In all, Avast One Essential is an effective and likeable option for those seeking a free antivirus solution. Still, that’s out of more than 10,000 test cases, and it’s a lot better than Panda’s free solution, which wrongly intercepted a shocking 96 items. Then again, the number of controls reflects the breadth of features on offer, and how configurable they all are, while premium-only features are all clearly marked as such – an example we wish more free software would follow.Īnother possible point of concern is false positives: AV-Comparatives noted that, during its tests, Avast One incorrectly gave warnings about 10 legitimate files. Most perplexingly, the shortcut buttons to launch a quick scan or activate the VPN are hidden off the bottom of the home page, so you have to scroll down to find them. The interface feels a bit overloaded, with a proliferation of panes, scrollable lists and buttons – some of them acting as advertisements for features that aren’t actually included in the free edition.

We do have some reservations about Avast. A secure custom browser is included too, to help protect you against snoopers. Other free features include password protection, which checks whether your credentials have leaked online, and a speedup module that identifies potentially unwanted programs running in the background. While similar capabilities are already built into Windows, Avast’s implementations have a friendlier interface, making it less of a chore to check and configure these security settings. The Windows edition of Avast One also includes a nifty custom firewall, and a ransomware protection feature that blocks untrusted processes from writing to your personal folders.

achieved even better results, reporting a 100% score for Avast against both unknown zero-day threats and prevalent malware during the first two months of 2022. In the most recent tests by independent security lab, the Avast engine provided excellent 99.8% protection when connected to the internet – a fraction above Microsoft Defender’s 99.6%.

Job one, of course, is virus protection, and here Avast One is hard to criticise. Still, the free edition is useful enough. Note too that these prices only cover the first year of service, after which the cost doubles. This is sold as a family licence, however, and doesn’t include corporate-friendly management options. The full Avast One package costs £40 a year for up to five devices, or £55 for up to 30 devices.

Avast one essential