Is "Avast free" .... free ?

Options
SPnomore
SPnomore Posts: 12 Forumite
First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
in Techie Stuff
After suffering with AVG for too many years, especially with all this horrible ZEN nonsense, I decided to look around. Been using Avira for a few weeks but that suddenly started playing up, even after a full reinstall. I'm now using Avast which seems to be playing nice but already I am getting warning about 30 days coming to an end and I "MUST register" for a 12 month license. What exactly do they want from me after 30 days and what happens after a year. Don't want to waste my time seeing if their "free" product works for me, if it is not actually "free".

P.S. My AV needs are minimal. Bitdefender was next on the list
«1

Comments

  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    Yeah; it's free. Avira require you to register with an email address to get a licence. Weirdly, it expires after a year, then you need to reactivate it by clicking a button or something.

    It all seems a bit pointless. You could create a disposable email address if you want, but I never got any emails from them (that I can recall).
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    Yeah the Avast expiring each year may get those that do not know about computers to accidently click the download the full trial version not the free basic one. The link to the free one does seem to be a bit harder to spot these days.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,673 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Options
    Couple of points:-

    1. the current version of Bitdefender free isn't as lightweight as the version from a couple of years ago (I'm running both on different machines) but still slightly the lightest.

    2. Avast have bought AVG and there's now starting to be some crossover within the products.

    3. Gaming Mode in avast keeps nagscreens down to a bare minimum
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,552 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    You installed the full version trial not the free one. The free link is easy to miss grey on grey.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,673 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Options
    SPnomore wrote: »
    I clicked on the big bold orange "DOWNLOAD FREE ANTIVIRUS" button on their homepage and it downloaded "avast_free_antivirus_setup_online" and it says "avast free antivirus" on all the page headings" !

    you probably forgot to register it then, if you don't it reverts to "30 days to register or buy"-type thing. Avoidable f you'd have registered when you installed it ;)
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • GabbaGabbaHey
    GabbaGabbaHey Posts: 1,078 Forumite
    First Post Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary
    Options
    What's wrong with just using Windows Defender?
    Philip
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,673 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Options
    GabbaGabbaHey wrote: »
    What's wrong with just using Windows Defender?

    err.....'coz it's the poorest of the mainstream av products out there maybe??
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
  • dosh37
    dosh37 Posts: 354 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    My experience with Avast is that it is ok(-ish), but it seems to consume an awfull lot of processing resource from your PC. So much that it sometimes seems worse than a virus!
  • dosh37
    dosh37 Posts: 354 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    I tend to agree with gabbagabbahey.
    Windows Defender in Win 10 seems to be pretty good these days, so probably not much to be gained by using 3rd party tools like Avast unless you vist dodgy websites.
  • GunJack
    GunJack Posts: 11,673 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Options
    dosh37 wrote: »
    My experience with Avast is that it is ok(-ish), but it seems to consume an awfull lot of processing resource from your PC. So much that it sometimes seems worse than a virus!

    this can be reduced by not using all the !!!!py added tools, all you really need is the 3 main shields and disable or custom install without all the "added value" extras ;)
    ......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......

    I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple :D
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards