▷ How to install and configure avast free antivirus 2018

Today we are going to see what Avast is and how to install and configure it. Avast Free Antivirus is one of the antivirus programs most used by users worldwide. This is mainly due to the fact that we have it available for free and it also performs its protection functions of our equipment in an excellent way. If you don't have it yet,

Index of contents

What is Avast

Avast is a protection or antivirus software that has a free version for home users.

Not for being free it is an application that malfunctions, on the contrary, Avast is continually updating its product and adding new functions such as a shield against unauthorized access to your team's webcam. It also has in its latest versions a shield against ransomware that will protect files so that they cannot be encrypted without the consent of the author, thereby stopping these extortion programs. All this we will also have available on Mac computers.

In addition, it has applications for Android and iOS with functions to protect mobile devices to make secure payments and other network functions.

But the company not only offers this product for free, it has many more payment applications for companies and for the advanced protection of our team, whose field we will not enter.

Download and install Avast

As it can not be otherwise, the first thing we must do is download the program from its website. It is located right on the cover of this so it will not be a problem for anyone.

As a general rule, the browser will download the installation package in the downloads folder of your computer. Just when the download is complete, click on " Show in folder " to directly access the place where it is downloaded.

Installation

We will now proceed with the installation of Avast Free Antivirus.

• What we must do is double-click on the file that we have downloaded to start its installation.

• On the first screen of the wizard we must look at the bottom. There is an advertisement proposing the installation of other software. It is our decision to allow it to be installed or not To deny the offer, click on the box to deactivate it

• If we choose the " Customize " button we will be able to see in more detail what we are going to install on our equipment. We see that there are quite a few functionalities. We can also customize the installation directory. We recommend leaving it as it is by default.

• Press the " Install " button. In this way the process will begin Once finished we will enter the main screen of the antivirus automatically Now we must accept the license agreement and we will arrive at a screen where we are offered to install the antivirus also on the mobile. We will tell you NO

• In the next window again it asks us to recommend Avast. We will also say NO Finally we will get the antivirus control screen

Disable Windows Defender

If we do not want to have two antivirus simultaneously what we will have to do is disable Windows Defender.

To do this visit our next tutorial:

Configure Avast

After installation, it is time to see the different options and functions that the free version of this antivirus offers us.

If we navigate through the side menus of Protection, Privacy and Performance. We will identify the functionalities that are paid with a lock padlock.

Configuration options

The configuration options are at the top in the Menu section. If we press, and then we click on " Configuration " we will access them.

General:

Here are the main options of the program. As more interesting options we will have:

• Enable Enhanced Mode - Adds extra protection to antivirus. It is intended for users who do not know most of the things they find online and download strange things. It is an interesting option for a user account for children. Silent mode: Avast will work in a hidden way without showing alerts. Password: we can configure a password for the program to restrict its access Exclusions: from here we can configure both file paths and web pages where we do not want Avast to act in search of viruses Smart analysis: from here we can activate what actions we want the antivirus to do when we choose the smart analysis option.

Components:

From this tab we can activate and deactivate the different antivirus shields. We can also configure other components and uninstall them.

From this panel is where we can configure in detail all the Shields that we have active in the system.

Problem resolution:

From here we can configure some more advanced options in terms of protection. We can also reset the program to default values ​​if we are not sure what we have touched.

Do a full file scan in Avast

Only the smart analysis option appears on the main screen. But if we want to do a deeper analysis in search of threats we will have to do the following:

• We go to the " protection " section. Within this we click on " Analysis ". If we go to the bottom we will find an option that says " Complete virus analysis "

This is the section that does not interest.

Check for viruses in memory and start Windows

If we have a persistent virus lodged in the memory of the computer what we will have to do is intercept it before Windows starts. For this, we have an option right in the same section as in the previous case.

We only have to press the button and choose the option "Run during the next restart of the PC"

Disable Avast Shields

To disable the antivirus we will have to go to the " Protection " section. To deactivate each module we will only have to press the button and it will be deactivated.

If what we want is to deactivate it all at once, we go to its icon in the taskbar s and open the options with the right button. In the " Control and security " section we choose one of the options.

Add list of file exclusions

We can add directories or files that we don't want included in the analysis. For this we will do the following:

• Click on " Menu " and " Configuration " We go to the " Components " section and click on " Customize " in the File Shield section. We place ourselves in the " Exclusions " section. Here we can add the directories we want so that they are not analyzed.

Block or unblock a web page

We may also block certain web pages, or conversely unblock them if we consider them to be reliable.

• In the same menu as before, we go to " Web Shield " and click on " Customize " We add the URL and press Enter. The page will be blocked

To unblock a URL we must do the identical procedure and click on " Delete"

Configure actions when Avast detects a threat

The configuration of this functionality is exactly the same for the four modules that are active in the program.

We go to the configuration and click on " Customize " in the module we want. Now we must go to the " Actions " section, we will have many options to choose from:

• Measures when finding a virus: when the program detects a virus it will perform the functions that we have configured here, we can try to correct the file, store it in quarantine, repair it and even delete it. We recommend moving it to the trunk. Second and third measure: if the first fails, we can configure a second action and even a third. Normally, the program asks us why we choose “ Ask ”. In this way we will know ourselves which files are.PUP and Suspicious: we will have exactly the same options as in the previous case.

If we want to have more control over the program we will have to configure these options in each of the active shields.

Restore a file in the Avast virus trunk

All threats that the program has detected are stored in the virus trunk.

• To locate the virus trunk, we must be located on the main page of the program. We go to the " Protection " section and within it, click on " Virus trunk"

• If we select the threat and click on the lower green button, we will be able to restore the file or restore it. If we do not want the program to detect it as a virus, we will have to add it to the list of exclusions as we have seen previously.

These are the main configuration options for Avast antivirus. It is up to you to explore the program more deeply in search of more of them.

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What antivirus do you use for your computer? If you think Avast is a bad antivirus or that you prefer another, leave us in the comments.