# I thought Avast was free



## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

So I got it. Now I get a notice that it expires tomorrow without a renewal of $20. Jay said to come on here and see what you could do or suggest I do.


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## goodatit (May 1, 2013)

search for Avast free license, Bill. then you'll get the free version. that is true for any program you search for.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

*Cons*

*The sales pitch can be tricky to navigate:* A free program still costs money to make, and its maker will use a variety of methods to persuade you to become a paying customer. Avast Free Antivirus's main method is to put some tools in its interface that redirect you to purchase pages when you click them, or -- in the case of the VPN service -- entering you into a free 7-day trial that you can stumble into if you click too quickly. In the case of Avast Cleanup -- integrated into the Scan menu as &quot;scan for performance issues&quot; -- the tool goes through the process of checking for things that needs to be fixed, then redirects you to sales pitch when you tell the tool to fix the problems that it's discovered. 
It's not necessarily a bad thing if an app integrates sales pitches into its interface. However, Avast Free Antivirus indicates two different price structures if you decide to upgrade to Avast Internet Security. The UI tells you that you will be paying $29.99, with an original MSRP of $69.99. But when you click that button, you'll be sent to a window with three choices, where the default choice is a two-year subscription of $39.99. Or you can get one year of coverage for $19.99. None of the MSRPs on this second window screen are $69.99, so it's not 100% clear if this is the same product, or what has been lost -- if anything -- by going from $29.99 to $19.99. On the bright side, PayPal is an option, if you prefer not to use a credit card.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Bill, my suggestion is to uninstall Avast. If you are running Win 7 or newer, install the native program from MS that comes with your computer -- Microsoft Security Essentials. You won't get a nag screen on that as it is completely free. Both Avast and AVG have paid versions and even if you download the free one, they will still nag you every few days to upgrade.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I dont know about win7 or win8, never used them. But on win10, as soon as you uninstall a third party anti virus, windows native program takes over. The hard part anymore is getting any of the build in windows programs to ever turn off. Microsoft considers them essential to the "windows experience"..... no matter what the actual owner of the computer wants.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

You need to read what you are agreeing to. There is a free version but the way the website is designed it attempts to guide you to the paid version.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> You need to read what you are agreeing to. There is a free version but the way the website is designed it attempts to guide you to the paid version.


Yes, when Avast free has a major update they will offer to either update the free version or switch you to the paid version. The way to tell is that the free option will be in black & white while the paid version will be in color, promising better protection. Always select the black & white option to stay with the free version.

Another clue is the difference between "update" and "upgrade." You'll select "update" for the free version, and "upgrade" for the paid version.

Free = Black & white "update"
Paid = Color "upgrade"


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