Unfortunately, most reliable antivirus programs are paid. Avast Antivirus is considered a pleasant exception in this regard, the free version of which Avast Free Antivirus is not far behind the paid versions of this application in terms of functionality, but in terms of reliability, in general, it is not inferior in any way. This powerful antivirus tool can be used absolutely free of charge, and starting from the latest version even without registration. Let's find out how to install Avast Free Antivirus.
To install Avast antivirus, first of all, you need to download the installation file from the official website of the program, the link to which is provided after the first paragraph of this review.
After the installation file is downloaded to the computer's hard drive, run it. The Avast installation file, which is currently provided by the company, is not an archive containing program files, it simply starts downloading them from the Internet online.
After all the data is loaded, we are prompted to start the installation process. We can do it right away. But also, if you wish, you can go to the settings, and leave for installation only those components that we consider necessary.
From the names of the services that we do not want to install, uncheck the boxes. But, if you are not very well versed in the principles of antivirus operation, then it is best to leave all the default settings and go directly to the installation process by clicking on the "Install" button.
But, even after that, the installation will not start yet, as we will be asked to read the privacy user agreement. If we agree to the presented terms of use of the program, then click on the "Continue" button.
After that, finally, the installation process of the program starts, which lasts several minutes. Its progress can be observed using the indicator located in the pop-up window from the tray.
Steps after installation
After the installation process is completed, a window will open with a message stating that Avast antivirus has been successfully installed. In order to be able to enter the start window of the program, we only need to do a few actions. Click on the "Continue" button.
After that, a window opens in front of us, in which it is proposed to download a similar antivirus for a mobile device. Let's assume that we don't have a mobile device, so we skip this step.
In the next window that opens, the antivirus offers to try out its SafeZone browser. But this action is not our goal, so we refuse this offer.
In the end, a page opens that says that the computer is protected. It is also suggested to run an intelligent system scan. It is not recommended to skip this step when you first start the antivirus. Therefore, you need to run this type of scan for viruses, vulnerabilities and other system flaws.
Registering an antivirus
Previously, Avast Free Antivirus was provided for 1 month without any conditions. After a month, for the possibility of further free use of the program, it was required to go through a short registration procedure directly through the anti-virus interface. You had to enter a username and email. Thus, a person received the right to use the antivirus for free for 1 year. This registration procedure had to be repeated annually.
But, since 2016, Avast has revised its positions on this issue. The latest version of the program does not require user registration, and Avast Free Antivirus can be used indefinitely without any additional steps.
As you can see, installing Avast Free Antivirus is quite simple and intuitive. The developers, wanting to make the use of this program even more convenient for users, even abandoned the annual mandatory registration process, as it was before.
Good day. Today we'll talk about Avast antivirus, which is logical from the title.
It goes without saying that I am glad to welcome you again traditionally on the site "" of the project. This time I will not repeat myself about friends, acquaintances, visitors and other personalities .. Damn, I did it again! :)
OK. Let's move on to the topic of this material, namely, again to anti-virus products. You know, very often, just outrageously often, many of you ask me through or through to write an article about one of the free antiviruses or update an article on it.
Moreover, I already wrote about the same antivirus, touched on the topic with, turned your eyes to the side (although this is just antispyware, and not an antivirus at all), spoke about, and the devil knows who else. In a word, I didn’t talk about anything on this topic .. But all the time they demand to talk about the differences: either about Avast, or about all the other free and paid antivirus options.
In general, I thought and decided that I would, to the best of my ability, try to do reviews of all antiviruses, both free and paid (in the sense of providing a demo version for the same unfortunate 15-30 days, otherwise there would be no money to buy them all will not be enough:)).
More precisely, not even reviews, but I will simply talk about how to install them and configure them correctly, and then already .. Think for yourself whether to use it or not. Simply put, I will not give my expert assessment and express an opinion, because I do not like quite a lot of antiviruses and have long been a supporter of my own and similar solutions in general.
Let's start with Avast, because, relatively speaking, many are on their ears about its new version, and perhaps they are most often asked to talk about its settings.
Let's get started.
Avast antivirus - download
Actually, I’ll clarify for those who don’t know (by the way, there is a video with details at the end of the article), this antivirus is one of the most popular among free antiviruses, at least in Russia and the CIS countries.
It goes without saying that it also has all sorts of paid versions with additional stray like a firewall, antispyware and other riffraff, but a home user is not used to paying, and in terms of functionality and quality of harmfulness, in general, sometimes the free version is enough.
Among other things, of course, there is support for the Russian language, moderately up-to-date databases, a nice interface, and all that different stuff. This is so, as an introduction.
You can download the antivirus from the developer's website, namely,. After, of course, we immediately start the installation, i.e. poke into the same downloaded file. And the process, as they say, has begun.
At the first stage, we are interested in a custom installation, which is launched by the "Settings" button, because full automation with a pre-installed installation path and other settings does not suit us (hereinafter, in fact, they are clickable):
And just below select the components to install. Near each of the components there are question marks, by hovering over them, you can get information about their purpose, functionality, etc.
Personally, I disabled Software Updater, Rescue Disk, Browser extension for security, installation of the SafeZone browser and its extensions, as well as SecureLine and the password manager, because all this, in my sophisticated opinion, is clearly superfluous and is implemented by me by other methods, about which I have repeatedly written on the site.
Completing the Avast installation process
You can make the settings to your taste, or you can just do everything as you see in the screenshot above (or below), which will allow you to unscrew your Avast antivirus to a more or less adequate level and mode, before and after installation.
Next, you will need to wait for the installation process to complete, which proceeds in the background. Despite the recommendations of the antivirus itself, I would advise you not to make unnecessary gestures during this process.
By clicking the "Continue" button, in fact, you will need to agree to the agreement (always loved this phrase) on confidentiality:
You can read it, you can not, the matter, of course, is yours, but you will have to agree one way or another, but then you can turn off sending unnecessary data in the settings, which, in fact, is said immediately before the " Continue" button.
Further, if you have nothing to do, then you will be asked to install an antivirus on your phone, or rather, on almost any device. I can hardly imagine why someone might need it, but if you suddenly think that this is vital for you, you can install it, although I won’t analyze the mobile version in the review.
This completes the installation, let's move on to installing, configuring and using this joy of a thought programmer.
Register Avast antivirus
Let's get straight to the point. In the main window of the program that you have opened, in the upper right corner there is a button "Login", which we need to register an account. In principle, you can use the green button to the left of it.
Registration, unfortunately, is obligatory, but absolutely free, without delivery and extremely useful, so I recommend that you indicate your real Email and other data. However, Avast antivirus itself will tell you why it is needed and what it gives:
Among other things, by logging into your account on the site, you can see the latest news (although who reads them? :)), see which devices you have Avast antivirus installed on, buy a license and do other useful things, like connecting to transfer files :
After registering, in fact, we enter our account in Avast antivirus, indicating our login password from the account, simultaneously refusing (or agreeing, whoever) with the offer to try the free extended version:
Perhaps this is the minimum that you need to know. The rest is configured additionally at your discretion or with the help of questions and answers in the comments to this article.
Toolkit and video for the article
Optionally, you can use the "Tools" tab to add a firewall and sandbox to the antivirus, but this costs money.
More precisely, is it worth it or not, see for yourself, because the choice is yours. In case you decide to make a purchase, below there is a text with recommendations on where to purchase a license, guaranteed, with a discount and other goodies.
Oh, and yes, as promised, for those who want visibility, there is still a video from ours:
To tell the truth, the video has not been updated for the latest version of the antivirus, but it may be useful to you for clarity.
Where to buy a license for Avast antivirus
If you decide to purchase the full version of the program (not the free version, which is in the article, namely the extended one), then it is recommended to do this not in retail stores (which not only make a significant mark-up, but also add the cost of the box with the program, its delivery to the final price to the store, the cost of renting the store and other "logistics"), and in online stores that:
- Firstly, it is cheaper (not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also because the software is purchased/sold in bulk);
- Secondly, it’s convenient, because you don’t have to go anywhere and you can pay even with a credit card, even with a text message from your phone;
- Thirdly, it is quite safe, because the license can be checked and activated immediately (quick delivery of keys to Email), which cannot be done in an offline store.
For my part, I would recommend, but rather immediately on this one, simply because the place is proven (in any case, it still buys software for home / offices there) and has existed on the software market since 2004. In general, you can read any marketing on the Internet or on the store's website - it's my business to recommend.
By the way, if suddenly, for some reason, you know a software store is cheaper (and most importantly, better!), Then contact through, the team and I will consider your option .. and may offer readers in this text. Thank you!
Afterword
As promised, I will not give my own expert assessment. I will only mention in passing that the impression is pleasant, at least from the new version. I’m silent about everything else, otherwise disputes will begin about whose antivirus is better and who thinks about the efficiency of a neighbor :)
As always, if you have any questions, additions, thanks, opinions, and so on, write comments under this article.
Stay with the project. You are always welcome here ;)
Avast Free Antivirus is an award-winning free antivirus program (requires free registration) that has proven itself to be an easy-to-use and reliable antivirus. Some features of the program: the presence of a resident scanner, the ability to scan archives, check outgoing and incoming mail, scripts and files downloaded from the Internet, as well as scanning all devices connected to the computer, and much more. The antivirus has a simple and intuitive interface, which makes it accessible to both advanced and novice users.
Installing Avast Antivirus
It doesn't matter if you want to install one of the free or paid versions, the installation process is the same for all versions.Step 1
Download the installer for the correct version of Avast from the official website.
Step 2
Run the installer as an administrator. To do this, right-click on the installation package and select "Run as administrator".
Next, you will see an installation wizard prompting you to select an installation type.
Step 3
For most users, it is recommended that you simply click the "Install" button to start the basic installation. In this case, the program will automatically install all necessary modules, security settings and default values. If you choose "customize", you will have the option to choose which program modules should be installed.
Note: If you don't want to install Google Browser additionally, uncheck "Yes, install Google Browser as well".
Step 4
At the first stage of installation, you will be prompted to select the installation location for the antivirus.
Click the "Browse" button and specify the folder where the program will be installed. Then click the "Select Folder" button. You can leave the default installation path.
Step 5
Here you also need to select the components that you want to install for Avast Free Antivirus. In most cases, you should just leave this part as default. You can configure the installation of individual protection components and services. After you are done with the setup, click the "Install" button and wait for the installation to complete.
Step 8
After the installation is completed, the program will offer to install the antivirus on mobile devices. If you don't need it, click No.
Installation is complete - if you install the free Avast antivirus, then a reboot is not required, but if one of the paid versions of the product, you will have to restart your computer before you can use all the features of the program.
Step 9
After you have installed the program, depending on which version is installed, you must perform the following steps:
- If you have installed the free version of Avast Free antiirus, you can start using it right away.
- If you have installed one of the paid versions, then after the 30-day trial period expires, you will need to purchase a license to continue using the program, or upgrade to the free version.
How to use Avast Free Antivirus
Below you can see what the Avast Free Antivirus interface looks like.
How to start a scan?
First, open the Avast user interface by double-clicking the icon on your desktop or system tray.
The first time you launch the program, you will be taken to the "Overview" home page. The easiest way to launch a malware and virus scan in Avast Free Antivirus is to click the "SMART SCAN" or "Smart Scan" button.
"Smart Scan" combines all the necessary scanning tools. One scan can solve all your problems in most cases. If you want to customize your scan, do the following:
Step 1
Go to "Scan" and select "Scan for viruses" (or any other option, depending on your needs).
Step 2
On the Scan screen, select the scan type from the drop-down menu and click the Start button.
Step 3
Wait until the end of the procedure. After the scan is completed, a notification will appear with the result.
Step 4
If a threat has been detected, click the "Show Results" button to view any actions taken automatically according to the scan settings, or take manual action on any types of detected threats. You can also access scan reports by clicking View History at the bottom of the scan screen.
Scanning browser add-ons
If "Smart Scan" doesn't make you tired, you can go back to the "Overview" home page and select "Scan for Browser Add-ons".
This process will give a detailed analysis of all the add-ons in all your web browsers.
Note: you must first make sure that any add-ons found are really useless to you before deleting them.
Home network scan
After selecting this item, the antivirus will start scanning your home network for vulnerabilities such as portable devices, WiFi status, router settings, factory passwords, etc. This is a new feature in Avast 2015 that helps you detect potential problems across the entire network you use. As in the previous step, you can analyze if there are problems with your network.
Finding performance issues
Also a useful feature that helps identify unwanted software that adversely affects the performance of your computer in general.
Click on the "Details" button to view the issues found. If everything is correct and you really do not need these programs, click the "Optimize PC" button.
CONCLUSION
Avast Free Antivirus has a powerful virus and malware detection engine, along with low CPU and memory usage, making it a popular yet reliable antivirus that protects your computer.The program menu consists of eight groups of tabs (Status, Scanning, Tools, Store, My Devices, Help, Statistics, Settings). To see detailed information about the contents of a particular tab, click on its name. By default, the Status tab is open, which provides general information about the current protection and allows you to start scanning your computer (Express Scan button, see Figure 4.10).
If something threatens the full operation of the antivirus, the icon will appear in the notification area. The Status tab will also signal problems with protection (Fig. 4.14).
Rice. 4.14. Troubleshooting To normalize the operation of the antivirus, click the Fix all button.
Pay special attention to the Scanning tab: this is where you will run various scan options (Fig. 4.15).
Rice. 4.15. Scan tab
The Tools tab menu contains additional options that allow you to increase the security of your computer (Fig. 4.16). Let's consider them in more detail.
Rice. 4.16. Tools tab menu
Software Updater displays information about the status of programs installed on the computer, avast! checks installed applications, looks for information about the latest versions, and provides results in the form of recommendations.
Note
The software is constantly being improved: new functions are added, shortcomings and errors are eliminated, the interface becomes more practical, etc. For the convenience of users, the developers have installed an update function: if there is an Internet connection, the program will automatically make the necessary changes.
Secureline is available only in a paid version and contains the function of protecting your Internet connection via public Wi-Fi networks. When using Secureline, no one will know what you are browsing on the Web.
Clearing your browser removes all information about your internet activity.
AccsessAnywhere provides remote access to a computer.
Rescue Disk creates a special bootable disk for offline scanning and cleaning of your computer.
The Store tab (Fig. 4.17) allows you to purchase additional security tools.
Rice. 4.17. Shop tab
Using the My Devices tab, you can control your phone or tablet remotely.
The Help, Statistics and Settings tabs allow you to get help in case of various problems, find out detailed information about the operation of the antivirus, and also configure it to solve specific problems.
COMPUTER CHECK
Avast offers five basic data scanning options (Figure 4.18).
Rice. 4.18. Selecting a Scan Option
Express Scan - a quick check of the computer without loading the RAM for viruses on the system disk where the operating system is installed (by default, this is the C :) drive, as well as all major applications and running processes.
Full scan - checking all the information available on the computer. It is recommended to perform this operation immediately after installing and updating the virus databases. Verification may take a long time.
Scanning removable media - checking USB flash drives, portable hard drives and other storage media that are periodically connected to the computer. It is easier to exclude the possibility of infection with the virus in advance than to eliminate the consequences after. Don't neglect this feature.
Select a folder to scan - Scan a custom folder. A great option if you're downloading something from the Internet to a separate directory, or if you suspect a virus in a particular file or folder.
OS boot scan is a scan option for when you think your computer has been infected by a virus and want to reduce its harmful effects. By clicking the Schedule button, you will run the scan before the operating system loads, which means before the virus starts. The developer positions this function as one of the main impact tools of the avast! to clean up your computer.
If for some reason you are not satisfied with the proposed scanning options, there is always the opportunity to design your own. To do this, click on the link Set a special type of scanning (Fig. 4.19).
Rice. 4.19. Custom scan settings
Below the description of the selected scanning option, there is a Settings link (see Fig. 4.18), clicking on which will take you to the scan settings window (Fig. 4.20).
Rice. 4.20. Scan Settings (Actions menu)
On the left, select the Actions menu and select the Automatically apply actions during scanning check box. After that, three tabs will appear in the window: Virus, PUP (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and Suspicious. file. In the drop-down list of each tab, you can select the actions that avast! when specific objects are detected:
Fix automatically;
Move to quarantine;
Delete;
No action.
There are programs that, in principle, resemble viruses, but are not, as well as files that are falsely identified by antiviruses as infected. To exclude the occurrence of a false alarm or an unpleasant situation with the deletion of personal data, use the Exclusions function of the scan settings window (Fig. 4.21).
Rice. 4.21. Exceptions
With this simple function, you will prevent the antivirus from scanning selected objects. You can also exclude folders containing only images from scanning to reduce the time it takes to scan your computer. To do this, run the command Exception settings, press the button Review and select the correct directory.
We've covered the standard scan types, but there are two more options that deserve attention.
Scanning from Windows Explorer allows you to check any selected file. To do this, right-click on it, run the command Scan.
The screen saver scan will be performed when the computer is not in use, that is, while the screen saver is displayed. Once you return to work, the scan will stop. To enable this type of scan, right-click on the desktop, run the command Personalization Screensaver. In the window Options screen saver from the drop-down list, select avast! antivirus and click OK(Fig. 4.22). All test results are displayed on the tab Statistics.
Rice. 4.22. Screen saver scan
UPDATE
One of the most important protection components of any anti-virus program is anti-virus databases. In avast! they are called Virus definitions.
Keeping the anti-virus databases up to date will minimize the possibility of infecting your computer. The developers have taken care of this in advance by setting up automatic updating of virus definitions. In this case, the antivirus updates the databases on its own as needed. If you are not satisfied with this option, change it: run the command Settings Update, in the area of Settings set the switch to the desired position (Fig. 4.23).
Rice. 4.23. Updating anti-virus databases
In addition to the user-friendly interface of avast! I would like to note its invisibility in the system - resources are practically not affected. In addition to high efficiency in combating known threats, the application performs powerful heuristic analysis, which allows you to detect new, yet unknown viruses.
Hello, dear readers of this blog :) I continue my series of articles about protecting your computer from various types of threats, and in this article I will tell you about protecting your system from viruses using the free Avast antivirus! Free.
The system must always be kept in good condition. Imagine that you are making money online. And the hard drive of the computer stores important data for this earnings. At the same time, every minute of the time that you devote to earning is very important. And at one fine moment, due to the fact that you do not follow basic security recommendations, your system becomes infected and becomes inoperable.
You will spend a lot of time to reinstall the system or restore its functionality. And it also happens that important data will be destroyed or worse, stolen by some kind of virus spy. With all this, you stop your earnings on the Internet for a while and jeopardize the safety of important data related to this case. All this is only because, for example, no anti-virus protection was installed at all, or the anti-virus databases were outdated, or the operating system itself was not updated.
It would also be much easier to restore everything if regular backups were made. Well, that's right, a small digression from the main topic of the article in order to attract all readers (especially beginners in computer literacy) to follow at least the minimum recommendations for the security of your computer :)
Let's move on to a full review of a free and very good alternative to Kaspersky - Avast antivirus! Free. The antivirus is completely free for non-commercial use and includes a large number of different protection components that block a wide variety of threats. At the same time, the antivirus does not heavily load the system, it has a very flexible setting and a lot of additional bells and whistles :)
Now let's move on to the process of installing Avast antivirus.
Installing Avast Antivirus! Free
First of all, before proceeding with the installation of an anti-virus product (any), you must remove the one already installed on your system at the moment. Two simultaneously running antiviruses (namely, full-fledged complex antiviruses. There are also separate ones - antispyware) - can conflict with each other and lead to system failures. Be sure to uninstall your current antivirus product before installing a new one.
So let's start the installation:
It is most convenient to download the antivirus from the official website, since this way you will always download the latest version. Let's go to the site:
avast
On the site, go to the menu at the top "FOR HOME", and then select the item "Avast! Free Antivirus.
We scroll the page approximately down to the middle, until we see a comparison of 3 versions of the antivirus and the "Download" button. We are interested in the free version of "BASIC Avast! Free Antivirus" and click on the "Download" button below it:
I would like to immediately answer a possible question: “But the comparison table shows that the free version is inferior and lacks many features. Why then put such a version?.
Now we are talking specifically about protection against viruses, spyware, trojans and similar threats, so let's look at what is missing in this free version according to the table:
All this will be missing in the free version. Now let's figure out what's what.
SafeZone– does not refer to virus protection, but rather refers to an additional component. To protect payments and everything else, it is enough to have a reliable antivirus + firewall + follow other recommended security measures when working on a computer. And for secure storage of passwords, business cards and the like, use a special password manager, which is full of free ones. I talked about one of them in this article.
Automatic firewall. The one that is built into Avast does not deserve the necessary trust, compared to the one that has gained popularity and has excellent protection - Comodo Firewall. I recommend setting it separately, and I promised to write an article about this :)
Spam Protection. Again, for such protection, it is enough to have everything that I wrote above, and it makes no sense to buy a paid version of the antivirus just for this function. You can use, in extreme cases, a separately installed anti-spammer.
Software Updater. Each installed program on the computer already has its own update functions, so this tool is completely useless. And, especially since this tool is still built into the free version, but the only difference from the paid version is that it needs to be launched manually :) And in the paid version, third-party software updates are automatic. I think it's completely irrelevant to us.
AccessAnywhere. To get full remote access, it is most convenient to use a separate free program - TeamViewer, which has all the necessary functions and even more. If there is interest from readers regarding this program, its operation and configuration, then I will write a separate article on this topic :)
data shredder. Allows you to permanently (without the possibility of recovery) delete data using special algorithms. Again, a program designed for this can be installed separately if necessary.
So we went through all the additional tools that are available only in the paid version of Avast antivirus and, I think, I was able to explain why there is absolutely no point in paying for this :)
A new page will open and the antivirus installer should automatically start downloading to your computer immediately. If the download does not start automatically (it depends on the browser and its settings), then start the download manually by clicking on the "click here" link:
The file will be downloaded to your computer in the folder you selected, or automatically to the folder specified in your browser settings.
To start the installation, run the newly downloaded file "avast_free_antivirus_setup_online.exe".
The first Avast installer window will launch. I recommend unchecking "Yes, set Google Chrome as my default browser" and "Yes, set the Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer". All this, if necessary, you will install separately by downloading for free from the Internet.
As for choosing the type of installation, I recommend choosing "Custom installation". This allows you to fine-tune the installation of the antivirus. Click on this button:
In the next installer window, you are prompted to select a folder (path) to install the antivirus. I always leave the default path and recommend doing the same when installing any programs. Click the "Continue" button:
At the next installation stage, you are asked to choose which antivirus protection components, additional tools and languages will be installed. Protection components (screens) are installed without fail! This is the most important part of defense. I recommend leaving the tools the same as those enabled by default (see image below), but it’s better to disable the Avast Gadget! tool, which does not play an important role, but will interfere and load the system. Choose languages at your own discretion, and I left only Russian.
Click the "Continue" button after everything is set up at this stage.
In the next window, we are once again notified about what settings we made during installation. Click the "Continue" button:
At the next stage, you just need to click the "Continue" button again and by doing so, we accept the terms of the license agreement:
The installation process will start. At this stage, no action is required from us:
After the installation is completed, click the "Finish" button and a quick system scan for viruses will be launched.
You can wait until the scan is completed, or you can interrupt it by clicking the "Stop" button. It's up to you:
On this, all steps for installing Avast antivirus are completed, and it is ready to go. But I said that I would tell in articles how to configure antiviruses for maximum protection. Therefore, now we turn to the analysis of antivirus settings.
Configuring Avast Antivirus! Free for maximum protection
If the antivirus working window did not open immediately after installing it and a quick scan, then most likely you closed it. You can open it from the tray (system area with icons where the system clock is located). To do this, double-click on the Avast icon with the left mouse button:
So, first we activate our free version:
Now let's go directly to the settings:
At the moment, the very first tab will be opened - "Scan at runtime". In the window on the right, we simply check that all functions are active (all 3 checkboxes are checked):
Go to the next tab "Scan at Open". For maximum protection, we enable two functions: "Scan documents on opening" and "Scan all files":
Enabling the latter function may affect the performance of the computer if your computer is weak. The official website does not indicate the system requirements of Avast (at least I wanted to find it to add to this article and did not find it), but according to my own tests on different machines, I can say for sure that these requirements are far from high and even “weak” ones can handle it computers today.
The "Scan with custom extensions" checkbox can be checked if you did not enable the "Scan all files" function. Then in a special window you can set the file extensions that the antivirus will scan.
The next tab is "Scan on Write". Here I recommend putting 4 checkmarks, as indicated in the image below. The "Scan files with custom extensions" item can again be enabled if, for some reason, "Scan all files" is not enabled.
The “Do not scan files on remote shares” feature is enabled, since scanning folders and files on other PCs is no longer our responsibility and will greatly reduce performance if there are many remote folders and various changes will often be made there.
Since the “Do not scan files on removable media” function is disabled, when inserting flash drives and other media, it will be possible to immediately scan files and this is very important! Simply because removable media often contains a lot of various viruses if this media is connected to other computers. This will be configured in the next tab.
On-Connect Scan tab. We check that both checkboxes are here, as in the image below. The first function will allow you to check the connected media immediately in order to prevent infection of the system if the media itself is infected.
The second function scans floppy disks. Although it can be said that they are no longer used anywhere, you still should not turn off this function.
Go to the "Exceptions" tab. Here we can set files, folders and extensions that the antivirus will not scan. I always remove all default exclusion files, because the specified files may still contain malicious code and be subject to change. Therefore, it is better to uncheck all the checkboxes in this window, and if necessary, add only those files and folders that the antivirus mistakenly considers a threat, and you know for sure that these files do not pose a threat. Such files, for example, often include various program activators.
Advanced tab. In the settings window, I recommend disabling the “Do not scan checked system DLL files” option, which is enabled by default, since system files can become infected and need to be scanned periodically.
We disable the “Use persistent caching” function, otherwise the antivirus will not scan files a second time (even after a reboot) that have already been scanned and turned out to be “clean”.
Leave the checkboxes "Use transient caching" and "Optimize scanning when copying files".
Let's move on to a very important tab - "Actions". Here you can configure the behavior of the antivirus when it detects threats and suspicious files.
The best option is to set in all 3 subsections (Virus, PUP, Suspicious file) the Avast action values as in the image below:
Those. if a virus, suspicious file or potentially unwanted program (PUP) is detected, the antivirus will first ask you what to do with the detected object, and you will be able to choose the action yourself. If for some reason it could not display a window with the choice of action, then the antivirus will try to choose the most correct action on the object itself, and if it did not work out, then it will definitely send the file to quarantine. In fact, the 1st action (Ask) can be said to be issued in 100% of cases, and we set the rest only for safety.
Having set the actions in the "Virus" tab, we set the same thing in the "PUP" and "Suspicious file".
Below in the "Options" section, leave both checkboxes enabled.
In the "Processing infected archives" parameter, it is best to enable the second option - "Try to extract only the archived file; if it doesn't work, delete the entire archive." In this case, the infected archive will be deleted entirely if you confirm this action.
Now we go to the "Archivers" tab. This section allows you to select the archive formats that Avast will open when scanning for viruses.
Since I am showing how to configure the antivirus for maximum protection, we simply check the box "All archivers":
The penultimate tab is "Sensitivity". She is also responsible for the degree of protection of the antivirus. We set the sensitivity to the “High” level, i.e. - mark all the stripes (see the image below). All checkboxes in this window are enabled.
There is nothing particularly important on the last tab "Report file". Here you can set the settings for reports that are created after scanning. The options set here by default are quite optimal.
This completes the file system screen settings (this is a real-time scan) completed. Click the "OK" button in this window.
It remains for us to configure the last screen - the “Web Screen”. Let's start setting it up:
We move to the "Antivirus" tab and begin to consider the list of settings here.
In the subsections "Reputation Services", "Deepscreen", "Enhanced Mode", the necessary parameters are already set by default, and here it is best to leave everything unchanged. The Deepscreen feature allows you to find out about the contents of an unknown file even before it is launched, and this increases security. There is no need to turn on the enhanced mode, since we are already unscrewing the settings for maximum protection, and this function is recommended for inexperienced users and you will not be able to configure it flexibly.
Below on the same tab there will be a subsection "Exceptions", in which you can add general exceptions for all the screens discussed above at once. Why do I need exceptions, I already described above and add them only when absolutely necessary.
Even lower will be the "Warnings" subsection, which will allow you to send notifications to someone by mail if a threat is detected on the computer. I have never used the function and I’m unlikely to, and for some reason I’m sure that you will too :) Therefore, you can not write any addresses here.
Well, in front of him is the subsection “Special types of scanning”. Let's stop here a bit. We will not touch the "scan screen saver", since this function is optimally configured by default. Such a scan is performed at the time when the screen saver on the computer is turned on and is performed unnoticed by the user. But the second type of scanning - "Scanning in Explorer" is better to configure. Click the "Settings" button next to the corresponding item:
And again we see a number of tabs :)
But I recommend going through them, because scanning in Explorer is often very convenient. It allows you to check any folder or file by right-clicking on it and selecting Scan. This is the type of scan we will now set up.
Now we continue to check the settings on the previous window. Go to the "Appearance" tab. The settings here are in no way responsible for the security of the computer, but they can affect performance and convenience :) Let's go through the settings from this tab.
I recommend first of all to disable the option "Animation of the icon during scanning". Animation in any case requires at least not significantly, but more system resources, despite the fact that there is no point in this option. Also, I always turn off the sounds, no matter what antivirus I use. It's up to everyone, but I'm more comfortable just getting text notifications than constantly hearing and being distracted by sound alerts.
We go down the settings in the same tab and see the "Activity Monitoring" subsection. This monitoring is responsible for displaying data on the status of protection, and you can check the boxes below which components and parameters to take into account when displaying this data. If one of the selected parameters / components is not in order, for example, it is disabled, then the monitoring will issue a warning that the protection is not perfect. For example, the virus databases will become very outdated, and it will issue a warning about the protection status, since I have the "Virus definitions version" item checked.
By default, everything is set up well here, so it's better to leave everything like this:
Even lower there is a subsection "Pop-up messages", which is responsible for the duration of the display of windows with notifications. I don't set anything here, but you can change the duration if you want.
Even lower - the subsection "Greetings". The checkmark is completely unnecessary here, and if it is, feel free to remove it.
In the "Scan results" subsection, a checkmark is also not needed. After scanning, the results will be opened anyway if there are some important points, for example, a threat is detected.
And finally, at the very bottom of this tab, in the last subsection "Community Features", the "Show avast recommended features!" feature is enabled by default. It is better to leave it enabled so that additional options are available.
The screenshot below shows the last 3 subsections with the necessary settings:
Now go to the next tab "Update". Here we can manually update the virus definitions by clicking the Update button under the Virus Definitions heading.
Virus definitions are updated automatically. But when a new version of the antivirus itself is released, it will not be updated automatically. Therefore, once every 2 weeks, look into this section and click the "Update" button under the "Program" heading. If a new version has been released, it will be downloaded and installed.
Here I recommend checking the box "My computer is constantly connected to the Internet." Here you can also change the frequency of checking for virus database updates. The default is every 240 minutes, and I consider this a normal interval and do not change this value. In the proxy server settings, leave the "Direct connection (no proxy)" option enabled. Only if you use a proxy server to access the Internet, then specify the data of this server here by enabling the corresponding function.
The next tab is "Registration". There is nothing important for us and I'm just showing it for review :) Here you can see if your free license is activated, as well as the number of days until it expires. After the end, you can get a new license again.
Also on this page you can activate the paid version by clicking on the appropriate link if you suddenly purchased it.
Next, go to the "Tools" tab. Here we will see additional free tools that are not related to the anti-virus protection itself. These functions are useless and it is more convenient to use full-fledged separate programs, each designed for its own needs. Our task is simply to disable both of these tools :) We click the "Settings" button next to the "Software Updater" tool:
In the new window, simply uncheck the box next to the “Software Updater” item, and then click “OK”, thereby returning to the previous window.
This tool can check for new versions of all software installed on the computer. But this only wastes resources, given that each installed program can already check for updates for itself.
Now disable the use of "GrimeFighter":
In the new window, remove the only checkmark from the top "Always test this computer for Grime". Then click "OK" and go back:
The Grime tool is used to clean the system of garbage. To do this, it is best to use a separate utility, for example, CCleaner, which will clean the registry, delete unnecessary files and correct errors. By the way, if readers are interested in the topic of cleaning the system to increase performance and fix errors, then I can write an article on this topic :)
A similar tool built into Avast is completely stupid and does not have all the necessary functions for this.
Finally, let's move on to the last tab in this large settings window :) The tab is called "Troubleshooting". To be honest, in my opinion, the developers translated this tab incorrectly, because I don’t see a single function here that would allow us to fix some kind of malfunction :) Well, actually, we won’t find fault. In this tab, the most optimal and best in terms of maximum antivirus protection are the settings that are set by default. These are the settings I have in the screenshot below:
Having set the settings, press the "OK" button and finally leave this largest window with settings, and in general, these are all settings! :)
In the Avast window, open the "Settings" tab in the list on the left.
A new window will open, where there will be many more tabs, each of which we will go through. The General tab will open immediately. Consider the settings on this tab.
I recommend leaving the "Participate in the Avast Community" feature enabled. Some of Avast's usage data will be transmitted to servers, but you will receive content statistics, site rankings, and other information. Since our version is officially free, we are not afraid of any blocking and other related to the fact that the program will send data to the antivirus servers :)
Going down on the page a little lower we will see the "Password" section. Here you can set a password to protect various functions of the program. This can be done and even necessary for 2 reasons. 1st - protection of antivirus settings and its operation in the event that another person uses the computer besides you. And the second reason, which in my opinion is even more important than the first one, is password protection of the main functions of the program so that some types of viruses themselves cannot change or disable anything. Trust me, this happens in practice.
So, check the box “Protect Avast! Password ”and below 2 times we indicate some simple password. Below we open another additional section "Protected areas". Here we are offered to choose: when accessing which areas of the program, a password will be requested. It's up to you, and it depends on which of the 2 reasons you set the password or both :)
If you are only protecting yourself with a password against special smart viruses, then I recommend leaving the checkboxes as in the image above. That is, the password will be requested when accessing the main application settings, when enabling / disabling protection, and when working with quarantined threats.
We go down even lower and see the "Maintenance" section. Here are the settings for storing reports, antivirus and quarantine logs. Everything is set up optimally here, but if you want to extend the lifetime of some reports, you can specify a larger number of days, as well as specify a different amount of quarantine. I leave everything as it is:
If we go even lower, we will see the last function on this page - “Backup settings”. But it makes sense to apply this when all the settings are done, so we will return here later.
We figured out the first tab and now go to the settings of the next tab "Active Protection". In the window, we check that all 3 protection screens are enabled, and then click on the button with the image of a gear opposite the "File system screen" to go to its settings:
And here we are again waiting for a lot of tabs :)
As a result, we will return to the "Active Protection" tab and now proceed to configure the next screen - "Mail Screen". Open the setting by clicking on the same button in the form of a gear:
Congratulations, real-time anti-virus protection is set to the highest security! :) I agree, there are just a lot of settings in Avast. But such flexibility of settings and overall protection make it one of the best free antivirus products.
Now it's up to the small and it remains to talk about the options for manually scanning the system and their settings.
Manually scan your computer for viruses with Avast! Free
Although I already mentioned in the previous article (about Kaspersky Anti-Virus), I will repeat myself just in case, since not all readers study every article on the blog. And it's not difficult for me to repeat :)
Although the antivirus protects your computer in real time, some kind of infection can still accidentally penetrate your computer. And even more so, the protection, whatever one may say, is inferior to the paid Kaspersky.
In this regard, it is necessary to regularly completely scan your computer for viruses manually. I do this weekly. My computer is productive, and therefore I don’t even notice the full scan process. I recommend at least once a month so as not to neglect the security of your system.
So, we begin to deal with manual scanning of the system:
In the main window of Avast! Go to the "Scanning" tab.
On the right we will see a drop-down list with scan options, a link to settings and a start button.
Of all the scanning options, we will consider only the 2 most important ones: “Full Scan” and “Scan at OS Boot”.
Let's start by setting up a full scan:
This type of scan performs a thorough, in-depth scan of your entire system, of all local drives, and is the one I use all the time.
To start a scan, now you just need to go to the "Scan" menu, select the "Full Scan" type and click the "Start" button.
This is how the running scan process will look like:
We just have to wait for it to finish. And if for some reason you need to interrupt the scan, then you can do this simply by pressing the "Stop" or "Pause" button (by designation).
The second type of scan I noted is scanning before the operating system starts. This type of scan can come in handy if, for some reason, the system has become infected with some obscure infection, and you cannot eliminate this threat with a normal manual full scan from the system. Then, most likely, the threat will be found during the scan at OS boot.
Let's start setting up scanning during OS boot:
This completes the scan settings at OS boot :) If you click "Start" in this type of scan, it will start at the next system boot. Those. just click "Start" and restart your computer.
Well, here are all the most important settings and functions of Avast antivirus! Free.
The rest of the tabs are not important enough to touch on in detail. For example - "Store" - is needed only if you want to purchase some paid versions of the antivirus. The "Tools" tab contains programs additional to the antivirus, for example, the previously mentioned "Software Updater", "GrimeFighter" and so on. The My Devices tab only makes sense in the advanced version of the antivirus, as it allows remote access to other computers running Avast! antivirus, but this feature is not available in our free version.
Tab - "Statistics" allows you to view statistics on scanned files; what percentage of infections, what percentage cured over different periods. But I don't use this feature :)
Well, that's actually all :) The article turned out to be huge, but I touched on the main thing - how to configure the antivirus for maximum protection :)
I would be glad for any comments :) That's all, I wish everyone good luck in their affairs! ;)
