If you’re a Keystone Computer Concepts customer, you know that we have recommended and installed Avast Anti-virus for a very long time. This software is installed on all our computers and hundreds of our customers have been using the free version with great success.
We have used and recommended Avast over all the other Anti-virus programs for the following reasons: 1) unlike other A-V programs, Avast has worked well and rarely interferes with other software programs; 2) Avast has been excellent in blocking websites with malicious codes – better, in our opinion, than any other A-V program with which we have worked; 3) Avast has not consumed a large percentage of a computer’s processor.
Although there are other free A-V programs available, we just haven’t found any that stack up against Avast.
Like most other software companies, Avast has been constantly improving its software. Just this past week, the company released version 5. With this new edition of Avast comes some changes. Many of the improvements are cosmetic – new icons, new control panel, things like that. But, there have been changes “under the hood,” as well.
One of the significant changes is that they have improved the web portion of the software by creating a virtual “sandbox” for surfing the web. The sandbox “enables potentially exploitable programs (such as web browsers) and/or suspicious executables to be run in a safe, virtual environment. The avast! Sandbox is unique as it runs on both 32 and 64bit platforms.” (Quote for Avast website.)
I’m very impressed by this new feature. However, the free Avast does not include the sandbox. So, for the first time ever, I am now recommending that my customers purchase Avast instead of using the free version. Those of you who know me, realize that I am always trying to find ways to save you money, including the use of free Anti-virus programs. Still, as hackers get more sophisticated on the web, it just seems to me that keeping your computer safe has merit, even if there’s a small price to pay.
Since I really believe Avast is the A-V program to use, if you are currently running the free 4.8 version, I would urge you to move on to a paid version. There are other new features in the paid version of Avast (see below for the link to the comparison chart) which I like as well, but the sandbox alone is enough to move away from the free version.
If you hurry, Avast is offering some nice discounts during the breakout of this new version. Just click on one of the following links:
Avast Internet Security (The most protection; can be installed on three computers for the same price.)
Avast Pro:
If you’d like to compare these two versions, here’s Avast’s own webpage: http://www.avast.com/comparison-chart
If you have any questions or concerns or need help installing this new version, please don’t hesitate to call me or email me. (john@4kcc.com)