Installed on a Windows 10 PC, the Nitro Update to Avast Antivirus Means the Computer Performs Faster than Without Avast
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 21, 2016 – Avast Software, maker of
the most trusted mobile and PC security in the world, today announced an update
to its flagship product that delivers on new technology to fight threats in a lightweight,
high-speed solution that utilizes the cloud to identify and analyze threats. The
Avast Antivirus Nitro Update will arm
users with security software that is smaller in size and designed to improve speed,
boot time, download time and system performance, while providing state-of-the-art
protection from today’s never-ending attacks. Along with the Nitro Update come
security and performance enhancements to Avast’s SafeZone browser, which isolates
browsing sessions and gives users a much safer and more private browsing
experience than a standard browser.
Independent research conducted by testing
institution AV-Comparatives found that PCs run faster with the Avast Antivirus
Nitro Update than with Windows Defender, which is on by default on Windows 10 PCs.
In the test, Avast’s impact on the system was two times smaller than that of
Windows Defender. Avast Nitro Update takes a part of its background security
analysis to the cloud to identify and analyze threats, which in turn frees up the
system processing power for each user’s computer. As a result, that freed-up
processing power can be used to continue working faster, without interruption online,
and with minimal impact to the overall system.
The Nitro Update to Avast Antivirus also offers
increased threat detection and analysis, through a new technology called
CyberCapture. Cyberattacks have become a profitable business for cybercriminals
and the security landscape is, therefore, rapidly changing and threats are
becoming more sophisticated. Thus, the ability to identify and respond to threats
that have never been seen before, in real time, is mission critical for consumer
protection. With the new CyberCapture feature, running in the cloud, users benefit
from zero-second threat detection from yet-unknown security threats. Rather
than relying on the latest definition updates, CyberCapture isolates unknown files
in a safe environment and automatically establishes a two-way communication
channel with the Avast Threat Labs for immediate analysis, providing a first-response
line of defense against new threats.
Once a file is analyzed, Avast’s team will
communicate with users to provide an update as to whether a file is considered
“safe” or “dangerous.” Users benefit from direct access to Avast’s security
experts within the Threat Labs; this mechanism allows for faster response times
to emerging threats and a more secure ecosystem overall.
“At Avast, our priority has always been to
provide users with the best possible protection by staying on top of new and
emerging threats,” said Vince Steckler, chief executive officer of Avast. “With
that, we also want to ensure that our product works seamlessly within a user’s
system, and we understand that no one wants an antivirus to slow down his or
her PC. With the Nitro update to our flagship Antivirus, we are bringing users
a tool that has minimum system impact and actually helps PCs perform faster,
with the same strong protection they have grown to associate with Avast.”
Along with the protection users have come to love, the Nitro update is packed with additional features such as:
The Nitro Update for Avast Antivirus is available to all current Avast users and can also be downloaded for free at www.avast.com.