We’ve seen no sign of any inappropriate use of private user data since then, so we’re taking Avast out of the penalty box. Avast resolved the problem and terminated Jumpshot terminated Jumpshot shortly thereafter. Based on this privacy slip, we knocked this product's rating down one-half star and removed its Editors’ Choice designation. And the underlying antivirus engine is identical in Avast and AVG AntiVirus Free, as demonstrated in both our tests and independent lab tests.Įditors' Note: Last year we learned about a problem with sharing of user data between Avast a problem with sharing of user data between Avast and its subsidiary Jumpshot. Both have millions of users worldwide, but each is strong in geographical areas where the other is weak. Fans of both companies can rest easy years and years later, there's still no plan to merge them into a single product. It's an impressive collection of security tools-especially considering that it's free.Īvast acquired rival free antivirus company AVG in 2016.

On top of excellent antivirus protection, it adds a network security scanner, browser protection, and more. Avast Free Antivirus gives you more than many competing commercial products. But actually, many of the most popular free antivirus tools offer full-scale protection and a ton of extra features. Getting the advanced bonus features would require becoming a paying customer. It might seem logical that antivirus companies would offer free antivirus protection as a kind of loss leader, with only the most basic protection.

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