Avast (styled "avast!" before 10/2014) is an antivirus computer programavailable for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Android and Linux users, with a user interface available in 41 languages. The name Avast came from "Anti-virus – Advanced Set," a program developed by the company's founders.[3]
Founded in 1991, the company was officially established under the newly free market of then-Czechoslovakia. The developer, AVAST Software s.r.o. (formerly known as ALWIL Software a.s. nad AVAST Software a.s.), is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, with offices in Friedrichshafen, Munich - Germany, Austin, Texas, Redwood City - California, Hong Kong and Beijing - China [4]
AVAST Software s.r.o. currently produces security freeware and shareware programs for personal and commercial uses on PCs, Macs, and Android devices; as of 2013, more than 200 million devices worldwide used avast!. In June 2012, Avast had 17.4% of the worldwide security vendor market share.[5]
The software has received a number of awards from Virus Bulletin for close to 100% detection of "in-the-wild" viruses[6] and won the Secure Computing Readers' Trust Award.[7] The central scanning engine has been certified by ICSA Labs[8] and West Coast Labs' Checkmark process.[9]
| Free Antivirus | Pro Antivirus | Internet Security | Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligent Antivirus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-malware Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SafeZone | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Silent Firewall | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-spam | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic Software Updater | No | No | No | Yes |
| AccessAnywhere | No | No | No | Yes |
| Data Shredder | No | No | No | Yes |
