2020 changed the world. Globally and locally, our lives were turned upside down and locked down. In response, the internet transformed into a critical lifeline to services and our loved ones. It was very clear: The internet was no longer optional. But not only was it not optional, it was not the safest place.

Seeing that the world was shifting rapidly from the days when we were only worried about our computers getting viruses, people were increasingly telling us they wanted to protect their privacy, money, and their identities – in addition to their devices. People wanted all the protection and performance they needed, but they didn’t want to have to be an expert to understand how to get it. They also told us they had enough of the tracking, the targeting, and the snooping. And all of this really resonated with us here at Avast.

We believe that everyone has a foundational right to security and privacy. This has been a part of our story since we began offering our esteemed antivirus for free over 20 years ago. But we could see that more was needed. Antivirus is important, but it’s no longer enough for total protection.

That is why, today, we are announcing the availability of Avast One. Avast One provides security, privacy and identity protection, performance, and more through one easy-to-use platform. With Avast One, we are re-inventing the category of digital protection by providing an integrated privacy and security service that is available to everyone for free. For those who want even more comprehensive protection for more devices, we have premium protection options available. 

“What started as a wide-open, democratic, and free vision for a digital world has become compromised by security and privacy threats,” says Vita Santrucek, Chief Product Officer at Avast. “People feel vulnerable online, but they struggle to know what to do about it. With our new Avast One service, we enable people to feel confident online.”

Free, award-winning, cross-platform protection

Avast One is available in three different versions: Essential, the most comprehensive free service available today; and premium services Avast One Individual and Avast One Family. All Avast One versions work across the devices in your household and in your pocket, and are available for Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS. 

Avast One deploys Avast’s award-winning antivirus engines to provide maximum protection from malware such as ransomware, spyware, and phishing attacks. Independent testing institutions, including AV-Test, AV-Comparatives, VB100, and SE Labs, consistently recognize Avast Free Antivirus threat detection engines as test winners and leaders in both efficacy and performance impact. Recent examples are AV-Comparatives’ anti-phishing test, in which Avast took home the top score versus competing solutions, and AV-TEST’s May and June consumer antivirus test, in which Avast achieved six out of six points. To verify Avast's One performance, Avast also worked with AV-TEST to put it through standard intensive lab tests and benchmarks. Avast One scored a performance score and a protection score of 6/6, delivering a 100% detection rate for real world threats and a 99.96% detection of prevalent malware.

Customers will enjoy an easy-to-use personalized dashboard, with tailored recommendations to improve their privacy, security, or device performance. With options for both individual and family needs, Avast One keeps up to 30 devices protected across the entire household. 

Avast One Essential: The core free platform offers Avast’s award-winning security protection coupled with a generous Virtual Private Network allowance for regular browsing use, data breach monitoring service, and a software updater feature. It includes:

• Protection: Avast One Essential includes award-winning antivirus protection from cyber threats, including ransomware, spyware, and phishing attacks. It also comes with a firewall that blocks incoming connections and prevents leaks of sensitive data. Finally, Ransomware Shield gives you an additional layer of protection for your important files and folders. 

• Privacy: Avast One Essential includes a generous VPN allowance of 5GB per week, (which leads major security providers in the market), so you can always connect securely and privately. You also get free identity protection via the Data Breach Monitoring feature, which  enables you to find out if your account has been compromised, and the ability to Clear Browsing Data to limit the tracking and sharing of your personal information.

• Performance: Finally, PC Speedup optimizes the background activity of your apps to improve your device’s performance and a Software Updater keeps commonly-used third party software up to date and eliminates potential security risks.

Avast One Individual or Family: For users seeking comprehensive protection, the premium versions include full featured privacy, security and performance components for true peace of mind. In addition to all of the features offered by Essential, Avast One Individual or Family includes: 

• Security: An advanced Firewall that hides your PC’s identifiers from other devices on the network and notifies you the moment other devices scan the PC for open ports. You’re protected from Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) spoofing attacks — which is when cybercriminals mask their computer as a network member to steal information — and from DNS hijacking, via the Web Hijack Guard feature. Meanwhile, the Webcam Shield prevents applications and malware from accessing your PC's webcam without your consent. In a world where many store their passwords in their browser, Avast One helps you secure them against malware and unwanted applications.

• Privacy: People can automatically monitor five (Individual) or 10 (Family) emails via the Data Breach Monitoring feature to observe whether they have been compromised in a data leak. With Avast One, users also have access to unlimited VPN services and can choose from 55 server locations in 34 countries to protect their sensitive data while browsing or completing sensitive transactions.

• Performance: With Avast One’s Driver Updater, you can securely update your drivers, improving and protecting your device. To prevent supply-chain-attacks, every single update is checked by the Avast Threat Labs for viruses. Disk Cleaner also keeps your PC performance strong and fast by allowing you to find and clean redundant junk files.

“People want to protect their complete online identity — not just their physical devices — because they are increasingly sharing personal moments on public social platforms,” Santrucek says. “We’re responding to people’s clear desire to control what they choose to share and who has access to that personal information.”

Avast One is available on Android, iOS, Mac and Windows for download now in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.