Three products (Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, and Internet Security) and a new website are being released today.
Even though avast! has expanded their product portfolio, their philosophy of having and promoting a top-notch free antivirus is paramount. This philosophy has enabled them to achieve 100 million users and they are continuing it. As you read through their new website and launch information, you will see that not only is the new free product easier to use and more visually appealing than the old product, it provides even more security protection. And it is still free and free from annoying pop-ups and requests for money.

These products are not minor updates from the existing products. They are all new. Some of the changes—such as the new user interface—are obvious. Some are not obvious at all (such as the new scanning engine). All-in-all they are a vast improvement from the current products—modern, light, fast, and very effective. For details, see the product detail pages on the new website.

1. Avast! Free Antivirus. This is the new flagship product and replaces Avast Home Edition (they changed the name to emphasize the product is free). We focus this product on users that use the internet for web browsing and email. If that is what you do on the internet, this is the product you need. They are very proud of this product and they stack it up against anyone else’s paid antivirus—in fact, they have recently started submitting this product in lieu of their paid products to all of the industry standard tests. Virus Bulletin, one of the most respected journals, recently called this product “….nothing short of a miracle” (see separate blog post). Google selected this product for incorporation in many of their Google Packs. You can download this product here: http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download.
2. Avast! Internet Security. This is a brand-new product and is focused on users that do on-line banking or shopping or that have sensitive data on their computer. We believe that these users need some extra layers of protection and developed this product to provide three more layers. This product takes the free antivirus and adds a 2-way silent firewall, a sandbox, and anti-spam. The firewall ensures that only trusted applications are able to receive or send data across the internet. The sandbox provides a means of executing your browser (or any other application) in a protected environment—thus even if you get infected, the infection does not leave the sandbox and does not harm your computer. And the anti-spam helps you get rid of all that irritating email you receive every day. And, they have made this product attractive to consumer users—a single license can be used on 3 computers in your household. This link will take you to the product and download page: http://www.avast.com/internet-security.
3. Avast! Pro Antivirus. This is the update to the old Professional Edition. They focus this product on individuals that want to customize their security and on businesses. It is the same as Internet Security but without the firewall or anti-spam. This allows world-class security using your own personal choice of firewall and anti-spam. Here is how to get this product: http://www.avast.com/pro-antivirus.