This is yet another product that I have a rather extensive past with. I used this on some of my PC's for quite a while, and had both good and bad experience.

This was the first free anti-virus that I found after AVG. By that time I was looking for other options, heard good about AVG from a family member and thought I'd give it a try.

Protection was mostly a good experience, but a good friend and I, each at different times with different files, had a virus slip past Avast. I was able to clean mine manually, but my friend (who didn't do these sort of things for a living) had to re-image his PC.

I also had several times where I found my PC largely non-responsive only to find that it was Avast executable files where the culprits, completely using every available CPU cycle.

I cannot in good conscience say that the avast! product is an altogether bad product, and there is certainly worse available...both free and for sale.

However, I believe that there are simply too many other options that are better, free and for sale, for me to use or recommend this product at this time.

Thank you for your time.

I installed avast! 4 because the Norton 360 background scans were making my computer unusable. These background scans could not be stopped! If you install avast! 4, after you unistall Norton 360, you will have to use the Norton_Removal_Tool.exe, and buDump.exe (available from the Symantec site) or the remnants of Norton 360 will stop your browser and email from connecting to the internet. After I did this, avast! 4 is working perfectly. It is fast, doesn't hog resources, and my computer is now working like a Ferrari, not a Model-T Ford.

I have been useing Avast for more than 3 years now and install it onto every machine I have or build for friends,etc.
I have had other brands norton being the worst for hogging resorces and will cause all kinds of problems if you even think about uninstalling it, where as with Avast IT installs without a fuss and after the initial set-up runs in the background with the program hogging some resources as and when it need to but if you play games as I do then disconnect from the internet and exit from the program whilst you play.

I was using Kaspersky Anti-Virus,but since my license ended,i downloaded Avast! Free Edition.I use it for over 1 year and with the help of ZoneAlarm Pro,no virus have harmed my computer!

Try clamav(www.clamwin.com) instead. It's free & is 15Mb download. It has a bigger database than avast. AVG is too big a download now if your using dial-up.

I saw a magazine review which said AVG was a lot better than avast. Clamav have their own forum.

Installed Avast! on > 25 PC's, never had a virus complaint. Easyli installed, effective in virus combat, no speed retarder.
Thanks Alwil!

Have used avast in the past,tried others.spent a fortune.Now back to using Avast (4.7)Avast v others? "no contest"

I found my pc using up 100% of memory and thought it was infected by a virus. I unloaded programs one by one at Task Manager and found that ashWebSv.exe was the culprit.

I discovered that this program belongs to AVAST! Why?

I am using avast for the last 8 months both on Win 200 Pro and Win XP Home, without any dissapointment. This is far the best solution in the market for real time antivirus S/W, because it's free for home users and provides the same functionality with all the known antivirus products.

I've used McAfee for several years and was very pleased with it. I got anotice to upgrade to theie latest version. I did and its almost paralyzed my pc. after checking some McAfee forums on the web, I found many who have had the same problem. McAfee has put a small notice my McAffe account page, which it took me two days to find it, but totally ignored my support ticket I submitted, and sent out no emails that they were having problems. That was enough for me to say so long to McAfee and hello to avast 4.

The good:
1) an option to scan before the boot of the system, thus accesseing files that are not possible with Windows runnig (files in use);
2) it appears to be light on resources;
3) it has an option of keep 3 version of files and could restore to its original state in case of an infection(much better than delete the file(s), eh?);

The bad:
1) Virus definitions take sometimes 4 days to come while others are updated 4 times a day;
2)Its detection rate need to get better despite its VB100% awards;
3) Its heuristics is a joke;
4) It takes too long to...(see an example: a virus called vidro wich in Antivir PE was in the database since september of 2005 entered the Avast database in the last week!!!(29/06/2006)

Avast! Rocks.
I am an IT Pro, and have recommended it to several friends. Most of them have reported that Avast found viruses that the major well known anti-virus programs could not find, including the major broadband IPS's free "Total Security" packages.

If you are a home user, the free package works perfectly.

Server package also works well and integrates nicely with Exchange, scans the user folders and finds viruses/SW/Trojans, etc that Norton missed. Depolyment is easy, and allows you to restart each machine to due an itinial scan _pre-windows boot_ which is key to finding viruses that hide within windows.

One of the great things about Avast is no out sourced tech support. I tried calling Norton once for help and it was a total nightmare.

As for finding viruses, it has found ones the Norton fully updated didn't.

I wholeheartedly recommend Avast!

I used to use AVG, but it just felt like it was a half finished program, and I wasn't impressed with it's ability to detect, much less remove viruses. So I found Avast, and have been happy ever since. It detects all ITW viruses out today, fast daily updates of the virus database, and free support through either their excellent tech forum or email. Even though I am a Comcast customer and I could get McAfee VirusScan 10 for free, I am still sticking with Avast, cause even though it's a free product, it's better than anything else out there.

I am a college student that built his own computer, which means I can't really afford to buy Norton's or Panda. I did a google search and found Avast. Tried it once and haven't gotten any viruses since.

I use the Zone Alarm firewall and Avast4 Home Ed. and don't have any problems with running speed or viruses.