The latest version of avast! Antivirus, avast! 2014, introduced many new features to our customers, but one feature we hope will please our United Kingdom users the most is the new voice they hear reporting to them that their computer is safe. The voice is that of Patricia Rykiel, voice of The London Minute which airs across North America on the Computer America show.

Here at Avast we are always striving to make our product user-friendly and pleasant, which is why we asked Patricia to be the voice of avast! 2014. Her smooth, soothing, and clear voice together with her knowledge and position in the computer world is the perfect fit for the voice of Avast in the UK, to help our UK users feel more “at home” and secure by hearing a familiar accent telling them that their “Virus database has been updated.”

Patricia is the creator and voice of The London Minute, a weekly audio column that airs on the US-syndicated radio show Computer America, as well as on the podcast I Confess I’m a Geek, a UK-based technology show. In addition to this, she helps people in West Sussex, England love their computer (which happens to be the name of her website!), by teaching them how to get the most out of their computer experience based on their interests and needs.

Change the voice of avast! Antivirus

For the international community of Avast users, you can enjoy the voice of Patricia by manually changing the language to “English (United Kingdom)” by opening the Avast user interface, and going into Appearance/Language settings. If your regional settings are set to the UK, you will automatically hear Patricia. If you don't see it in the listings, you will need to do a manual software update first. Right click on the avast! icon in your system tray (bottom right), then click Update and choose Program.

You can also try out fun voices like the popular "Pirate," or just in time for the holidays get a little ho-ho-ho in your notifications with the "Santa" voice, by visiting the avast! Voices tab on Facebook.

To hear Patricia in the UK as you protect your computer, download AVAST 2014 here!

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