Avira Antivirus Pro 2019 includes everything you need to establish a secure and private home network. From blocking threats to securing your communications and speeding up your devices, it’s a comprehensive solution – powered by a single smart scan. Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG is a German multinational computer security software company mainly known for their antivirus software Avira Free Security. Avira was founded in 2006, but the antivirus application has been under active development since 1986 through its predecessor company H+BEDV Datentechnik GmbH.
As of 2012, Avira software is estimated to have over 100 million customers. In June 2012, Avira ranked sixth in the antivirus market share report from OPSWAT.[1][2]
Avira’s headquarters are located near Lake Constance, in Tettnang, Germany. The company has additional offices in the US, China, Romania, and the Netherlands.[3]
The company supports the Auerbach Stiftung, a foundation created by the company’s founder, Tjark Auerbach. It promotes charitable and social projects, the arts, culture and science.
Technology
Virus Definition
Avira periodically “cleans out” its virus definition files, replacing specific signatures with generic ones for a general increase in performance and scanning speed. A 15 MB database clean-out was made on 27 October 2008, causing problems to the users of the Free edition because of its large size and Avira’s slow Free edition servers. Avira responded by reducing the size of the individual update files, delivering less data in each update. Nowadays there are 32 smaller definition files that are updated regularly in order to avoid peaks in the download of the updates.[4]
Advance Heuristic
Avira products contain heuristics that can proactively uncover unknown malware, before a special virus signature to combat the damaging element has been created and before a virus guard update has been sent.
Heuristic virus detection involves extensive analysis and investigation of the affected codes for functions typical of malware. If the code being scanned exhibits these characteristic features it is reported as being suspicious, although not necessarily malware; the user decides whether to act on or ignore the warning.
ProActiv
The ProActiv component uses rule sets developed by the Avira Malware Research Center to identify suspicious behavior. The rule sets are supplied by Avira databases. ProActiv sends information on suspicious programs to the Avira databases for logging.
Firewall
Avira removed their own firewall technology from 2014 onwards, with protection supplied instead by Windows Firewall (Windows 7 and after), because in Windows 8 and later the Microsoft Certification Program forces developers to use interfaces introduced in Windows Vista.[5]
Protection Cloud
Avira Protection Cloud (APC) was first introduced in version 2013. It uses information available via the Internet (cloud computing) to improve detection and affect system performance less. This technology was implemented in all paid 2013 products. APC was initially only used during a manual quick system scan; later it was extended to real-time protection. This improved Avira’s score in the AV-Comparatives and Report from September 2013. [6]
Partners
Avira offers its antivirus engine in the form of a software development kit to implement in complementary products. Strategic and technology partners of Avira include Canonical, CYAN Networks, IBM, intelligence AG, Microsoft, novell, OPSWAT, Synergy Systems and others.
On 4 September 2014, Avira announced a partnership with Dropbox, to combine Avira’s security with Dropbox’s “sync and share” capabilities.[7]
Tjark Auerbach, the founder of Avira sold almost 100% stakes of the company to the Investcorp Group of Manama (Bahrain) in April 2020.[8] [9] The stakes were reportedly sold at a price of 180 million dollars. The Investcorp Group has invested in several other firms from the cybersecurity sector in the past. The directors of Investcorp Group belong to several royal families of Middle East countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, etc. However, 20% of its total ordinary and preferred shares are owned by the Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Group since 2017. The UAE also serves as the headquarter of a cybersecurity firm discredited for its involvement in human rights abuses against activists, dissidents arrested for criticizing the monarchy; conducting cyber offensives against FIFA officials, and the ruler of Qatar; and the surveillance over Jamal Khashoggi.[10] The chairman of the Mubadala Group owns an institute called ECSSR or the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies & Research, which allegedly influenced German academics to gain soft-power and impact policies in the conflict of interest of the UAE.
