1. The protection is the same in the free version as it is in the Paid versions. What you are paying for are the additional items
    like, firewall, spam blocking, etc
  2. I did one Boot Time Scan when I installed the latest release of avast!. After that, I let the on demand scanners take care of anything new or changed.
  3. VPS updates are automatic. Program updates are manual and you’re informed that there is a program update available.
  4. Infected files in the chest are out of harms way. so you can leave them there till you are ready to delete them and you’re sure they aren’t a false positive.
  5. Yes that’s how new protection gets to everyone else.