Using DLP, companies can scan word documents and conduct optical character recognition (OCR) on PDFs in order to detect strings of numbers that resemble these sensitive bits of data. DLP is a tool that’s normally used in the context of large companies that store customer data such as credit card and social security numbers. Reading between the lines of the marketing copy, Avast seems to be leveraging a technology known as Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It also gives you an easy button to the right of each entry that instantly shows you the location of each document that it finds. Avast sorted these documents into categories such as taxes, payroll, employment, and travel (documents such as driver’s licenses and passports. In all, it only detected two false positives. It found tax records, employment documents, financial statements, and more – stuff I’ve stored on my computer without even remembering that I’ve put it there. What does Avast count as unprotected sensitive documents and how do they find them? Furthermore, how do they check the strength of my passwords?Īs it turns out, the sensitive documents scan is highly effective. I’m not surprised that there’s vulnerable software on my computer – I have a lot of software and it’s a pain to update it all – but these last two items gave me a little bit of pause. My first scan detected no malware, bad extensions, or network issues, but it did find vulnerable software, unprotected documents, and weak passwords. Instead of just searching for viruses and malware, it also detects out-of-date software, malicious browser add-ons, network issues, unprotected sensitive documents, and weak passwords.

Even the basic virus scan offers more functionality than most. SecurityĪs mentioned, Avast went above and beyond when it came time to design the free version of their antivirus product. With that said, the free tier of Avast offers a fantastic antivirus engine at its core (PLEASE NOTE THE ABOVE UPDATE).You’ll love the security of Avast, as well as the speed with which it reacts to detect and mitigate dangerous programs – just try not to get too frustrated by its incessant pleas for you to upgrade. Original Review: How secure is secure enough? Avast seems to be betting that you’ll want all the security bells and whistles that you can afford, but its paid tiers seem to be offering too little for the price. For a list of antivirus companies we do recommend, please see this list of the 10 best antiviruses of 2021. You can read more about the controversy and our decision here. In light of these unethical practices, we can no longer recommend them on our site. UPDATE: When Google and Mozilla removed Avast’s web extension from their stores, a scandal broke out which revealed that Avast (who also owns AVG) had allegedly been spying on their users’ browsing data and selling it to corporations for millions of dollars in profit.

Avast safe mode scan