Avast 8 Free AV – A step in the wrong direction?

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by aztony, Apr 20, 2013.

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  1. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    The folks over at Dave's Computer Tips ran this article critiquing what they see as a premature rush of the AV to consumers, given the problems that plague users.

    hxxp://www.davescomputertips.com/2013/04/avast-8-free-av-a-step-in-the-wrong-direction/
     
  2. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

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    sorry, i miss your opinion about that article...
     
  3. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    I have no opinion since I never tried avast 8. But I do keep an eye on the forum and see it's been problematic for many users.
     
  4. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    I see nothing in that article that present avast users do not already know.
    Its not just avast who advertise a paid version.:cool:
     
  5. JerryM

    JerryM Registered Member

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    I have not used the free version, but see no reason it does not do well since the Pro and IS versions do well.

    Jerry
     
  6. trjam

    trjam Registered Member

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    I said it a year ago and still say it today, Avast is really just not that good of a product. They rush version after version trying to fix the crap they broke in the previous version.

    Jerry, I am really surprised you don't give Avira another shot. To me its the best out there right now.
     
  7. Mman79

    Mman79 Registered Member

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    I had some initial teething issues with updates, the connection would always drop and I wouldn't know about until I realized "Hey, Avast has been awful quiet the last few hours". Sure enough, no updates because the thing wasn't even connecting to their servers.

    My only complaints are, yeah, the having to have an actual account kind of sucks for one. But, mainly, I dislike the "feature creep". The Market, the basically useless Software Updater, browser plugins, Site Correct, extra features to unlock once you pay (If I have the free version, why are these options even showing?). There just seems to be a good amount of throwing extras in there for the hell of it.

    It's still my favorite AV though.
     
  8. Mman79

    Mman79 Registered Member

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    It's kind of hard to take you seriously since you seem to tout different products depending on which way the wind is blowing that day, lol.
     
  9. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    I stopped using it as it was interfering with my network connection.And i came to that conclusion by a process of elimination.
    Fantastic av ,but would not run nice here.
     
  10. guest

    guest Guest

    My brother's using avast 8 free and I see no such problem. Can't say about the system restore part though. :doubt:

    Oh and...

    It is not.
     
  11. trjam

    trjam Registered Member

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    Not really, I use 3 products and in no special order. Eset, Webroot and Avira. Consistently. Avast has great detection, don't get me wrong about that, but they have a buggy product and have had since introducing the sandbox and behavior component.
     
  12. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    This is what I object to also, the "feature creep". I mean, really... does an AV really need a software updater in there? There is too much going on and it's getting overly complex and probably harder to maintain and keep bug free I would imagine.

    I remember all the horrific issues when v7 was released, and that scared me off for a long time, actually I haven't considered using it since then, until 8 came out.

    But, that said, you can do a "minimal" install and eliminate all the extra junk, which is what I do when I use it, as I think it is still a first rate AV, probably my first choice, if I was using an AV at all (I am not at the moment).
     
  13. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    Ive never had an issue with Avast. I put it on friends and families computer and even have it setup in a 7 computer network at my father in laws. I have it locked down with parental permissions and PrevX SafeOnLine. They have been running that way for 2 years and the daughters, who go to every questionable site out there, havent been able to get anything infected.

    Its played nice on every setup Ive ever used it on.
     
  14. guest

    guest Guest

    Does an AV really need a registry cleaner in there too? :D

    This is why I tend to stay away from security products that give all-in-one solution. Funny thing is, people love it when they have a long feature list of the product they're using without even knowing what do they do. But hey, they're selling stuff to the people who want to buy stuff. Competition is tough already. :argh:
     
  15. Mman79

    Mman79 Registered Member

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    Am I still correct in saying that the behavior blocker still isn't working? It seems like for a long time it just "existed" and didn't actually do anything. I'm not one to test it out to see, I just wondered if that statement was still accurate.
     
  16. Mman79

    Mman79 Registered Member

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    The software updater doesn't really cover much from what I can see. It only covers 4 things on my system, and one thing it covers, IE, it doesn't even see the 64 bit version, just the 32. I wish they would just go back to basics, even if you can go out of your way to do a "minimal install". They seem to really be trying to push Pro on folks, and to get them to buy this and that from the market. Really, if I want to buy anything from them, I know where their website is. I don't need all of that cluttering up the interface. The way it looks they either may start pushing paid options even harder, or resorting to doing something like OpenCandy for the free version. Maybe I'm being too picky, lol. I just think they were doing quite fine when they stuck to the K.I.S.S principle.
     
  17. merisi

    merisi Registered Member

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    I found avast's mail shield stopped me from sending emails with Thunderbird and that the software updater is a joke claiming out of date programs are the most up to dates ones when I've actually installed the up to date program. Still, I feel a little uneasy about trying anything else.
     
  18. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    I also use Thunderbird with Avast 8. Again I dont have any issues with it. I have Avast scanning all incoming and outgoing emails.
     
  19. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

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    I find this to be very true with both Avast and AVG. They periodically try to coy people into premium and the more inexperienced users fall for it. My sister ended up with expired AVG premium, she was running that set up for at least 6 months.
     
  20. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    What utter nonsense.
    It is perfectly clear with avast what you are installing.Nobody is being coyed into using a premium version.
    I have no experience with AVG,but avast does not use any form of deceptive installation routines.
     
  21. aztony

    aztony Registered Member

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    Nor does AVG to my knowledge. When you download the installer file to begin the installation you are presented with (2) install options, Free or Trial. People either don't read, or don't know the difference between 'Free' and 'Trial'.
     
  22. JerryM

    JerryM Registered Member

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    I agree about the sandbox. I do not use it after finding that it did not work with any of my browsers. However, the SafeZone works fine since they fixed it so that I can print from it.
    Does Avira have something similar to a SafeZone?
    The sandbox is the only buggy thing I have found about V8.

    The SafeZone is important in that if one travels and has to use an unsecured WiFi I would surmise that the security is greater than without it.

    Jerry

    Jerry
     
  23. merisi

    merisi Registered Member

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    I can't explain but I wish it had worked for me as it's a nice feature. I've not been alone in this problem, I've found out from looking online that others have had this problem but that there are solutions. I'm guessing you had Thunderbird configured in a way that worked smoothly with avast.
     
  24. mattdocs12345

    mattdocs12345 Registered Member

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    no, you are given an option but by default it installs premium. whether you fall for it or not depends on the individual. and more than one time it offers premium as default.
     
  25. JerryM

    JerryM Registered Member

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    I understand that after the trial period Avast reverts to the free version, but I have not tried it. If that is so, what is the objection?
    Jerry
     
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