"Free antivirus Avira AntiVir Personal and Avira Free Antivirus: which one to choose?" and wants to get to know this popular antivirus program better, this publication will help in its proper installation and configuration. As I wrote, Avira Free Antivirus functionally no different from its previous version AntiVir Personal- user installation procedures are also identical. Therefore, the algorithm outlined below is applicable in both cases, although I recommend using it.
So, the required distribution has been downloaded, what next? First, you should make sure that there are no other anti-virus solutions on the computer, otherwise, uninstall (delete). Secondly, to avoid interference, close all running applications. Third, establish an Internet connection, you will need it to free registration Avira and receiving serial number(key). The hardware requirements set by the developers are not high, but for the sake of decency, I will give them: Pentium 266 MHz and higher / 150 MB on hard drive / 256 MB RAM for Windows XP and 1 GB for Vista / 7.
Important!
When accompanying the installation, which is desirable, with a Pro-type uninstaller, right-click and select the “Install with Revo” mode.
1. Double-click to launch the installer → click " Next". In the following dialog boxes, we accept the terms of the license agreement and select the installation type (I recommend the " Quick installation ").In the window" WebGuard with Avira SearchFree Toolbar"do not check the box" I accept the Ask.com license agreement and want to install WebGuard with Avira SearchFree Toolbar" → "Next ".
2. In the window Voluntary registration"enter your personal information and click" Next". If you have activated the "Custom Installation" mode, wait for additional dialog boxes for selecting the target folder and components. I recommend not changing anything, but clicking " Next".
Important!
If desired, additionally fill in the fields not marked with an asterisk and select “Yes, I want to register to receive the Avira newsletter.”
3. In the windows" Settings assistant"we also don’t touch anything and click sequentially" Next".
4. In the penultimate setting window we leave " Normal old T"to launch the AntiVir Guard module (online scanner mode) → uncheck the box next to the item " P Perform a short system check after installation is complete "→ in the final window click " Ready" .
Antivirus installation Avira to your computer is completed, you can reboot the system and update the signature databases via the Internet (right-click on the tray icon of the scanner and select " Launching the update"). After the update, I recommend doing the following: through " F8"in the program configuration select" Expert mode "+ scanner on demand" Scanner" and adjust accordingly to the maximum scanning depth (screenshot below). The applet you activated " Search for rootkits"with a full OS scan, it will save time, because there is an additional launch" Search for rootkits and active malware" is no longer required.
Now, if you did not install an antivirus on a “clean” Windows, you can do a full scan - and this should be done periodically, for example, after many hours of Internet surfing.
- When updating signature databases, do not update the product version! Otherwise, "roll back" to a tawdry red Avira Free Antivirus, which I wrote about in the voiced review. To disable the corresponding "reminder" in " Configuration" ("F8") → "Update " → "Product Update "should be activated" Do not update the product ".
- For convenience, the folder with temporary files can be moved to the main directory of the diskC:\ (for the author this is the "TEMP" folder common to all system "garbage"), see in the configuration " General" → "Folders " → "Select manually ".
- For a deeper understanding of the functionality AntiVir Personal and if you have any questions, you can always turn to the detailed Russified reference guide for help (select in the panel " Reference " → "Content"). Or, of course, write in the comments to the post.
As you can see, this antivirus solution from Avira Operations GmbH Co. KG is very ergonomic and does not require special care, with high operating efficiency, which is confirmed by numerous awards from specialized computer publications and Internet portals based on tests and user ratings.
Kaspersky, Dr.web, ESET NOD32, Avast are quite popular anti-virus software products today, in the shadow of which Avira Antivirus - the result of the work of the German developer company Avira looks rather inconspicuous. But not for users of low-power computers and budget laptops. The latter are very familiar with the Avira anti-virus product, since this is perhaps one of the few programs that, with sufficient threat detection efficiency and high performance during scanning, also has such an indispensable quality for weak hardware as minimal consumption of computer resources.
1. Avira – lightweight, powerful, hassle-free antivirus
The secret to Avira's fast scanning speed lies in its multi-threaded technology, which allows the program to scan multiple files simultaneously. So, for example, during the scanning process on a computer with a single-core 2 GHz processor, you can safely view video, work with text editor, surf the web and perform other non-resource-intensive tasks to avoid boredom.
Avira antivirus in real-time computer protection mode works almost unnoticed, which cannot be said, for example, about ESET NOD32, whose services seriously burden the processor. Avira is updated daily and quite quickly, again, which cannot be said about Avast antivirus or AVG, where the user of a low-power computer is practically unable to carry out any actions while updating their databases.
Separately, it is worth noting the ease of installation and removal of Avira antivirus. If, for example, to remove Dr.web, you need to download a special uninstallation utility on the Internet, and to remove ESET NOD32, it is not always possible to stop its operation through the manager Windows tasks and to do this you have to run in safe mode, then with Avira everything is extremely simple. This antivirus can be installed and uninstalled simply, without any problems. To remove it, just use a regular removal service Windows programs or special software for “competent” uninstallation, available on the Internet in a huge assortment.
2. Functionality of the free version of Avira Free Antivirus
The official website of Avira presents a number of assemblies of the company's antivirus products, designed both for home use and as solutions for organizations. Let us consider below in more detail the free version of the product - Avira Free Antivirus, intended purely for home use.
What functionality does the free version of Avira antivirus include?
« System Scanner"is a classic scanner that checks local disks and removable media for detection of threats - viruses, spyware and malware, as well as attempts by companies to track user actions for market research. This function has a number of scanning profiles - a full and quick system scan, a separate scan of local drives and separately removable media, a check of running processes, and a check for malware.
« Real-Time Protection» is a real-time computer protection feature that blocks threats while the user is working. In other words, the antivirus detects and neutralizes viruses, spyware and malware on the fly.
« Scheduler"is a standard feature of antivirus programs that allows you to schedule an antivirus scan of your computer (scan).
« Updates"is the ability to manually update anti-virus databases, in addition to their automatic update.
« Quarantine"is a repository of files infected and isolated by the antivirus. If desired, the user can check any of the quarantined files again, delete, restore, and also send them for verification to the developer - to the Avira service center.
Antispam, firewall, parental control - some antivirus products may contain these functions. free version programs. But in the case of Avira, these functions are paid; to enable them, the program must be updated to a paid version in which they will be active. Although for any advanced user it will be obvious that such an investment of money is inappropriate, because there is an antispam folder in almost every postal service, a firewall is a built-in feature in any Windows versions, and for parental controls There are a lot of separate software products and Internet services, including free options.
3. Avira Free Antivirus: settings and features of the program
The main feature of Avira Free Antivirus settings is its simplicity and minimalism. When compared, for example, with complex settings ESET antivirus NOD32, which only a candidate of high-tech sciences can fully understand, then in the situation with Avira everything is much simpler. There are few settings here, they are extremely easy to understand even for novice users.
Settings " System Scanner"allow you to change the preset list of file formats so that the antivirus scans only files of a certain format. For example, if a user is actively working with .doc documents over the network, he can run a scan to check only .doc files on the computer. You can set a priority for scanning, disable the ability to stop the scanning process, and also enable or disable some of the additional settings.
In settings " Updates» The user can change the preset automatic update interval of the program.
« General"—in these settings you can expand the list of threats from which Avira Free Antivirus can potentially protect your computer. To the preinstalled options, you can add protection against applications and games that can put the system at risk, prank programs such as fire or flood on the desktop, etc.
Avira Free Antivirus is an extremely independent software product; user participation is required only in cases of making important decisions or critical errors.
4. Avira Free Antivirus: interface
Intuitive and user-friendly antivirus interface software product today you are unlikely to surprise users. Since most antiviruses with advanced functionality are paid products designed for the mass buyer. The Avira Free Antivirus program is designed in a single, laconic style, and its ease of use is ensured, for the most part, by the simplicity of settings and uncluttered functionality. The top menu of the program is completely duplicated by the visualized side menu on the left, from where you can go to the most necessary functions and settings of the program.
5. About Avira Free Antivirus in general
As you can see, Avira Free Antivirus contains standard functionality antivirus program designed for home computer use. The antivirus will detect any danger in real-time protection mode, and scanning the system or individual computer segments will quarantine infected files. Avira Free Antivirus, naturally, will not surprise the user with any special functionality, especially in the free version. But for the free version of an antivirus program, effectively performing a narrow but specific range of tasks is more than enough.
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Installing Avira Free AntiVirus (Personal) on your computer
This section describes how to correctly install antivirus software on your computer. Free program Avira Antivirus. Before you start installing one of the best free antiviruses, Avira Free Antivirus, you naturally first need to download it to your computer. It can be done. Before installation, make sure that other antivirus programs. You can remove the old antivirus using standard program removal tools via Windows menu, or special utilities for removing antiviruses developed by the manufacturers themselves.. After complete removal old antivirus, you can start installing Avira. If you have installed old version Avira, then new version It will delete the old one itself, but will save the settings. The installation process is the same for almost all versions of Avira Antivirus. There may be slight window differences depending on operating system or whether Avira was installed before.
This page describes how to do this using the example of Free Avira Antivirus version 12. If you have any installation problems, please follow these instructions. So, run the antivirus installation (double click on the downloaded file). After launch the following window will appear:
Select the installation type "Custom", check the box license agreement. Click " Next"
Window 1
| Window 2 It is proposed to install the toolbar in the browser, with the service Web Protection with safe internet search functions, etc. It is worth noting here that everyone treats such add-ons in the browser differently, some are categorically against it, and some are calm, because this service still provides some kind of security in the browser. Let's put it this way: if you surf the Internet a lot, on various unfamiliar and dubious sites and at the same time are not very experienced in Internet safety rules, then this service will probably be very useful to you. If you mostly visit well-known sites, use well-known search engines and don’t follow the first link you come across that some “well-wisher” slips in, then most likely this service will only become a burden for the browser. This service can be removed in a standard way(via the Windows menu) regardless of the antivirus program. Remove (or leave) the checkboxes and click " Next"  |
| Window 3 The installation location is specified by default. Click " Next"  |
| Window 4 Selecting the main components of an antivirus program. Make sure all the checkboxes are checked and click " Next"  Window 5 |
| Window 6 Installation in progress...  |
| Window 7 Welcome window. Click " Next"  |
| Window 8 Next, of the three proposed levels of heuristics, it is better to choose the last one - " High level detection" Click " Next"  |
| Window 9 Proposal to select categories of objects to be checked. Check the box next to "Select all" and click " Next"  |
| Window 10 Launch type. "Normal" - i.e. normal and “Safe” - i.e. early. Early startup may slow down the loading of the operating system. The “Normal” type is quite suitable. Click " Next"  |
| Window 11 A proposal to quickly scan the system after installing the program. It’s better to uncheck this box for now. When we set all the necessary settings, then we will scan the entire system. Click " Next"  |
| Window 12 Basic installation settings have been completed. Click " Ready"  |
| Program window The antivirus should immediately update automatically. If you haven't updated right away, click the "start update" button.  |
| Antivirus program Avira Free AntiVirus (Personal) installed! Now let's move on to setting it up. |
After installing the Avira antivirus, it, like any other antivirus application, such as Avast, should be configured to suit your needs. And although some settings have already been described, I think it makes sense to dwell on the Avira antivirus settings in more detail. The settings window opens as usual with the button context menu on the program icon and selecting the “Setting up Avira Free Antivirus” option. The default settings window opens on virus database update parameters. Six hours is the minimum value, leave it there. More often you can’t do it anyway, and less often it’s just stupid.
Avira antivirus scanner settings window
What’s nice is that when you move the cursor to a certain position, you can read specific information about this action in the description.
Setting up the "Files" section
This section groups three methods for checking files. The first “All files” can be excluded immediately. As they say, this is for the paranoid and besides scanning for too long, it will not give anything else. The second and third points are basically identical. The only difference is that by selecting the “Editable list...” item, you can add your own extensions to it. That is, in both methods there is established list file extensions. After all, you must admit that any file, including malicious ones, has its own extension. By choosing the latter option, you can add a new malicious extension that you just read on the Internet.
Let's move on to the additional settings section. Here I would definitely advise not to check just one box “Follow links”. The point about ignoring paths and files on network drives I didn’t mention it, if only because I don’t have these same network drives. If you have it, it's up to you to decide. The checkboxes on the remaining points in this section are logical and quite reasonable. I don’t know whether it’s worth touching on the “Scanning process” section. It seems that everything here is clear and without explanation.
Configuring what Avira antivirus does when it detects viruses
Here we are offered two options. In the first option, “Interactive”, after scanning you will see a window with a list of detected malicious files. In this case, you will make the decision about each file yourself. Well, if you check the “Automatic” and “Copy to Quarantine” checkboxes, the antivirus will respond according to a predetermined scenario.
Let's move on to the settings of Avira antivirus archives
In this window, the types of archives to be scanned are set. By default, the antivirus already detects almost all known types of archives. If this doesn’t seem enough to you, check the “All archive types” option. The remaining parameters set are, in my opinion, sufficient.
Configuring exceptions from scanner scanning
To add to the list of exceptions, click on the “…” button, specify the path to the file and click on the “Add” button. Interesting point, the exact specified path will exclude from the scan only this one located at this path file. Entering only the file name into the list, without specifying the path to it, will exclude all files with that name from scanning. In this case, the location of the file does not matter.
There is no need to change anything in the Heuristics window. These settings are optimal. After this, the scanning settings can be considered configured. Move on to what I think is the most important thing, real-time protection settings. The “annoyance” of the Avira antivirus depends on these settings.
Configure real-time protection
In this window, just like in the main scanner window, you are asked to select which file extensions will be monitored by the antivirus. The differences between an editable list and a basic list are similar to those described above. In my opinion, checking the “Scanning archives” box does not make much sense. Real-time protection mode also has its own list of exceptions.
Specifying the path and adding to the exclusion list is the same as in the scan settings. But here, in addition to files, you can also add verified processes to the exclusion list.
Setting up heuristics
In the heuristics window, the AHeAD option is enabled by default, the detection level of which you can configure.
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Here, as in the scanner settings, the higher the level of heuristics, the more reliable the protection, but, of course, without a fly in the ointment, the number of false positives will also increase. These internet security settings are optimal by default.
Customizing the General Tab
Open the threat category settings window and add your categories to the default ones. Personally, I added items: programs that are jokes and programs that violate my privacy. I think there is no point in explaining why, everything is already clear. In the same tab, under the “Password” category, you can set your password to access the Avira antivirus settings.
Setting up the Security tab
In this window you can block or enable the autorun function. Protect the host file and the antivirus itself from malicious changes. At this point, the basic settings of the Avira antivirus can be considered complete. Of course, it is impossible to describe all the useful antivirus settings, but in any case, there is a lot of information on the Internet about antivirus settings.
After installing the Avira antivirus, it, like any other antivirus application, for example, should be configured to suit your needs. And although some settings have already been described, I think it makes sense to dwell on the Avira antivirus settings in more detail.
The settings window is opened as usual by clicking the context menu on the program icon and selecting the “Setting up Avira Free Antivirus” option. The default settings window opens on virus database update parameters. Six hours is the minimum value, leave it there. More often you can’t do it anyway, and less often it’s just stupid.
What’s nice is that when you move the cursor to a certain position, you can read specific information about this action in the description.
Scanner "search"
Setting up the "Files" section.
This section groups three methods for checking files. The first "All files" can be excluded immediately. As they say, this is for the paranoid and besides scanning for too long, it will not give anything else. The second and third points are basically identical. The only difference is that by selecting the “Editable list…” item, you can add your own extensions to it. That is, both methods have a set list of file extensions. After all, you must admit that any file, including malicious ones, has its own extension. By choosing the latter option, you can add a new malicious extension that you just read on the Internet.
Let's move on to the additional settings section. Here I would definitely advise not to check just one box “Follow links”. I didn’t check the point about ignoring paths and files on network drives, if only because I don’t have these same network drives. If you have it, it's up to you to decide. The checkboxes on the remaining points in this section are logical and quite reasonable.
I don’t know whether it’s worth touching on the “Scanning process” section. It seems that everything here is clear and without explanation.
Configuring what Avira antivirus does when it detects viruses.
Scanner "on detection"
Here we are offered two options. In the first option, “Interactive”, after scanning you will see a window with a list of detected malicious files. In this case, you will make the decision about each file yourself. Well, if you check the “Automatic” and “Copy to Quarantine” checkboxes, the antivirus will respond according to a predetermined scenario.
Let's move on to the settings of Avira antivirus archives.
Scanner "archive"
In this window, the types of archives to be scanned are set. By default, the antivirus already detects almost all known types of archives. If this doesn’t seem enough to you, check the “All archive types” option. The remaining parameters set are, in my opinion, sufficient.
Configuring exceptions from scanner scanning.
Exception scanner
To add to the list of exceptions, click on the “…” button, specify the path to the file and click on the “Add” button. An interesting point is that the exact specified path will exclude from the scan only this file located along this path. Entering only the file name into the list, without specifying the path to it, will exclude all files with that name from scanning. In this case, the location of the file does not matter.
There is no need to change anything in the Heuristics window. The settings are optimal.
After this, the scanning settings can be considered configured. Move on to what I think is the most important thing, real-time protection settings. “Annoyance” depends on these settings.
Configure real-time protection.
Real-time protection
In this window, just like in the main scanner window, you are asked to select which file extensions will be monitored by the antivirus. The differences between an editable list and a basic list are similar to those described above. In my opinion, checking the “Scanning archives” box does not make much sense.
Real-time protection mode also has its own list of exceptions.
Real-time protection "exceptions"
Specifying the path and adding to the exclusion list is the same as in the scan settings. But here, in addition to files, you can also add verified processes to the exclusion list.
Setting up heuristics.
In the heuristics window, the AHeAD option is enabled by default, the detection level of which you can configure.
Real-time protection "heuristics"
Here, as in the scanner settings, the higher the level of heuristics, the more reliable the protection, but, of course, without a fly in the ointment, the number of false positives will also increase.
Internet security settings are optimal by default.
Setting up the "General" tab.
Open the threat category settings window and add your categories to the default ones. Personally, I added items: programs that are jokes and programs that violate my privacy. I think there is no point in explaining why, everything is already clear.
In the same tab, under the “Password” category, you can set your password to access the Avira antivirus settings.
Setting up the "Security" tab.
Safety
In this window you can block or enable the autorun function. Protect the host file and the antivirus itself from malicious changes.
At this point, the basic settings of the Avira antivirus can be considered complete. Of course, I could not describe all the useful antivirus settings and I would be very grateful if site visitors add their own settings.
