Your parents probably told you plenty of times growing up to beware of something that you get for free because “nothing’s really free”. In this case, however, Avast delivers on a surprisingly fast and powerful antivirus program that helps you keep your Windows system clean and trouble-free.
Ever since Microsoft included Windows Defender with Windows 10, it’s become harder and harder for anti-virus companies to convince customers to pay lots of money for an annual subscription to a program that certainly seems redundant. Free is a winner, whether it’s lunch or software!
Modern antivirus software can offer up a lot more capabilities than the single focus Defender, however, and commercial antivirus company Avast delivers a surprising range of tests and solutions neatly bundled in its new Nitro antivirus, whether you opt for the free or pay for one of the more advanced subscription versions.
I opted for the free version to see what it would include and while there are a couple of points where the upsell to other Avast software or subscriptions was a bit annoying, the fact is that it’s a very impressive app for something without a price tag and the upsells are easily ignored or sidestepped.
Let’s have a look! Once installed, Nitro immediately starts to protect you. The test of any of these programs is whether it finds anything on a scan, however…
A click on “Run Smart Scan” and it’s off and analyzing:
Notice here that it’s found issues on my system, issues that Windows Defender certainly hadn’t flagged. (to be fair, Windows Defender isn’t analyzing outdated software, browser plug-ins, or similar, but that’s kind of the point: Avast Nitro offers more functionality than Defender, for the same $0.00 pricetag)
Once the scan finishes, the program lists every issue and problem identified:
Well, that’s not good!
To solve the problems flagged, I click on “Resolve all” to proceed. Here’s what I have that’s in need of an update:
Of those, the Java Runtime Environment is probably the greatest risk, but they’re all easy to update by clicking on the “Update” button adjacent to each program. Avast Nitro has the smarts to know how to download and install updates for programs flagged so it’s a matter of four mouse clicks and 3-4 minutes total before the system’s back up to date.
What about the so-called bad reputation browser add-ons? Once I’ve resolved all the outdated software problems, Avast Nitro moves on to the second flagged issue:
The Ask toolbar? Yikes. I had no idea that was still on my Microsoft Windows 10 system and definitely want to remove it. Easily done with a click on “Completely remove“, and so I do just that.
Finally, performance issues are highlighted:
This is where it’s frustrating to be in this free app, because a click on “Resolve” doesn’t actually resolve the problems flagged, it instead invites me to pay for a subscription service to the Avast Cleanup PC optimization program:
So of all the problems flagged, only the performance tune-up suggestions require an upgrade to a paid subscription service (and $1.99/mo isn’t that expensive for a faster PC, is it?)
Don’t want to upgrade? Click the “X” in the top right corner. A bit annoying, but given that Avast Nitro antivirus is free and actually does everything else promised, I think it’s still quite a bargain for a solid and quite useful utility for your Windows system.
And, finally:
I’d say that if you’re just running Windows Defender, don’t have any anti-virus program (a huge risk!) or just dislike the one you have now, definitely check out Avast Nitro Free Antivirus. I mean, it’s free, how can you go wrong?
Disclosure: Avast paid a small fee for me to review this software program, but I am leaving it on my Windows system to help keep it clean and virus free!
Thank you for a great review, as I’ve wondered if Defender can catch all the bad stuff.
Just wanted to make sure about one thing – I can continue Defender AND use this? (The freebie of course ;’).
Yup, I like the regular free Avast. (Don’t recall every seeing Avast “Nitro”??) I use the internet for a LOT of things, mostly searching the web for this and that. My free one has caught some viruses, trojans, etc…and blocked them quite a few times, so I’ve been impressed with them! I haven’t paid for some of their more advanced programs, as I’m unemployed, and really can’t afford it, but if I could, I surely would!
I would suggest to anyone, that can afford it, to do it. I’d say you’d be making the right move. Free avast is great though, too!