Is my system really fully protected?

Avast says it is on its summary page, but isn’t this rather misleading, particularly to the less computer savvy user, with potentially disastrous consequences?

Otherwise, as a recent Avira refugee, I’m very impressed with Avast.

Let me put it this way…theoretically yes. Most if not all of us supplement their protection with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and Super Anti-Spyware. If you decide to use both MBAM and SAS be sure to update before each scan. :slight_smile:

http://filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
http://filehippo.com/download_superantispyware/

Yes, these are excellent on-demand scanners that I use regularly. The reason I started the thread was for this very reason. I suggested to a friend who uses Avast free that they install Malwarebytes as a second opinion scanner but they said they didn’t need to because Avast said they were fully protected. I think this gives people a false sense of security. It would be better to say, for instance, what Comodo Internet Security say on their summary page, which is simply that all systems are active and running.

I might be wrong, but I think it is more of a “windows dictionary” (just to call it in some way).

What I mean is that Windows Security (Action) Center uses the same kind of terminology (more in the documentation than in the normal usual GUI).

In any case, I agree that it could be better to use some “not-so-absolute” qualification/name.

Another similar problem arises when the tray icon says “Your System is secured”, but the database is not updated or some shield is not active. The opposite case is also relevant to this discussion. In both cases, users tend to confuse the meaning of “system secured” or “system not fully protected”. One common/usual question is “why Avast says I am not fully protected, if all my security tools and scans says all is clean?”. I do see a difference between being “clean” (static) and being protected/secured (action), but not all users see it that way.

In a way, is the same as a car having “some” passive protection, and lacking from “some” possible active systems. Being “secured” sounds “too absolute”.

IMHO, Avast Software should find a more accurate terminology for the future Avast 7.

It is “not” a false sense of security. Your system is fully protected. I’m just saying having “layered” protection is wisdom in action. :slight_smile: