However, you don't have to use them, and they won't bother you unless you open them. It includes several other 'layers' of security that will install automatically, and they might take a while to download since there are several. This program offers more than just a very extensive antivirus application. You can even choose which ones to actively watch out for, and disable others (though it's not recommended) like dialers, jokes, adware, etc.Īvira Free Security can also scan on a schedule, check files with any file extension or just the ones you manually choose from, disable the ability to stop active scans (so that viruses can not stop the program from finding them), adjust the scanner's priority level, scan primary boot sectors, follow symbolic links to scan the actual files, search for rootkits before starting a scan, scan the Windows Registry, ignore files on network drives, automatically repair, rename, quarantine, delete, or ignore threats when they're found, use heuristic scanning, add files, folders, and processes to the ignore list, manage Windows Firewall settings, password protect the program's settings, block autorun on removable devices, and make the hosts file read-only. It protects you against ransomware, Trojans, spyware, and other kinds of malware. This is how it works: When a suspicious file is detected on any computer running Avira, a fingerprint of that specific file is generated and uploaded anonymously to Avira so that they can scan it and report its status (whether it's safe or dangerous) back to every Avira user so that the program can take appropriate action.Īvira can scan and remove existing threats as well as automatically detect and stop new ones. This scanning method lets Avira's antivirus tool identify and stop threats before they get out of hand.

The main component in Avira's free software suite that makes it stand out is the optional 'in-the-cloud detection' feature called Protection Cloud.

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