Those who have read my list of top 6 security applications know that I recommend Avira as the free anti-virus of choice. Well today Avira has released v9 of their awarding winning protection software. The best part of it all: Avira Free now includes the ability to detect spyware and adware were as it did not before:
Anti-spyware detection and removal is now available for the free version of AntiVir as well as the paid upgrades. There's new scanning tech that can crack open "locked" files and verify that they're not malicious, along with improved internal security to prevent AntiVir's files from being maliciously altered. AntiVir 9 also offers a rebuilt heuristic detection engine, and according to Tony Anscombe, director of consumer products for Avira, Download.com reader comments have been the impetus for the new one-click threat removal option--no more baby-sitting the scans.
The one-click threat removal is a nifty quarantining feature that logs and sets aside all detected threats so you can deal with them individually or as a group at the end of the scan. It's simple, but means that you can run a scan at night and not worry about the scan pausing and waiting for user input before it continues.
[via CNET]
If you have Avira 8 Free installed (i.e. the version available before today), upgrading to Avira 9 Free will be a little pain. You have to manually uninstall Avira 8 Free, download Avira 9 Free and then install it again. However the new features are well worth it.
Update: Avira has now added Avira 9 Free to Free-AV.com. Therefore you should be able to automatically upgrade from Avira 8 -> Avira 9 from within Avira 8. However, keep in mind that you will still be uninstalling Avira 8 first - it will just be a little bit more automated then if you did it manually.
Lastly, recall in my article about recommended security software that I recommend Threatfire to supplement Avira Free because Avira Free was unable to detect spyware. Now, if you want, you can uninstall Threatfire since Avira 9 Free has the ability to detect spyware and adware. Avira has excellent detection rates of spyware/adware so you don't have to worry about a thing. However if you would like to keep Threatfire installed, you can. Just note that while there shouldn't be any conflicts, since there are new features for Avira 9 no one can guarantee Threatfire and Avira 9 will not conflict because Avira 9 is new so not much testing done with it and other software yet (I will update if I know of any conflicts).
Ready to upgrade to Avira 9? Click here to download it.
NOTE: Because Avira AntiVir 9 was rebuilt in some areas, such as the heuristic detection engine, if you are not comfortable upgrading until more tests are done with the new features that is OK - just stick to Avira 8 Free + Threatfire for now and I will update when I find out more information on actual tests done. However, personally, I am upgrading from Avira 8 -> Avira 9 right now. I trust Avira enough to know they did not screw up like AVG =).
jumbi
Great choice for the free antivirus programs.
The only limitation in the free version, compared to avg free, is (still?) the disabled pop email checking. But if you dont need this and just use web email (gmail, hotmail etc), Avira is the best free choice!
There are some annoying advertisements but its very strong in detecting viruses, has a great simple interface,
(the rename file feature is not found in most other antiviruses, even commercial! which is very convenient when u dont want to delete a working key generator and can run it in a safe protected environment eg sandboxie)
extemely light on resources and overall best value for money!
Now with the free antispyware ability, its even better!
Ashraf
Avira Free still protects you against bad files from emails though. The live protection will detect and block any files that contain malware if you download them.
Mario
HI Ashraf,
on January we had this promotion : Free 6 month Avira Premium AntiVirus!!! (Update: now 1 month only.)
[11 Jan 2009 | 34 Comments | 5,146 views] .
now, when computer is turned on, Avira asks if I want to update to v9. Should we go for it? will we loose the 6 month free promotion with the update?
thanks
mario from Brasil
Mario
another thing
for some reason, current Avira Premium is not being able to enable the Antivir Mailguard service. Any known problem or it’s just me as usual?
thanks
mario
Ashraf
Mario,
All upgrades are free with Avira. I am upgrading my Avira Premium as we speak. Go for the upgrade – you will not lose the 6 months free promotion (if you do the upgrade properly). Just in case something goes wrong, before you upgrade, go into your Avira folder and copy the “hbedv.key” file and place it in a safe location (I just place it on my desktop). That way if you accidently delete your whole folder you can still reactivate it.
Also, MailGuard seems to be working fine for me.
Kinetix
Finally, I was waiting for this! Thanks for pointing this out, Ashraf, much appreciated.
Liam K.
You don’t have to manually update it. You can right click on the icon and click Start AntiVir, then go to Update > Start product update. Voila :)
I’ve tried many different antivirus programs, but Avira AntiVir continues to be my favorite <33
Ashraf
Liam,
Regardless of how you do it, you have to uninstall Avira 8 first. However when I posted the above, Free-AV.com did not have Avira 9 up. It does now.
Liam K.
Is that just this version? I don’t remember ever having to do that before.
Ashraf
Whenever there is a “big change” with Avira you always have to uninstall previous versions. However if you do the update via Avira instead of manually, the upgrade will be a little bit more automated.
J.L.
I did the automated process, and didn’t uninstall the previous version, yet everything seems fine. Although I had to reboot twice (2nd time, because the computer just went weird with ghost processes, avira update not showing, explorer unresponsiveness, etc… most likely my hardware problem), it isn’t showing any abnormal signs at the moment.
Ashraf
Trust me – you may not know it, but you uninstall the older version in the process of installing the newer one :).
Screw it. Don’t trust me; trust Avira:
Brian Gaede
Ashraf,
Thanks for all your software reviews and your recommendation to use Avira Antivirus. Also the heads up on the new version!
steel
J.L.
I did notice that, all I’m saying is that I think a manual uninstall is unnecessary. Anyways, I still do appreciate the work you do here, and of course I trust you.
Mario
Nope,
automatic update does not update to v9 but to v8.2.0.382.
And Ashraf, after uninstaling previous version tried to install the downloaded v9 to no avail. It extracts the files to the temp folder, starts preparing the installation and suddenly quits. I downloaded it from here :
http://www.avira.com/en/downloads/avira_antivir_premium.html
where it says it is the Version 9.0.0.420 dated 16/03/2009 with 30.909 Kb. Is it possible that there is not an v9 for the premium version yet?
mario from Brasil
Ashraf
Mario,
You actually can upate from within Avira 8 (at least for Premium) – I did it myself. There should be a pop up telling you there is a new version of Avira out and all you have to do is click “Update”.
Secondely, v9 is out for Premium. As I said I updated my Premium to v9. Mario I suggest you check to make sure your computer does not have any viruses/malware (run online scanners from like Nod32, Trend Micro, Norton, etc. or use bootdisks). It seems you have been having problems installating a few programs the rest of us can install just fine.
Abbasgirl
How is the Avira with the Zone Alarm that we got from you?
Ashraf
Zone Alarm Pro and Avira 9 Free should play along just fine.
giovanni
Hey man,
have you got my email concerning AVIRA 9?? If not I’ll try to make it shorter so as to post it here…ok?
Look forward to your reply!!
Good night
Ashraf
Yes I got it. I am sort of busy at the moment…I will reply when I can.
Jean-Luc Picard
Hi Ashraf!
Sorry to bug you, but would this be a good replacement for McAfee?
ZoneAlarm blocks it from running right,>.<, and I don’t trust McAfee anyway. Or would it be better to keep the McAfee?
Ashraf
Jean,
That question is an absolute no brainier. Avira >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> McAfee.
Muhammad
Asaalamu alaikum Ashraf,
I use avast 4.8 do you recommend I change to avira 9. I used avira in the past and the nag screens annoyed me.
Ashraf
Yes Avira is better than Avast.
Jean-Luc Picard
by “keep the McAfee”, I meant use both. I am doing that right now, and it is fine.
Liam K
Jean-Luc Picard: It is a well-known fact that you should never use two real-time antivirus programs. The same goes for firewalls.
Ashraf
I second what Liam said. You should not be using both McAfee and Avira at the same time.
Jean-Luc Picard
Yeah, but see, ZoneAlarm is blocking the real-time functions. Avira is easier than finding out how to fix it.
Ashraf
Wait are you using ZoneAlarm and Avira at the same time or Avira nad McAfee? ZoneAlarm + Avira is ok. Avira + McAfee is not.
Jean-Luc Picard
All three. McAfee isn’t working with it’s on access scan, basically…
..
hogging resources and being a mediocre on-demand scan, and I now use Avira for on-access (or “Guard”) scanning, while ZoneAlarm Pro is my firewall/anti-spyware program.
I also use Malwarebyte’s AntiMalware for… anti malware.
I also use SiteAdvisor for… advising not to go to certain sites. Unlike a certain Web of Trust, SiteAdvisor is:
Cons
1. Not updated as frequently as it should be, some argue (new owner may put malware on, SA doesn’t notice, for example)
2. Doesn’t take into consideration many of the comments/ratings/
Pros
1. Isn’t politically motivated (not refering to your old domain), for example, Barack Obama’s site isn’t filled with republicans rating it badly (sorry about the bad example, please don’t take offense anyone)
2. Has some professionals reviewing the sites (though mostly automated)
I consider myself covered
Ashraf
If you are not running McAfee’s live protection then you should be fine. However there is absolute no need for McAfee if you have Avira and ZoneAlarm Pro.
raj
this is very good working for any other antivirus .
Jim Van Damme
I have 2 six year old XP machines, and I tried ‘em all, beginning with a full version of Symantec. So far the one that drags the system down the least is Panda Cloud Antivirus. It’s simple, and I don’t have to download updates. A clever idea. You have to stay connected to the ‘net, but…that’s where you get viruses, duh!
Guy
Tried 3 different downloads Avira 9, AVG (free version) reports Trojan threat all 3 times from different download sites. AVG unable to heal file so it gets deleted. Any thoughts? Your work is greatly appreciated BTW.
Ashraf
@Guy: Of course AVG is going to list Avira 9 as a trojan – it is competition lol. Don’t worry Avira 9 is as clean as it gets.