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Pros
- Quick install, small footprint.
- Rescue CD solved many installation problems.
- Very effective at preventing malware installation on a clean system.
- Free!
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Cons
- Poor removal of detected malware threats, some remained running.
- Deleted some valuable files it could have disinfected.
- Failed to remove detected rootkits.
Avira AntiVir Personal 10 Specs
| Free: | Yes |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows 7 |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows Vista |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows XP |
| Tech Support: | online forum |
| Type: | Personal |
Google the phrase "free antivirus" and the first three companies you find are AVG, avast!, and Avira, in that order. But go to free-av.com and it's Avira all the way—clever of them to snag that domain name. Avira AntiVir Personal 10 (free, direct) is a lightweight, relatively speedy anti-malware utility that's much more effective at preventing installation of known malware than it is at cleaning up existing problems.
AntiVir Personal is definitely free for personal use only. You have to click a box confirming your understanding of that limitation during install. It does occasionally pop up large advertisements for the company's more powerful security suite, but I found the ads more amusing than annoying.
On installation, AntiVir schedules a daily full scan. You can, of course, change the schedule or add your own scheduled events. By default its configuration page shows only basic settings. Expert mode reveals additional settings, including an option to have the program automatically take specified actions against malware.
Needs a Little Help
As often happens malware on some of my infested test systems caused problems—AntiVir wouldn't install, wouldn't run, or wouldn't update. On the product's advice, I downloaded and ran the Avira AntiVir Rescue System CD, which cleared up several problem systems. To complete the cleanup process, I ran a full scan using AntiVir on those systems.
Even with help from the Rescue CD, AntiVir wouldn't run on one system and wouldn't update on another. I managed to scan the first system by right-clicking the C:\ drive and choosing the AntiVir context menu item. As for the one that wouldn't update, the definitions were only a week old, so I just plowed ahead.
The only help available for the free edition comes from Avira's support forums, so I left messages describing the two problem systems. Members responded almost immediately, asking me to run Trend Micro's Hijack This utility and post the resulting logs. In both cases they went on to recommend use of the free Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to clear up the problems. Even though I had already scanned both systems with AntiVir, Malwarebytes' found a ton of additional malware traces. It fixed both problems, but I can't really give Avira credit; I recorded its score before Malwarebytes' joined the fight.
Few Lab Tests
Few vendors submit their free products for testing by independent labs. ICSA Labs certifies AntiVir Personal for detection but not cleaning; West Coast Labs hasn't looked. AntiVir personal did achieve the VB 100% certification in the most recent (and only) time it was tested. While Avira's premium suite has been through Virus Bulletin's tests more often, it failed four of the last ten Windows-based tests.
The premium product does score well in tests from AV-Comparatives.org. They rated it ADVANCED+ (the top rating) for both on-demand scanning and proactive detection, though it did throw many false positive warnings. AV-Comparatives also rated it ADVANCED+ for small performance impact. AV-Comparatives used the full Avira suite in a dynamic protection test. It scored ADVANCED; only
AntiVir detected most of the malware samples but wasn't very effective at cleaning up what it found. Several threats were still running after their alleged removal, and AntiVir left behind executable files for quite a few more. It scored 6.5 of 10 possible points, the same as Malwarebytes, both lower than the average. At least it beat the 6.3 point score turned in by
On the one hand, AntiVir didn't remove all malicious files. On the other hand, it did wipe out a dozen or more important files on one test system, including several of my analysis tools. Yes, the files had been infected by a virus, but most products simply disinfect them, removing the virus and leaving the host intact. AntiVir wiped them out completely.
In a parallel test using commercial keyloggers in place of malware, AntiVir scored 3.5 points, well below average. It detected most of the samples but failed miserably at removal, leaving half the detected keyloggers actively running after its alleged removal. Norton AntiVirus 2010 topped this category, scoring 8.1 points.
At 8.3 points, Norton also got the best score against threats that use rootkit technology, whether from the malware or keylogger group. AntiVir's rootkit score was a below-average 4.3. AntiVir detected all of the rootkit samples but left half of them running with their rootkit technology unfazed. When I broke out a score for the malware threats that pretend to be security software (scareware), AntiVir scored a dismal 3.5 points.
Much Better Blocking
Whenever the Guard module detects malware, even an inactive malware installer file, it launches a tiny window that reports "System is being scanned." This mini-scan looks for any additional traces of the malware that should be cleaned up. When I opened a folder containing already-downloaded copies of all my malware samples, AntiVir leapt into action, quarantining all but a handful immediately. Well, not immediately. It had to run the mini-scan several times and took several minutes each time. I don't begrudge the time spent, however, as AntiVir wiped out all but a tiny handful of the samples.
I also checked AntiVir's response to a folder full of modified versions of the same threats. In each case, I changed the filename, tweaked some non-executable bytes, and tacked on nulls to change the filesize. Many products recognize my modified files just as well as they do the originals; not AntiVir. It did wipe out three quarters of the modified files, but it left the rest behind. Failure to recognize my minimally-tweaked samples can indicate that a product's malware signature recognition engine isn't as flexible as it might be.
I launched the pitiful remnant of my malware collection that survived AntiVir's initial onslaught. AntiVir identified each at one point or another during the install process. Its overall malware blocking score was 9.6 of 10 possible points, the same as Norton. Only
AntiVir was also significantly more effective at blocking installation of commercial keyloggers than it was at removing them. Its score of 7.3 is well above average. The top keylogger-blockers were Panda Cloud Antivirus and
For more information about my testing, read
AntiVir Personal offers impressive protection for an already-clean system. Just don't rely on it to clean up an existing malware problem. In my tests, even when it detected threats it couldn't always remove them or even stop them from running. If you do choose to use it, you'll definitely need to call on other tools (as I did, at the recommendation of AntiVir's user community) to perform the initial malware cleanup. More Antivirus Reviews:
) and 
) rated ADVANCED+ in that test. I'll have a separate review of the premium suite soon.—
AntiVir's malware scan runs through a number of phases such as checking running processes and seeking hidden (rootkit) objects before it embarks on the typical full scan of all files. In some cases AntiVir halted the scan, awaiting my permission to neutralize actively running malware. A full scan of my standard clean test system took a half-hour, which is average. The scanner's appearance is decidedly retro—that "Luke Filewalker" window title was cute once, but it now seems a bit unprofessional.
). The best score in this test went to ) —8.3 of 10 points.
) has been the most effective against scareware, scoring 8.8 points.
Unlike some anti-malware products, AntiVir Personal doesn't attempt to keep the user away from websites that may host malware. However, as soon as a downloaded file hits your disk, the real-time Guard module scans it, so the lack of website blocking is no big deal.
) and Spyware Doctor scored higher in this test, each attaining 9.7 points.
), both with 9.0 points. AntiVir was also very effective at blocking rootkits, scoring 8.7 points. None of the samples managed to install their sneaky rootkit technology. And, like several other products, AntiVir scored a perfect 10 against scareware, completely blocking every scareware sample.