I downloaded and installed Avast! AntiVirus yesterday (for the first time), and I noticed that it boosted my broadband (Cable) speed by like 900 KB/s. I even uninstalled it to see if maybe something else had caused this sudden boost in my broadband speed; after I uninstalled it, my broadband speed went back down to where it has always been at. Then I reinstalled Avast, and it boosted my broadband speed, again. Anyone experience anything like this, after installing it? Whenever I download stuff off the internet now, it’s very, very fast! Usually I’ve been downloading stuff at like 300 KB/s tops, and after I installed Avast, I’m downloading stuff at 1.02 MBP/s! Crazy download-speed, super quick! In addition to that, my upload speed is very quick, as well. It was NEVER like this before I installed Avast. I know this is a very reliable Anti Virus program, but hell, I’d buy it for the boost in speed, alone!! How exactly is it doing this? Does it have something to do with the Memory Test feature in Avast! ?
This shouldn’t be a feature of avast, it does not accelerate the browsing speed…
Did you use any other antivirus in the past? Which one?
LOL. 
What OS are you using? Is it Vista?
XP Professional - Service pack 2.
Seriously, this antivirus boosted my cable modem speed. I tested it like 3 times already – installed it/uninstalled it, to see if it is in fact Avast! doing it, and it is. It must’ve tweaked some registry settings or somethin’. Perhaps you should look into it, or not. Could be a bug in the program – a beneficial one 8).
I’ve used AVG and Norton in the past (not lately though). Computer’s been a sitting duck. So, I decided to give Avast! a try. So far, so good. It isn’t a bloated resource hog, like Norton is – is what I like about it. And after I uninstalled Norton, sure, I got some precious RAM back, but it didn’t accelerate my broadband speed in the slightest. Only after I installed this one, did I notice an odd, drastic boost in web browsing, downloading/uploading, etc.
Interesting indeed…
BTW does the “boost” take place even if you stop the avast Web Shield provider? (to do this, right-click the avast tray icon, and choose Stop Provider → Web Shield).
Thanks
Vlk
I want my boost too… It will be good to know what is happening in your computer and what the ‘hidden’ goodies of avast we can experiment… I’m curious…