On Demand Scan comparison Avira Personal vs Security Suite vs Command Line Scan

[Funkysourav]

Hi guys
as the name of the thread suggests
i want to know the difference in performance and effectiveness of
On Demand Scan
Between various Avira products
Avira Antivir Personal vs Avira Premium Security Suite vs Avira Command Line Scannner

[sujay]

AFAIK among the installable products, all versions offer similar features in scan settings and effectiveness. Command line scanner is also similar in terms of effectiveness and settings but you should read the manual properly to use all the parameters. It is rather less user friendly IMHO.

[Funkysourav]

Apart from the lack of a GUI and user friendliness
isn't it true that the Avira Commandline Scanner(and Antivir Personal)
use a rundown version of the Scan engine(on demand) available in Premium Versions?(i.e Antivir Premium and Premium Security Suite)

[sujay]

Apart from the lack of a GUI and user friendliness
isn't it true that the Avira Commandline Scanner(and Antivir Personal)
use a rundown version of the Scan engine(on demand) available in Premium Versions?(i.e Antivir Premium and Premium Security Suite)

Well I am not very sure. Need to check out....

[212eta]

Apart from the lack of a GUI and user friendliness
isn't it true that the Avira Commandline Scanner(and Antivir Personal)
use a rundown version of the Scan engine(on demand) available in Premium Versions?(i.e Antivir Premium and Premium Security Suite)

What makes the Difference is the Frequency of Updates:
-Avira AntiVir Personal (Freeware) receives delayed Updates (usually Once a Day).
-Avira Antivir Premium and Premium Security Suite receive frequent Updates in a Day.

As far as the Scan Engine, all three (3) versions (i.e. Personal, Premium, and Premium Security Suite) use the same Scan Engine supported by ProActive Technology (i.e. Behavior Blocker).

[sm1]

I don't think avira personal and premium use same engines as premium scores somewhat better than personal (free) in virus bulletin RAP test. See here

[safeguy]

Effectiveness of on-demand scan?

From what I can deduce, the engine is the same...only additional features are included in the "higher"/"paid" editions of the Avira products...none of which affect an on-demand scan (at least for me) which is the topic sentence of this thread.

Using the new Avira AntiVir Command Line Scanner ScanCL you can scan your system fast and easy from the command prompt. The ScanCL works with the new Avira AntiVir Engine, which comes with even better detection rate and scanning speed.

Source: Avira AntiVir Command Line Scanner ScanCL

Comparison between Avira AntiVir Personal (free) and Avira AntiVir Premium:

Compare products

AntiPhishing proactive protection against phishing
AntiVirProActiv detects unknown viruses by their behavior patterns
WebGuard protection against malicious websites
RescueSystem create a bootable rescue CD
AntiDrive-by prevents against downloading viruses when surfing .
MailGuard enhanced email protection

Source: Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus

Note: Avira Premium Security Suite includes other features like anti-bot, anti-spam, firewall, etc as listed here

If you're concerned over how it affects real-time protection, I've discussed this before here (when I was an Avira 'fanboy')

Why Avira Free is the best free AV and why I don't need the Premium versions

The only thing that's new and worthy of mention/discuss since that thread is "AntiVirProActiv":

AntiVirProActiv
Release of Avira AntiVir 10

Many users waited for Avira AntiVir ProActiv, our behavioral blocking component. It monitors the program activity on the computer and as soon as suspicious behavior gets detected, blocks the program from running. Also, in case the malware is yet unknown, the user can take part in the Avira Community and send the sample to the Avira Malware Researchers for an in-depth analysis. This way, every user of Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira Premium Security Suite can help making the Internet a safer place as detection for this malware gets added to all Avira products.

The new “generic repair” can better clean computers from infections. Instead of just deleting the malware file when there exists no special repair routine, Avira AntiVir now cleans the registry and the filesystem from further garbage which a virus may have left on the system. This ensures for example that a PC is still bootable when a malware has been removed.

I've not had the chance to experience how Avira's ProActiv works...so don't ask me on that. If you're wondering what's the difference between heuristics and behavior blockers, you can refer to the following links:

Proactive Protection: a Panacea for Viruses?
Behavior Blocking: The Next Step in Anti-Virus Protection
What is Behavior Blocking? How does it work?
Antivirus heuristics VS behavior blocker?
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1604329&postcount=63

P.S. Erm....it's been some time I've used Avira I wonder how's the development like....does anyone have anything to say in regards to current experience with the product?

[212eta]

I don't think avira personal and premium use same engines as premium scores somewhat better than personal (free) in virus bulletin RAP test. See here

It is the Signature UPDATE Frequency that makes the Difference; not the Scan Engine itself.

-The Free version is Updated Only ONCE a Day.

-The paid versions are Updated More Frequently
through the Fast Premium Update Server.

[hellnoire]

Indeed... no definition updates, so their on demand scans will turn up all the same.

[sm1]

Thanks 212eta and hellnoire. I got this doubt as avira premium is little ahead in proactive detection in RAP test.