Avira: Is It The Best Shield Against Digital Threats?

In this digital era, where we increasingly rely on technology and the internet for our day-to-day activities, Avira anti-virus software becomes paramount in ensuring online and device security. 

No matter how safely we browse the internet or avoid interacting with sketchy or fake websites, viruses or malware can still slip through our devices through the evolving sophisticated cybercriminal tactics—compromising the device security. Avira can provide an essential layer of defense against these digital threats.

Statistics suggest that nearly 560,000 new malware pieces are detected daily, and over 1 billion malware programs exist out there. 

Hence, since malware is becoming one of the greatest security threats in this digital age—installing anti-virus software is more than necessary to ensure the utmost device security, primarily if your device consists of confidential files and sensitive information. It helps detect and prevent malware, enables web protection, monitors devices for vulnerabilities, and optimizes system performance. 

Besides knowing the importance of anti-virus software, choosing one that offers a comprehensive security service is also essential. One such robust anti-virus software is Avira. 

In this article, we’ll dive deep into the Avira anti-virus software and its features to see what makes it an ideal solution to fight the latest digital threats in this world of cybercrime. 

What Is Avira?

Avira is a comprehensive, reliable, award-winning, and one of the oldest anti-virus software that protects you from malware, spyware, trojans, identity thefts, scams, ransomware, and financial losses. 

Developed by a German company, Avira Operations, Avira is known for its simplicity, intuitive user interface, and a wide range of security features at a budget-friendly rate. With a history of high independent testing rates, Avira is considered one of the most secure and robust anti-virus software against malware. 

It offers a bunch of tools and features, including a malware scanner, performance optimization, password manager, Virtual Private Network ((VPN), and more, which we will discuss in more detail. 

Norton LifeLock, the company that also owns Norton360, acquired Avira in 2020 while retaining the Avira brand. 

The Avira anti-virus software is available for Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS for free and premium versions. 

Let’s look at Avira’s features in more detail, including its plans, online privacy, device security, customer support usability, and more.

Features of Avira

#1. Avira Packages

Avira primarily offers its customers three packages based on the varying price and security features. These packages are Avira Free Security, Avira Prime, and Avira Internet Security. 

All the Avira packages, including the free package, Avira Free Security, consist of basic security features, like malware and virus protection. However, the paid Avira packages offer additional and enhanced security capabilities, depending on your specific security needs. 

Here’s a more detailed and clear breakdown of the three Avira packages for a better understanding. 

The paid Avira packages come with personalized choices and flexibility, allowing you to choose the number of devices and the subscription duration, such as 1 month, 1 year, or 2 years, depending on your security needs and budget constraints. 

Besides this, both the Avira paid plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee and ensure 100% secure checkout. 

While the free Avira package offers all the necessary security and privacy features, like a firewall, virus scanner, software updater, VPN, and file shredder, it lacks a few crucial premium features, including a powerful anti-ransomware and automatic email attachment scanner.

#2. Device Security

Avira is one of the best anti-virus software, offering a multitude of security features, including the anti-virus scanner. It offers real-time threat detection and security mechanisms and real-time data breach alerts with the Avira Prime package. 

In terms of device security, the primary features Avira offers are: 

• Anti-virus scanner: Avira’s powerful cloud-based anti-virus scanner scans your device for malware, viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, and more constantly, ensuring utmost device security. Avira can easily detect zero-day threats by comparing files against a large malware directory and using heuristics. You can opt for manual scans or schedule automatic scans at set intervals. The different scan options it provides include quick, smart, and full scans. Besides this, Avira lets you scan your local drive, external device, My Documents, hard drive, and Rootkit. 

• Software updater: This paid Avira feature scans your device or system for outdated applications and suggests necessary updates, automatically upgrading your old applications. By keeping your programs and applications up-to-date, Avira helps prevent security flaws—minimizing security breaches and infection risks. 

• Real-time protection: All Avira packages offer real-time protection against malware by scanning and monitoring all the files you copy, access, download, or interact with—informing you about its safety. If it detects any danger, Avira won’t allow the suspicious file to make any changes to your device—sending you a notification about the same. 

• Firewall: Avira’s firewall feature, available with all the free and premium versions, blocks open ports that enable malware and hackers to peek through and exploit your system. 

• Safe shopping: Avira Safe Shopping is a browser extension that Avira offers with its free package that prevents scam sites and trackers from ruining your online shopping experience. Compatible with Google Chrome, Opera, and Edge, Safe shopping makes it easier to compare prices and select from the best current deals. 

• Avira browser safety: This free add-on ensures browser safety by blocking infected and annoying ads, preventing browser hijacking, stopping malicious and phishing websites, preventing companies from tracking your activities, and detecting unwanted applications in your downloads. 

• Quarantine: Avira detects and sends a suspicious file with threats to a quarantine folder, making it difficult for the file to disrupt or change your device. If you find it suspicious, you must manually delete this file from the quarantine folder; otherwise, Avira will store it there indefinitely. 

#3. Online Privacy

Avira ensures the utmost privacy by protecting your personal data and sensitive information against third parties, like advertising agencies or government firms. 

It declares to adhere to the German data protection legislation, including the European General Data Protection Legislation (GDPR) and the German Telemedia Act (TMG). 

Avira’s most critical online privacy features are a built-in Phantom VPN, password manager, file shredder, and Avira Secure Browser. 

• Phantom VPN: Avira’s Phantom VPN is free, fast, and easy to use, allowing you to connect to the nearest location in a single click. However, unfortunately, the free VPN version won’t let you select a desired location when connecting to another server—connecting you to the nearest location. Additionally, the VPN is limited to a mere 500 MB/month for the free version. 

• Password Manager: Avira offers a free extension, password manager, that stores all your passwords, eliminating the need to remember them. You just need to remember one master password, and Avira will help you automatically log in to all your accounts while generating strong and unique passwords. The Pro version also checks for weak passwords and notifies you when your account has been hacked. 

• File Shredder: This built-in Avira feature permanently deletes certain files from your device—ensuring hackers won’t be able to access or recover them for malicious purposes. 

• Avira Secure Browser: This feature ensures browser safety, blocking malicious URLs and websites, allowing you to control your online privacy in one click, blocking ads and trackers, keeping your passwords safe, and more—enabling searching and browsing privacy.

#4. Optimization Tools

While security is important, the device speed is critical to ensure the anti-virus scanner runs faster and more efficiently. 

Avira offers excellent integrated performance optimization tools, including speed booster, PC cleaner, storage optimizer, battery save, startup optimizer, and software and driver updater to enhance your PC’s performance. 

Avira’s System Speedup optimization feature consists of powerful tools, like startup optimizer, power cleaner, junk cleaner, software and driver updater, and more. 

• Startup optimizer: The startup optimizer displays the programs slowing down your PC’s boot time, allowing you to remove the programs or stop them from booting on startup—speeding up your PC’s boot time. 

• Driver and software updater: This feature scans your device’s software and programs, notifying which is outdated and requires updates—enabling you to update all software and drivers with the latest security patches that prevent security vulnerabilities. 

• PC junk cleaner: Avira’s PC junk cleaner detects junk, unwanted, and unused files and folders—removing junk files and flagging certain files, letting you choose whether you wish to keep or delete them. 

• Battery usage manager: This feature puts your device into a low power mode, preventing automatic updates and dimming your computer light—saving up on power consumption and memory usage. 

• Duplicate finder: This crucial feature detects and removes duplicate files on your computer—increasing your device’s storage space.

#5. Mobile App

Besides securing your PC, you can also protect your mobile device with Avira’s Mobile application, which is compatible with iOS and Android devices. It offers a range of features with an intuitive user interface. 

The different features included within the Avira mobile application are: 

• Anti-theft device finder

• Web protection 

• VPN 

• Permissions manager

• App locker

• Call blocker

• Password manager (separate download) 

• Camera and microphone protection

• Identity breach alerts 

• Performance optimizer

• iOS updater

• Siri protection (iOS only) 

Thus, Avira’s mobile app is extremely feature-rich, providing advanced malware scanning, performance optimization features, privacy violation monitoring, and anti-theft tools for your mobile security.

#6. Customer Support

Avira offers reliable customer support with an excellent knowledge base. The support services it offers include: 

• Telephone support (only with paid subscriptions) 

• Email support (only with paid subscriptions) 

• Online knowledge base (Articles and Guides) 

Thus, for free Avira users, the knowledge base is the only source for customer support that provides comprehensive answers and solutions to several issues you may encounter, such as issues setting up the anti-virus on your device. 

Moreover, Avira Prime users get the additional privilege of calling a toll-free number to resolve specific issues.

Pricing and Subscription Plans

Besides the free package, Avira offers three pricing plans—namely Avira Anti-virus Pro, Avira Internet Security, and Avira Prime. 

Here’s a quick overview of Avira’s plans with pricing details:  

Avira Competitors 

Here are a few notable competitors of Avira, which you can try to protect yourself and your device against the increasing malware and other cyberattacks.

#1. Norton

Norton provides an easy-to-install and easy-to-use anti-virus protection and cybersecurity solution protecting your device against malware, viruses, ransomware, and hacking attempts. 

One of its most notable features is the Norton Secure VPN service that helps block hackers and thousands of threats each minute, preventing them from tracking and monitoring your online activity over home and public Wi-Fi. 

Norton 360 for gamers is another excellent feature that provides multiple layers of protection for gaming on your devices, gaming accounts, and other digital assets—making it one of the most reliable security solutions for online gamers. 

Its mobile application also offers mobile security for iOS and Android mobile devices.

#2. Microsoft

If you’re a Windows or Microsoft user, Microsoft’s Windows Security protects your device through malware protection, phishing protection, and app security with its cutting-edge security features. 

The malware protection tools it provides include Microsoft Defender Anti-virus, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Bluetooth protection, Windows Firewall, VPNs, and Secure Wi-Fi. 

These tools ensure real-time detection and removal of malware with alerts and notifications about their presence and robust online privacy through standardized authentication and encryption mechanisms. 

It also enables identity protection through the Microsoft Authenticator App, privacy dashboard, Windows Hello, Find My Device, and other tools to avoid phishing attempts. 

In addition, you need not worry about data security, no matter which Microsoft application you use. It secures a suite of Microsoft applications, including Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Family Safety, One Drive, Microsoft 365 Defender App, and Smart App Control—which protects you and your data online and offline.

#3. Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a renowned cybersecurity solution provider, providing best-in-class privacy tools that enable complete protection, optimum performance, and ease of use for all its users. 

Kaspersky is an ideal choice to block unauthorized attempts, enable web and email spam protection, or secure your online payments when shopping or banking online. 

It also optimizes your device performance using minimal resources when running security services in the background. Moreover, you can also schedule anti-virus scans on your device—enabling them to run when you aren’t using your PC.

#4. AVG

AVG offers a free, powerful, and effective anti-virus that helps you protect yourself against malware and viruses. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and can be downloaded in a single click. 

Recently, it incorporated ransomware and WebCam protection features—ensuring no one can change your file or use your built-in camera without your permission. 

Its mobile application, AVG Anti-virus for Android, protects your mobile against online threats, malware attacks, unsafe applications, and more through robust security and performance features. 

AVG also offers an unbreakable, unhackable, and untrackable secure VPN to protect your online privacy against hackers, nosy neighbors, and third-party agencies.

#5. Avast

Avast offers free award-winning anti-virus software designed to catch emerging and new threats with its advanced security and privacy tools. 

It enables 6 layers of security by effortlessly running smart scans on files, software, and applications—easily finding vulnerabilities. It enables online privacy through its Wi-Fi network security feature that blocks intruders and hackers over unsecured public networks. 

Moreover, its Avast SecureLine VPN blocks your Internet Service Providers (IPs) from tracking your online activity, ensures secure public Wi-Fi, and stops geo-restrictions from content providers. 

This easy-to-install anti-virus software provides complete protection against ransomware, malware, zero-day threats, viruses, Wi-Fi vulnerabilities, and more. 

Conclusion 

Given Avira’s comprehensive device and online security, it’s safe to say that it’s one of the best, most reliable, and secure anti-virus solutions in the market today. 

Besides its security features, Avira’s usability, ease of installation, and intuitive nature are what attracts it to users, especially non-techy users. Despite being an advanced anti-virus and malware scanner, it’s lightweight and consumes less CPU power. 

Besides protecting your device, it also optimizes its performance—ensuring your PC speed isn’t affected. 

Thus, if you’re looking for a low-cost and excellent anti-virus software suite, Avira is the best shield against evolving online and digital threats.

Next, check out the premium anti-virus to secure your PC.