Avira Antivir PersonalEdition Premium trial

Ok, here goes, I wanted to install trial version of avira personaledition premium on my girlfrined's laptop but it was near impossible to do so.
First of all getting the 30-day trial key is pain in the neck 'cause you have to fill in all the info on Avira's download site and then when you get to choosing the desired avira product there is no antivir premium on the list!
So the closest thing I could find was "antivir for workstation" which I selected.
Trial key arrived with the corresponding mail and everything was good to go.
But then when I was trying to insert the license key during installation the program tells me that the key is rejected and that it would proceed installing but only in demo mode.
When in demo mode the program cannot update its virus definitions and it won't scan entire computer.
So my question is does anyone know how to get the trial version of antivir personaledition premium so that it could be evaluated before deciding whether to buy a product or not?
-thanks-

 

Sigh. We have begged Avira to fix this. Latest word is that "for the time being" (quote from one of their forum techs) it will continue to be a hassle to get a trial key.

You will need to go to the forum and register. Then once registered there is a sticky thread that tells you how to get a trial key. It boils down to your having to send a PM to one of two Avira employees and wait (sometimes as long as a week but sometimes just a day or so) for them to get back to you with a trial key.

What happened with you was that Avira gives trial keys easily and quickly on their website for CORPORATE USERS ONLY. The Workstation is basically the same as Avira Personal Premium but as a home user you are not allowed to trial it. So that is probably why the trial key didn't work.

http://forum.avira.com/thread.php?postid=125350#post125350

 

Been so long since I looked, but have to agree with Mele on this one. Just went and looked and I got confused real quick. I did not even see the AV listed as a product of choice for testing. This really should be fixed.

 

Thanks for your reply Mele20
I've also sent an email to their support but no answer as of yet.
I'll try out your suggestion and see how it goes.
Cheers!


@trjam - yes, agree totally

 

Honestly speaking I had no problems and it worked for me just fine. I downloaded this. http://www.avira.com/en/downloads/avira_antivir_personaledition_premium.html

Then when I got my key which if I remember well its the "hkey" file. Then I copied and pasted it and presto. Works fine.

 

Yes, that's where I've downloaded from too, but the question here is how to obtain trial key for premium version... I know you can get one if you purchase the product right away but I want to test it first.
So it seems I'll have to go via Aviras forum and try there like Mele20 said.

 

No they sent me a key for the trail. When I signed up. Its all right there on the download page.

http://www.avira.com/en/products/test_licence.html

 

Look here.

 

Dieselman is right. I learnt it in my 4th attempt, here is how :
1. Go to Avira website.
2. Ask for 30 days trial key - yes you have to fill up a form.
3. Choose Antivir for Workstation while submitting the form. You may choose
their Internet Security which goes by something like Web-Protector
4. Open your mailbox & find an email from Avira with an attachment.
5. Save the attached file in your computer - this is the "hbedv" key.
6. Find a link to download Antivir in the same email & get your software
from this link only.
7. While installing Antivir you will be asked to to indicate the key. Click the
"Browse" button & navigate to the "hbedv" key & click it, the hbedv icon
will change appearance.
8. Rest of the installation will go smoothly. You need not be connected to
the net during installation.
9. There will be a quick scan - do not cancel it - you can update the
definitions later.
10. Enjoy a blissful existence for 30 days.

Unfortunately there is no vendor selling Antivir in my part of the world & I cannot buy it online - so long my friend.

 

@ Dieselman and century
thanks for the replies
but I did exactly the same things that you talk about here, that's why I was so frustrated whit this trial key 'cause the antivir itself tells me that the attached key in the email is invalid and it won't install it!
So now I have sent a PM to Avira staff on their forum support and awaiting reply.
But I must say that this was the most complicated procedure of getting a trial version for an antivirus software that I've ever experienced.

 

Complicated? What? It took me less then 5 minutes to download it and set it up. Which key did you copy and paste? Try going to C\ProgramFiles\Avira and opening up the "hbedv" file if there is one. You might have to open up the "licmgr" file first.

 

Dieselman, you evidently downloaded a corporate trial of Avira. Here's the latest on this subject from one of the techs assigned by Avira to help folks in the Avira forums:

http://forum.avira.com/thread.php?postid=322436#post322436

 

No I did not download a corporate edition. Look here. This is what I downloaded. Then I applied for a trial key.

http://www.avira.com/en/downloads/avira_antivir_personaledition_premium.html

 

I just posted again in the thread I linked to at Avira forums and asked for an Avira employee to please clear up this confusion. I see you got a Personal Premium download and then got a corporate key which is not supposed to happen...but with Avira it doesn't especially surprise me that you got a key this way that works fine but the OP could not. I just wish Avira would straighten all this out quickly.

 

This is where I got the key and if you look at my screen shot (post # you will see its not corporate. Link here.

http://www.avira.com/en/products/test_licence.html

 

The link you gave is to get the corporate key. You accidently got that to work. Most folks are like the OP and cannot get that to work because it is not supposed be to for home users. If you look at the drop down box on the page you linked to there is NO Personal Premium listed or Security Suite. What did you enter in the box for "your desired Avira product"? If you entered Avira Antivir Workstation then you got a corporate key. I did all this myself at one point but I didn't luck out like you did. I had the same thing the OP said happened to him happen to me.

I am not doubting that you got a key from that page that works for you with Personal Premium. I'm simply saying that was an accident and you should not mislead the OP into thinking he too should be able to get a Personal Premium key in that manner.

Quite frankly, I am getting very fed up with Avira for not already fixing this whole mess about getting a trial key if you are a home user. I had stated in the Avira forum some time ago that I would no longer recommend Avira until this situation is fixed. It is inexcusable for Avira to take away the magazine trials and not at the same time fix the trial key problem for home users. (I agreed with Avira's move to stop both users like myself and mods in the Avira forum from posting links for trials from the magazines when those wanting the trials were not magazine subscribers. But mods and users posted the links because Avira has no decent, easy trial for home users that isn't crippleware).

 

Last year i tried to apply the Workstation 30-day trial key onto PE Premium version. It didn't work.

 

I agree with you 100% on this one!
This strange approach of getting simple trial versions is making Avira lose a lot of potential customers, IMO.
I mean take ESET for example, (and this is just an example, there are many others), you go to ESET's official site, choose what product you want to trial and download it...that's it, you're off...no hustle, no filling in ANY forms, it's just functioning piece of software that you have for 30 days - and so it is supposed to be. You have to be able to try something out before you decide to purchase it.
But clearly, Avira's policy is somewhat different.
----------
I've just got an PM from one of Avira's forum staff members telling me that the trial key is on the way, so it seems that everything is going to be sorted out...but in my stupidity I forgot to write down my name and email in the original PM so I'll have to wait a bit longer now...oh well, we'll see how it turns out.
So if there is somebody out there thinking of testing some of Avira's products, make sure to enclose your name and email when you're sending an PM to Avira's staff member asking for evaluation license.
Cheers!

 

You might post in the current thread there (by no means the first) regarding test keys for home users. You don't need to say a lot other than that it was confusing and you hope Avira soon makes it easier. And state that you think Avira is probably losing business because it isn't easy like with NOD32 and others to get an Avira trial key. The more folks who speak up the sooner they will change it.
http://forum.avira.com/thread.php?threadid=35176&sid=dee6edf5adaa7725fa5bd487b1c68da1

Radu (one of the two Avira tech support persons) just posted in the thread and said that he tried to get a key for Personal Premium like Dieslman did but the key didn't work and it is not supposed to so Dieslman just got lucky. Radu said that home users might just as well test Workstation as it is the same as the Personal Premium but has added stuff for corporate use that the home user could just ignore.

 

Wow! I must say that Avira's support works very fast, they've sent me new license key and download link which I followed and now finally the trial version of AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium WORKS!!!!
Thanks Mele20 on your help in the first post you wrote in this thread and yes, I'll write something about this trial procedure on Avira's forum.

Thanks again and cheers!!!

 

That's great that it is all worked out now and was fast for you. However, bear in mind that had you asked for the key last Thursday, you would not have gotten it until now. Friday and Monday were holidays in Germany. Even when there are no holidays, had you asked on a Friday evening you would have heard nothing before Monday. So, Avira needs a better way of issuing the trial keys for home users. Plus, you could have had the problem I did. I couldn't get registered at the forum. It took Wilders and dslreports members sending PM's to the mods at Avira forums on my behalf (because you can't PM a mod there until you are registered) and then help from Barrie (great mod there) and still two weeks before I actually got registered.

edit: I saw your post just now at Avira forums. That was a very good post. I can't understand why Avira has decided to not fix this problem. I noticed Radu, for the first time when replying on this issue, mentioned that one could try the free version if curious about Avira. I had been wondering if the presence of the free version was part of the reason why Avira is not keen on fixing this. That makes some sense, but Premium version, and especially the Suite, has modules that are not in the free version and most folks want to be sure, especially with the Suite, that the firewall, webguard, etc. will work ok on their computer. I guess I will start advising folks to get the Workstation with the 30 day key.