Review Avast Antivirus in 2024 in MacBook, Yes Or Nah?

Mytips.id - Avast is renowned as one of the biggest names in the antivirus industry, offering excellent overall protection against online threats. 

Not only does it scan your device, but it also checks your online network, protects your webcam, and blocks suspicious activities and downloads. Additionally, it even provides a VPN service for secure browsing. 

However, in late 2019 and early 2020, Avast made headlines for collecting user data and sending it to their analytics business called Jumpshot. 

Recently, Avast CEO Ondrej Vicek has shut down Jumpshot. As part of our review, we have scrutinized Avast's security measures to help you decide whether the software is worth installing.

 Spoiler alert: while Avast is a solid antivirus tool for basic protection, we have tested antivirus products that offer far superior protection, privacy, and reputation, such as TotalAV.

Pros and Cons of Avast Antivirus

Things we like:

- Free version
- Comes with many useful features
- Performs well in independent lab tests
- Very easy to download and navigate

Things we don't like:

- You have to pay extra for many features
- Business plans are quite expensive
- Avast has been known to leak user data in the past

How secure is Avast Antivirus?

Of course, when looking for good antivirus software, security is likely to be a top priority. And considering Avast's admission last year that they sold user data, it's only natural to wonder just how secure Avast really is.

What we found during our research on Avast?

We have looked at the security features and results of independent lab tests - and there are some interesting things to note. Like most leading antivirus providers in the industry, Avast pays to have its products included in testing conducted by independent laboratories. And the results are quite impressive.

The German institution AV-TEST, which researches cybersecurity products, has tested both the free and paid versions of Avast. Fortunately, the results were the same, and testing in May-June 2023 showed that the antivirus detected 100% of zero-day and older malware threats. As a result, it received the highest possible "Top Product" certification.

Furthermore, AV-Comparatives also tested the free version of Avast. In their latest real-world protection report from February-May 2022, Avast blocked 99.6% of widely spread malicious samples used in the testing. Although this sounds almost perfect, there are some antivirus providers that performed even better. Avira, Norton, and Trend Micro managed to block 100% of the tested malware.

Avast Antivirus Features

Avast offers a range of features and tools designed to enhance your online security. However, it's important to note that what you get depends on the package you purchase. The biggest difference, of course, lies between the free and premium Avast Antivirus packages.

Let's take a look at what they offer - and what features each package will provide for you.

Free Avast:

- Malware protection✅
- Real-time protection✅
- App monitoring✅
- Firewall✅
- Webcam protection❌
- Protection against malicious websites❌
- Ransomware shield❌
- SecureLine VPN❌
- Data breach monitoring❌
- Automatic driver updates❌
- Tracker blocker❌
- Optimization tools❌

It's no surprise that the paid packages come with more features. However, it's refreshing to see that the free version includes such a large number of features, including a firewall. Not to mention, its malware detection rate is just as good as the premium package.

However, for comprehensive protection, Avast One is a good choice. You can protect either 5 or 30 devices and enjoy various types of security, including real-time, webcam, malicious website, ransomware, and tracking protection.

It's also important to note that whichever subscription you choose - free or paid - it is available on all popular operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Avast SecureLine VPN

By getting the Avast One bundle, you will also receive Avast SecureLine VPN (which can also be purchased separately). While it may not be as good as, let's say, NordVPN, its service is decent, especially considering it comes from an antivirus developer.

Free Avast users can also make use of the VPN, but it is limited to 5GB per week, which tends to get used up quickly, especially if you're streaming content.

So, there are a few things worth mentioning. Avast SecureLine VPN unblocks the Netflix libraries of the US and Canada, as well as everything you need on YouTube. Moreover, the service supports torrenting and offers decent download speeds.

There's also a feature called Password Leak Check that will notify you if your email has been compromised. Additionally, Android users will also get split tunneling feature. Currently, Avast SecureLine VPN offers WireGuard protocol for Windows and Android users, which can enhance your online experience.

In terms of drawbacks, I would mention the limited choice of tunneling protocols and relatively short list of available countries. If you want to learn more about this tool, you can read our comprehensive Avast SecureLine VPN review.

Overall, while SecureLine VPN is good for basic security, we do not recommend getting it separately due to its limitations. Moreover, it is much more expensive compared to leading VPNs on the market, such as NordVPN and Surfshark.