Avira Premium Security `9.0

At a Glance:  Avira Premium Security 9.0 runs fast and eradicates malware. It might annoy some users with firewall alerts and a few technical questions during setup but it has all the tools to get the job done.

The Triple "E" Keys

The following table summarizes the effectiveness of Avira Premium Security 9.0 based on certain tests by large independent testing labs. For more information on the scoring system, visit the Triple E Key Awards page.

Install/Remove:  

Avira Premium Security 9.0 starts with the usual license agreement and wizard questions. Then it downloads files and begins installing them. I like that Avira allows you to install components using the custom install option. That way, if you don't want the backup module--as I did not--you can uncheck it. Install time was 8 minutes 19 seconds.

Next comes a setup wizard. Although there are questions that might be difficult for novices, there is in each case a recommended setting or default values. There was one question I hadn't seen before regarding "Normal Start" or "Secure Start". I chose Secure Start even though it warned me that Windows startup time will be extended. After the wizard finishes, a scan begins. It might take a few minutes for the scanner to start so be patient.

Following the scan the system is restarted. I didn't notice any lag time on restart so I'd recommend the Secure Start option in the earlier setup wizard. This loads Avira into memory sooner in the bootup process allowing it to look for malware that also tries to start early.

What I did not like after start up was an ominous "This application is trying to access the Internet" firewall alert for Dropbox (a file synchronization utility). I chose "Allow" but there were three other checkboxes to consider--"Allow priveleged", "Always trust this vendor", and "Remember this action for this application". First of all, "priveleged" is misspelled (should be privileged) so that should be fixed. But more importantly, what does that option mean?

Well, this is firewall mumbo jumbo. Basically, it wants to know if the application should connect on certain "ports". Since this site is geared toward novices, I don't care for these manual firewall questions; they just confuse most users. However, Avira does serve business markets as well and those IT guys with the college degrees would know what to do. But on a home product, I'd go for an automated setup of the firewall.

Removing Avira Premium Security 9.0 was dead simple and only took 51 seconds--very fast. That's about how fast my car does does the quarter mile.

Setup/Use:  Avira's user interface is pretty good. Apparently, it's aimed at non-experts because there's an expert mode that can be used as well. I don't think most novices would have much trouble with the default interface but there are areas that will seem confusing to some users, in particular, the firewall settings. (Can you tell that I don't like firewall settings for the average user?) I'd like to see an even simpler main screen--a real set it and forget approach.

The nice part is that Avira Premium Security 9.0 starts with a nice set of defaults so that you shouldn't have to mess with it much anyway. You can pretty much just set up a scheduled scan and go back to what you were doing.

Avira suffered from too many false positives according to AV-Test and AV-Comparatives but passed Virus Bulletin's VB100 test for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Help:  Among the help options linked directly from the software are: a help file, a support forum, telephone support, Knowledgebase, FAQ, and a downloadable user manual. Because Avira is a German company, U.S. buyers may have to make an international call to get phone support.

Performance:  Scanning my test file set took 12 minutes, 8 seconds and Avira had no trouble detecting my double zipped virus test file. I did have to confirm that I wanted it quarantined. I didn't notice any substantial system lag using Avira.

Value:  Avira Premium Security 9.0 will set you back $79.95 for a 3PC license, one of the pricier suites available.

Bottom Line:  Well, on the plus side, Avira is fast and generally effective. On the negative side, I don't like the firewall alerts and the program might accuse some good files of being malware. Still, these guys serve the corporate market and have a great reputation so you probably can't go wrong if you like the user interface and don't mind learning more about firewalls.