Press Releases

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:

• Lower System Impact: With the new version of Avast Antivirus, PC boot time is now, on average, 11% faster. In addition, the Avast Antivirus download is faster due to a smaller file size, and the cloud-based security analysis frees up the processor for other things. According to independent research from testing institution AV-Comparatives, Avast has half as much system impact as Windows Defender on Windows 10.
• CyberCapture: A leading technology developed by Avast’s Threats Labs to analyze unrecognized files, CyberCapture defends and warns users about new threats. It allows Avast’s team of expert security analysts to communicate with users in real-time and ensure that they are protected from any new threats before opening a potentially dangerous file.
• New Monthly Product Updates: Avast will now release new software updates and features on a monthly basis for more convenient threat detection and security to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. The updates are applied automatically.
• Leading HTTPS Security: With Web Shield, Avast scans all HTTPS sites for potential malware and threats. Around 30% of all the web traffic today runs through HTTPS. Avast detects an average of 50,000 infected unique HTTPS URLs every day, and each month, Avast protects around 3.2 million users from downloading malware or accessing malware distribution sites using HTTPS. An independent study by Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, has shown that Avast provides the market’s most secure HTTPS Scanner.
• Improved Home Network Security: The Nitro update brings with it improved router security, including detection of 12 more types of router vulnerabilities, protecting users from threats like DNS hijacks and banking hacks, and to keep network drives and routers fully secured.
• Enhanced SafeZone browser: SafeZone browser is available for all Avast Free or Premium users. In its new version, the browser runs faster, protecting people’s privacy in isolated sessions while they are shopping, banking and browsing online. The browser also offers a nicer browsing experience by giving the option to block ads.

The Nitro Update for Avast Antivirus is available to all current Avast users and can also be downloaded for free at www.avast.com.