![]() ![]() We opened them with Avast turned on and tracked the percentage of blocked sites. My team and I tested Avast’s phishing detection ability by collating a recent list of known phishing URLs. Avast uses AI to scan every webpage you visit, assessing data including domain popularity and age, web certificates, and suspicious URLs. Phishing attacks have fast become the #1 type of cybercrime, used to trick you into turning over login credentials, banking details, or other personal information. Phishing Protection - Constant AI Scanning Results in Good Detection Rates If the file has already made it onto your device, Avast will immediately quarantine the threat to keep you secure. When Avast detects a malicious file or webpage it notifies you with a warning message. I was happy to see that Avast blocked all threats with only 6 false positives. My team and I tested this by setting up a test machine and opening emails and web pages that we knew had malware infections. Avast had a 100% detection rate during my tests, compared to the 98% industry average rate. You can scan your device as often as you like in multiple ways Real-Time Protection - Detects All Existing and New Online Threatsĭetecting malicious files and programs is one thing, but stopping them from infecting your device in the first place is arguably more important. I ran the Full Scan in 23 minutes and scanned 980,000 files, while the Quick Scan took just 2 Minutes to scan 81,000 files. Custom Scan: You choose which type of scan to run when to run it, and what to search.Smart Scan: Runs a quick virus scan and checks for outdated programs, dangerous browser extensions, performance issues, and more.Quick Scan: Scans the most at-risk sections of your device.Boot-Time Scan: Scans your computer before the operating systems loads to root out well-hidden threats.Targeted Scan: Scan only files or folders specifically selected by you.Fortunately, Avast isn’t overly aggressive (but also didn’t stand out). ![]() False positives can be time-consuming to deal with because you need to check each file individually to determine whether it’s malware or not. I encountered 15 false positives in my testing - harmless files that your antivirus thinks is malware - which is roughly in line with the industry average. If you’re looking for an antivirus with 100% detection rates, Norton 360 is the best option. My team and I rigged a test machine with malicious software and Avast picked up on almost everything - but not quite. In tests, Avast detected 99.8% of malware found in the 4 weeks before testing. Virus Scans - In-Depth Scans Offer Strong Device Protection I recommend a trustworthy antivirus like Norton 360 or TotalAV, both of which store your personal data in secure facilities with restricted access to authorized staff only. Although these are steps in the right direction, the scandal was nonetheless extremely damaging for the brand. It also updated its privacy policy so that users have to opt-in to future data collection. This is understandably a worry for anyone using software to keep themselves safe online.Īvast claims to have stopped this data collection practice and has since shut down Jumpshot. If a company that bought this data already had a bit of knowledge about a user’s activities online, they could link this previously anonymous user with a host of other actions. ![]() To make things worse, the data was not properly anonymized. All data was sold without users’ permission and primarily gathered through Avast’s browser extension, but also partially through the antivirus itself. This included people’s browsing history, Google searches, YouTube visits, and even visits to adult websites. Recently, it was discovered that Avast was secretly selling the browsing data of its users through its subsidiary company Jumpshot. TotalAV is another top-rated service that’s relatively new, but has quickly risen through the ranks to become one of the best antiviruses available. The best option for 2023 is Norton 360 as it offers powerful antivirus packages for an affordable price. I strongly suggest choosing reliable antivirus with a clean privacy track record instead. While Avast claims to have changed its privacy policy since the scandal, I find this difficult to believe considering the company’s clear lack of ethics. ![]() I’ve tested Avast’s antivirus protection and rate it highly, but the company has lost my trust and I can no longer recommend it as a safe antivirus. No one was safe - not even those who upgraded from Avast’s free plan to the paid packages. It was recently revealed that Avast has long been selling the browsing history of its users to companies like Google and Microsoft. Millions of people rely on Avast to protect their devices, but the sad truth is that the majority have no idea about its privacy violations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |