avast! Free Antivirus 5.0 is not only the best free antivirus product in the world, it may be the best antivirus product – free or paid. VirusBulletin recently described it as Nothing short of a miracle. It is not an old-fashioned signature detection product, avast Free antivirus is based on multiple protective layers that work together to provide award-winning security.

New features match top detection with increased efficiency. Computer memory requirements for the new antivirus and antispyware engine have been cut in half. Scanning is 40 percent faster, saving both time and computer resources. Complete rootkit protection includes real-time detection to ward off initial installation, on-demand scanning and boot-time scans.

The user friendly 5.0 has a new interface with easy-to-adjust settings, a context-sensitive help menu and graphs showing ongoing protection activities. Users can set the time and conditions for complete scans, with avast even waking up their computer from hibernation for midnight scans before putting it back to bed.

The two major pathways for malware into a computer are the web and email, with around 80 percent of new infections caught through internet browsing. avast! provides separate defensive strategies for each.

avast! Free Antivirus is designed for the average consumer who wants easy-to-use protection for basic email and web surfing. It is limited to home and non-commercial users.