2) Features & Ease of Use: 6/10  
Despite a few minor tweaks to Avira Version 10, such as a drop-down menu display, the user-interface remains relatively unchanged. After years of little change, Avira now looks like one of the most outdated Antivirus programs on the market. Its main menu screen provides little information besides a few green "check marks" - letting you know everything is okay. An Antivirus program probably doesn't need all the bells & whistles that some have these days, but Avira's user-interface is plain and not very user-friendly. We hope a major overhaul is in the works for next year's version.
Avira v10 Dashboard:
Besides the usual features, other Avira technologies include: AHeADTechnology (detects unknown viruses by their profiles), WebGuard (protects against malicious websites), RescueSystem (creates a bootable rescue CD), and MailGuard (email protection).
New Features:
•  AntiVir ProActiv - detects new, unknown viruses by their
behavior patterns
• GenericRepair - repairs damage caused by viruses & malware
3) Virus Scanner: 2.5/5 
Avira has 10 scanning options including: Quick system scan, Complete system scan, Active Processes, Rootkits and active Malware, and Manual Selection. Avira's scanning engine, appropriately named Luke Filewalker, is a little confusing to use with its poorly labelled buttons, plus the 10 different scanning options could definitely be trimmed down to a more manageable level - isn't that what Custom scan is all about after all?
Avira Virus Scanner:
Our testing found Avira's Virus Scanner to scan at a pace of 16.6 MB/s, which translates into scanning 50GB of used hard-drive space in just over 51 minutes. This was an average scan speed when compared to the other 10 Antivirus programs we tested this year - finishing 6th overall - well behind leaders Norton and Avast. Also, the Quick Scan feature took over 23 minutes to scan our computer - which is the slowest "Quick Scan" we tested. (
Updates:
Avira updates are performed 5 times per day on average, placing it 4th overall in our testing, but well behind Norton's 200+ updates per day.
4) Performance Testing: 7.5/10
A good Antivirus program should not only protect your computer from Viruses but also not slow down the Performance of your computer too much by using up your computer's resources. We run each Antivirus program through a set of Performance Tests to see the impact it has on the computer. View the results below of our Antivirus testing for Avira Version 10:
 | • Memory Use: Avira Version 10 uses 22.9 MB of system memory. #8 rated of the 15 Antivirus programs we tested.
• Reboot Time: Avira added 13.1 seconds to our test computer's reboot time. #4 rated of the 15 Antivirus programs we tested.
• Installation Size: Avira AntiVir Premium takes 276 MB of hard-drive space for installation. #4 rated program we tested.
• Initial Scan Speed: Avira scans files the first time at a speed of 35.7 MB/s. #2 rated program we tested.
• Subsequent Scan Speed: Avira performs subsequent scans at a speed of 35.8 MB/s. #11 rated program we tested.
• Initial Application Launch: Avira added 0.173s to launch a web browser for the first time after a reboot. #5 rated program we tested.
• Subsequent Application Launch: Avira added only 0.076s on average for subsequent web browser launches. #2 rated program we tested.
• File Conversion Time: Avira added 0.62s on average to convert a MP3 file to four other file types. #12 rated program we tested, and Avira's worst test result this year.
• System Impact Score: The "System Impact Score" is a comparative score tallied from the above 8 Antivirus tests. Avira Version 10 scored a total of 80 out of 120 points when compared to the other Antivirus programs. This placed Avira as the 3rd best Antivirus program we tested this year in our Performance testing. Last year, Avira also finished 3rd overall, so it's definitely consistent!
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5) Effectiveness: (Virus/Malware Detection) 13.5/15 
The most important function of an Antivirus program is to keep your computer free from Viruses and other Malware. Below we'll take a look at some of the industry's top Virus/Malware Detection testing and certification.
6) Help & Support: 3/5 
New this year Avira finally offers its North American users toll-free support. Although, it does seem Avira is trying to hide this toll-free support phone number, requiring you to click several links and enter your billing email/or activation code before the number is revealed. But with millions of free users, one can't blame them for not making their premium support too obvious.
Other support options for Avira include its Knowledge Base which addresses many common problems, and an Online Forum which has over 400,000 posts. Email support is offered for billing and order issues, but technical support is pushed towards Avira's Forum, Knowledgebase, or Toll-Free Support. Better in-program Help Files, as well as Email Support for technical issues would be welcome additions to Avira's support system.
CONCLUSION:
 Avira AntiVir has been one of the most effective Antivirus programs over the last few years at keeping viruses and malware from infecting computer systems - it was even ranked "best" by AV-Comparatives.org in their effectiveness testing in 2008. However, Avira's user-interface has not significantly changed in 3 years now leaving it badly outdated, as well as not very user-friendly. If Avira can redesign their program next year, and make it perform better, then Avira could be one of the best Antivirus programs on the market. Until then there are probably better alternatives.
| Overall Rating: Good | (Total Score: 37 / 50 = 3.5 Stars) |
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