Avast Secure Browser was released in April 2018 and is a direct successor of the old Avast SafeZone Browser. It’s based on a Chromium engine (like Google Chrome) and focuses on three main areas – speed, privacy, and security. At the moment it is available only for Windows operating system, including Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and of course the latest 10. You can use it independently whether you have or haven’t Avast Antivirus installed.
Mac Tip #3 — Set your browser’s security settings Whether you are using Safari or something else, open up Preferences and find the tab(s) for security and privacy. Read through your options, and select all that turn off website tracking. Mac Tip #3 — Set your browser’s security settings Whether you are using Safari or something else, open up Preferences and find the tab(s) for security and privacy. Read through your options, and select all that turn off website tracking.
You probably wonder why you should switch from your current browser to Avast Secure Browser. The best argument is probably the speed, everyone loves the super fast browsing experience. According to Avast, web pages in Secure Browser are loaded up to 4x faster than in other popular browsers (like Chrome or Firefox). However, in our testing, we have revealed that is true only for resource-heavy sites with ads and/or flash elements. On the other hand, you will hardly find any site which wouldn’t have ads (even Google Search has them).
Level of security and privacy is definitely higher than in any standard (clean) browser. With Avast Secure Browser you will get Bank Mode, Anti-Phishing, Anti-Tracking, Anti-Fingerprinting and HTTPS encryption. Some other features like Stealth Mode or Privacy Cleaner look just like re-named features of Chrome (Incognito Mode and Clear Browsing Data).
Avast Secure Browser Features Overview
Avast Secure Browser offers many on-top features compared to popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox. The best thing is they are all present at one simple page with the detailed explanation and toggle to turn on/off each of them. What are they and what they are doing?
Can you email us at avast-team@avast.com with some more details on what's happening? We're concerned that it isn't working all the time for you -- we'd like to look into this. It sounds like you were able to install and use Avast, are the scans completing properly? Avast for mac review. We look forward to helping out and thank you for downloading Avast! Also, more information on your Mac (model and OS version) will help us narrow down the issue.
- Integration with Avast – Browser is sort of integrated with Avast Antivirus,Avast SecureLine VPN, and Avast Passwords, so you can scan your computer or connect to VPN server.
- Bank Mode – Very popular feature which was available also in the outdated Avast SafeZone Browser. Opens an isolated session for banking and shopping online where no one can steal (for example using keylogger) your personal data.
- Video Downloader – This is a very cool feature which allows you to download a video from the popular video sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, etc.). You can even select a quality of the video. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with Facebook
Avast Secure Browser – Video Downloader
- Adblock – By default browser has installed and enabled the popular extension for blocking all website ads.
- Flash Blocker – Automatically blocks any Flash technology from running. Flash is outdated, slow and vulnerable.
- Anti-Fingerprinting – Hides real information about your browser (version, extensions, etc.), so no one can identify you or track you.
- Anti-Phishing – Blocks dangerous websites and files before you even visit/download them.
- Anti-Tracking – Sets Do Not Track settings to tell websites to don’t collect information about your visit. This is also available in Chrome (Settings » Privacy and security » Send a “Do Not Track” request with your browsing traffic), but by default it’s disabled.
- Stealth Mode – Surf web without leaving any trace on your local drive like cookies or history. This is also available in Chrome via Ctrl + Shift + T (so-called Incognito Mode).
- HTTPS Encryption – Forces websites to use only HTTPS encryption so no one else can ‘see’ it. Please note this won’t help if the site doesn’t have it’s own SSL certificate.
- Password Manager – Allows you to select which password manager you want to use. You can also select pre-installed Avast Passwords Manager.
- Extension Guard – Protects you from installing malicious extensions (add-ons) to your browser. You can still install the trusted ones.
- Privacy Cleaner – Not much of a feature, simply opens settings to clear cache and browsing history. Obviously, this is available in all common browsers.
Avast Secure Browser – Features Overview & Settings
If you go to browser settings (top-right corner), you will notice they are basically the same as settings in Google Chrome.
Performance Speed Test vs. Google Chrome vs. Mozilla Firefox vs. Internet Explorer
Avast Search Browser
During our testing, we haven’t found major speed differences between Avast Secure Browser and Google Chrome. Mozilla Firefox, on the other hand, was the slowest one in all the tests. We haven’t tested Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Best Secure Browser For Mac
Speed Testing Tool | Avast Secure Browser | Google Chrome | Mozilla Firefox |
---|
Browsemark | 288.39 | 291.10 | 185.36 |
Octane 2.0 | 27,145 | 28,846 | 24,705 |
However, the testing environment is always different from the real web pages. In the real world, load times of most of them are influenced by the amount of data the browser needs to download and render. That is heavily influenced by advertisements, especially image/video ones. Since Avast Secure Browser has enabled Adblock and Flash Block by default, it may appear it is faster than Google Chrome. Actually, it is very similar (or same) as Google Chrome with these two plugins installed.
Avast Secure Browser Explained in 1 Minute Video
Conclusion – Is Avast Secure Browser Worth of Switching from Chrome or Firefox?
Overall Avast Secure Browser is very similar to Chrome with few extras focusing on enhancing browsing speed, security, and privacy. If you are tired of your current browser then you should definitely go ahead and give Avast browser a try, it’s for free. Especially if you are doing banking/shopping online the Bank Mode is extremely handy. You can also import bookmarks and passwords from other browsers on one-click.
However, the browser doesn’t support multiple user profiles which is a shame.
Free Download of Avast Secure Browser 2018
To download Avast Secure Browser, you can either install the latest Avast Antivirus or download the standalone browser using the button below.
To use the browser, you don’t need to have Avast Antivirus installed, it’s a stand-alone application.
Additional Notes
For measuring the browser performance we have used following tests:Browsermark andOctane 2.0. All of them are testing browser performance and speed using various methods like re-sizing 2D/3D objects using CSS, executing JavaScripts, GPU and DOM tests. All tests were performed on the same computer running on Windows 10 Professional x64 with CPU Intel Core i7 @ 2.70GHz and 8 GB RAM.
Avast Security Pro for Mac is the professional version of the hugely popular AV program. Efficient and comprehensive, the popularity stems from the reliable and trustworthy brand that Avast have created over the years. Although virus and malware issues are not as prevalent on the Mac platform as they are on Windows, there are serious threats out there that you will need protection from. Avast Security Pro for Mac's key features are the advanced ransomware protection tools and the advanced network security tools.
Avast Security Pro for Mac has a simple and easy to navigate UI. The key features can be easily reached in the sidebar and the homepage is customizable, so you can access the tools you use most often easily.
Avast Secure Browser Download
Avast Security Pro’s Ransomware Shield expands on the standard ransomware protection of Avast Free Mac Security, in order to stop ransomware variants from holding your files hostage. The tool can even go beyond the standard ransomware protection in order to stop any untrusted app from changing or deleting your protected data. Do you need avast online security for mac.
Avast Free Browser
Key Features include:
- Real time virus, spyware, and other threat detection.
- Secure personal files and photos from ransomware attacks.
- Instant alerts for network weaknesses and intruders.
- Malicious website warning for safer online payments.
- Mail Shield.
- Custom Scan options.
- File Shield.
- Web Shield.
- WiFi Inspector.
Comprehensive Protection is something that Avast takes very seriously. With Avast Security Pro for Mac you can be sure that your protection is first rate. With a constantly updated database of virus definitions, your computer will be protected against the latest spyware, viruses and potentially hazardous websites.
Avast Security For Mac Download
Avast’s large and active community quickly alerts the development team of new security threats which are swiftly countered and added to Avast’s significant database. The browser add-on further improves computer security with features like cookie and social tracking blocking.
Overall, Avast Security Pro for Mac is without a doubt, one of the best total security suite's available for the Mac platform. It is relatively lightweight and super-efficient, while still providing a comprehensive security protection for your Mac. The appearance is clean and uncluttered, with buttons intuitively labelled and positioned, so the app can be navigated by users of all levels of expertise.