Avira AntiVir Personal 8 – complete antivirus protection for your PC

Thursday, December 4, 2008, 10:01
Software
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Avira AntiVir Personal 8 can be installed on systems with Windows 2000/XP/Vista. The free version which sports fewer features can be downloaded from various websites and the premium version can also be downloaded for 30-day trial. The premium version which can be installed on three systems is expensive than other antivirus suites.

The installation is very simple and smooth, and doesn’t require a reboot. Unlike other suites, AntiVir allows you to register and provide personal details at later time. You need Windows’ Add and Remove Programs features to uninstall the AntiVir and uninstallation removes all the files leaving nothing behind.

As its review, the AntiVir Personal 8 includes antivirus, antispyware and antiphishing features. The best feature among these is antivirus detecting capability due its updated antivirus signature database. The AntiVir is the leader in producing updated virus signature files. The AntiVir block download from hacked sites for Web-based antivirus attacks and has ability to check if a virus is installed during the download. You can also schedule automatic antivirus scan or download updates using the Scheduler feature of AntiVir. But there are some features missing in the premium edition that most antivirus products provide these days. The personal firewall is missing as well as some system utilities.

The overall performance of AntiVir is good. The installation of AntiVir has little effect on the system speed and it is able to detect most of the malicious codes. The AV-test.org performed test on AntiVir and rated it with 99.6% accuracy which highest among third party products tested.

The Avira offers technical support with the product. There is an option for e-mail support but there in no option for live chatting with the technicians. Moreover, the telephone support, starting at $1.99, is available in very few countries in Europe like Austria, Switzerland and Germany. There is no telephone support in Asia or America. The support also includes a community forum, online knowledge base and extensive document support.

The Avira AntiVir Personal 8 looses the advantage of its good performance due to its price and lack of features. Its competitors offer more features at lower price. The Sunbelt’s the user version of Vipre Antivirus and Antispyware performs at par with AntiVir Personal 8 and is priced lower.