We've regularly praised Avira's security suite in the past, and this latest version makes only minor changes to the formula. The Biggest new feature is the Proactiv module, the which identifies potential threats by monitoring application behavior and pooling information with other users Avira.
It isn'ta new idea - A-List champion Norton Internet Security 2010 has Had a very similar feature for nine months - but you can not complain about Avira catching up. You Might, however, grumble Pls you learn That this major new attraction does not currently work on 64-bit Windows.
Avira 10's other headline features are a new feature GenericRepair That attempts to undo the damage the caused by malware, and a lick of virtual paint That brightens up the interface, although it's still Boxy and unintuitive.
Happily, Avira Remains a winner thanks to its detection Abilities, the which through Various versions we've always found to be excellent. This month, against 247 malware samples, Avira Premium Security Suite 10 achieved a 95% detection rate, equaling our favorite A-List Norton Internet Security 2010 against the Same threats.
It Remains a lightweight package too. Installing the software raised our test system's idle RAM from 590MB to 685MB footprint, the which is decidedly on the low side for a security suite. In comparison, Norton Pushed memory usage up to 722MB.
Best of all, it Did not add a single second to boot time, although We did see an additional eight seconds of CPU activity after the desktop appeared, compared to a clean system.
Despite this nimbleness, Avira packs in an awful lot of clever technology under the hood. The firewall, for example, Gives you plenty of control over the which events Should cause an alert, intelligent and offers the option of automatically trusting any code certified by a vendor you've chosen to whitelist.
You can scan email using POP3 or IMAP Either, Prevent unknown processes from killing other programs, block suspicious iFrames on the web and even selectively password-protect parts of the interface - useful in partnership with the simple web parental controls. There's Also a backup module, but without online storage.
With all these options, and That unfriendly interface, Avira is likely, to be daunting for the typical user. The three-PC license is Slightly more expensive Than Norton's too. But if you've only one computer to protect, the option of a single-PC license lets you save money. And for technical users it's an excellent choice, combining great Abilities detection with a high degree of configurability.
Author: Darien Graham-Smith
source: www.pcpro.co.uk