significantly more elsewhere just not to be frustrated so often. I have other apps from Avast that work flawlessly so why can’t they get it together with SecureLine?
Good app but needs tweaks
I have ATT internet but am switching to Spectrum. No problem using VPN app while I was an ATT subscriber. Instead of an ATT modem-router combo, I bought my own router to go with the Spectrum modem to avoid rental fees. That is where my troubles began. I could not get the Netgear app to work on my iPad and one suggestion was that VPN could interfere. I ended up switching to a Linksys router. I was able to connect the Linksys app after setting up my account on my laptop, but my internet connection became a problem. I kept getting disconnected. So, I deleted the Avast VPN app on one iPad. No problem connecting on that one. Since I still have ATT, I connected to the internet on my other iPad using ATT and went into the Avast app. I disconnected the “connect automatically when not on a trusted network” feature and was able to connect to the internet again. Then I decided to add the Linksys router to my trusted networks. So far it is working. I went into copious detail so maybe people with more technical knowledge can figure this out. I am not sure if the problem is with Spectrum’s internet settings, the change to a separate router and modem, the app or what. BTW, initially the Spectrum connection worked, then it stopped working later in the day. I may end up manually connecting the VPN if my solution does not continue to work, something I can live with.
Developer Response,
Hi, sorry to hear that. We are ready to help you, but I'm afraid it would be too complicated to deal with this here on App Store. Could you please contact us by contact form https://support.avast.com/en-ww/contact/paid_ios_Avast-SecureLine-VPN-for-iOS ? Just describe your problem again and add any useful information.
Thanks! Avast
Worked well for a few months then did not..
I started using the Avast VPN on my Iphone and PC. For about 6 months it worked ok except that sometimes Google won’t let you do a search because it detected too many searches from the proxy server everyone was using. So i had to disable the VPN to use Google.
I am not sure what happened at 6 months (maybe an update?), but after that it never worked well. Some problems were:
- i get a License expired notice in the middle of the license term. Then this cleared after a few days.
- the VPN did not turn on automatically like it used to before. I would be using the phone and realize later that the VPN was not active. Then i would manually start the app. That is very inconvenient and resulted in not using it at all.
- when i am at home using my WiFi, the app would not allow me to start the VPN at all. It would give a message that said somethinh like “cannot use VPN when using a trusted WiFi connection. Remove trusted WiFi connection to use VPN”. What is the point of this limitation? Even if i am using a trusted WiFi from my home the ISP provider and websites i am accessing can still track me. But the app is not turning VPN on until I forget my WiFi and connect using LTE.
Today my license expired so i am not going to renew it. Will try something else for a change this year.
Is Avast Worth It
Developer Response,
Hi, thanks for your feedback. Please provide us more details by sending the log. Here are steps how to do it: 1) Wait for the issue to appear 2) Open the SecureLine app 3) Tap the icon of 'cog wheel' in the upper right corner to enter settings 4) In settings tap on 'Help' 5) Right at the bottom tap on the blue 'Contact Support' 6) Select the 'Contact technical support' at the top 7) Enter your e-mail, describe the problem, make sure that at the bottom you attach the log file for analysis and 'Submit' the ticket When we receive this additional information we can react properly. Thanks, Avast Mobile Support-Team
Information
- Size
- 87.1 MB
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 10.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
- Languages
English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Copyright
- © 2017 Avast
- In-App Purchases
- Monthly Mobile-Only Plan$4.99
- Yearly Mobile-Only Plan$29.99
- Secureline VPN 12M MultiDevice$59.99
Supports
-
Family Sharing
With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.