Avast has released the first public betas of Avast Free Antivirus 2014, Avast Pro Antivirus 2014, Avast Internet Security 2014, and Avast Premier Antivirus. The new releases see notable improvements in many different areas, including a new user interface.
Avast now has DeepScreen technology which helps the antivirus to make smarter decisions about how and when to sandbox unknown files. Enhanced streaming updates and extended cloud scanning helps you detect new threats right away, and if something does turn up, then improved cleaning will get rid of it more reliably.
New web technologies include an extended do-not-track feature, which avast! claims “uses a proprietary technology that cannot be overridden by the servers”. An easier-to-use SafeZone automatically opens banking sites to protect your transactions, and the web browser plugins have been rewritten to keep you safer online.
Raw in-memory scan times can be much faster, for some file types at least; EXE files are now checked around twice as quickly, text contents (web pages, scripts) are up to 10x faster. The bulk of the scan time is taken by loading this content in the first place, so the performance you see won’t change too much.
Download: Avast Free Antivirus 2014 Beta