Avast Free Antivirus for Mac review: Basic protection, for free

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Free

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There’s a distinction that every software company’s marketing department has to make in terms of what’s a demo, what’s a free trial, what’s a teaser, and what’s the fully-featured version of a product it intends to release. The free version of Avast Security for the Mac, Avast Free Antivirus, combines a powerful antiviral/anti-malware core with several other modules, each with its own varying degree of success.

Downloading and installing the software is simple; Avast Free Antivirus requires macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later to install. The installer, somewhat surprisingly, places an uninstaller application in your Mac’s Applications folder for easy removal, a nod to convenience. Once installed, the software both creates a network extension for itself and requests full access to your Mac’s hard drive, which is handled without any undue fuss by the installer.

Like similar Mac antivirus applications, Avast’s antivirus suite is centered around several modules (Smart Scan, Virus Scans, Scam Guardian, Traffic Monitor, Network Inspector, Email Guard, Ransomware Shield, Core Shields, and Quarantine), each with its own settings and functions.

The Smart Scan updates virus definitions and performs a surface-level viral scan, while its Advanced Issues feature scans for ransomware, network vulnerabilities, and fake website threats. However, you will need to subscribe to unlock additional features. Expect ads to pop up frequently offering Avast Security’s upgraded subscription package and its expanded feature set.

Other modules, such as Traffic Monitor, follow up on features available in previous versions, and it’s fun to see where your internet traffic is traveling through and how much data you’re using. The Network Inspector takes this to the next level and offers a full network scan as well as a list of every device currently on the network, so you can be made aware if a device has connected that shouldn’t be there. Granted, this is only a casual set of network controls compared to a dedicated application, but it’s a nice tool to have on hand if you’re curious as to what’s happening on your network.

The Virus Scans module is the heart of the app as you would expect, and there’s a lot to complement it on. Avast’s viral definitions are up to date, the application can scan .zip and .dmg archives, there’s a good level of customization with the preferences, and it’s easy to build a whitelist.

Scanning external volumes is easy, and the scheduling function works well, but the function itself doesn’t jump up and declare that it’s running; you have to go into the Virus Scans module to watch it function. The Deep Scan feature is speedy, even if it could benefit from a timer declaring how much time has passed and/or an ETA as to how much time is remaining, and the overall antiviral element teams up well with the macOS’ Gatekeeper and Xprotect systems, which block everything that’s suspect (you genuinely have to bypass various dialog screens warning you as to what you’re about to do wrong to install malware). This, in turn, corresponds well with the Core Shields module, making it that much harder to install malware on your Mac.

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Unfortunately, the remaining modules are locked by subscription. The Email Guard module is handy and ties into 22 different types of email accounts (such as Gmail, Outlook, etc.), but it is only available with a Premium account, and there’s no option to try it out without paying (with a subscription it provides decent warnings about spam and scam emails.)

The Web Guard module’s success rate is sporadic, and after clicking through to dozens of questionable links in my Gmail spam folder, it let me visit the link that claimed I had an almost $14,000 cash payment waiting for me, but caught other scam-related links and directed me away from them as needed.

Ransomware Shield, the accompanying sister module, also requires an upgraded account to access, and again, no demo is available in the free version, presenting a missed opportunity to show what the software is capable of.

The Scam Guard module, an AI-assisted application, didn’t work very well in the free version of Avast Antivirus Free. You can drag and drop emails, images, and other files onto it in order to determine how scam-related they might be. Unfortunately this wound up being a disaster. While an innocuous .jpg file of a sleeping puppy came up as non-scam-related, when I dropped more questionable emails onto it, it offered no feedback that the content was linked to something scam-related.

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The module failed completely when I dropped in a PDF file of a Bitcoin ransom scam email, claiming I’ve been videotaped via my webcam and that this would be sent to my friends, family, and contacts unless several thousand dollars were sent via Bitcoin to the sender. This is the height of a phishing attempt, a ransom attempt through and through, which the Scam Guardian module failed to interpret correctly. The AI assistant was of no help whatsoever.

Just how much you should expect from a free antivirus is arguable, but Avast does clain that the Free Antivirus includes the AI-powered anti-scam protection, defense against online scams, and safer browsing and emailing, so really it’s fair to expect that those elements would work.

Avast will readily let you know that its Ultimate subscription tier is available for free for 60 days, and all you have to do is enter a credit or debit card or PayPal information to set this up, and it states that nothing is due today and that you’ll receive a reminder seven days before billing. If you wish to upgrade from Avast’s free version, the retail version sells for $4.09 per month for the first year with support for one Mac, or $49.08 for the first year if paid in full. Read our full review of Avast Premium Security.

Should you use Avast Free Antivirus

Is Avast’s free version worth trying out? Yes. The antiviral/anti-malware core is as good as it ever was, if not better, and the supporting modules largely round it out and add to its functionality. Still, the Web Guard is hit or miss, the Scam Guard felt like the Hindenburg on an off day during testing, and the constant barrage of reminders to upgrade to the paid subscription tiers is annoying.

There’s something credible here, but this application doesn’t know where it stands between freeware, trialware, and a fully-featured retail version, and there’s something to be said for releasing a fully-featured trial version for a given period of time and letting the user see what the software can actually do.