Avast Premium Security Review 2026

In-Depth Review: Avast Premium Security (2026)

Avast Premium Security is the world's most widely installed antivirus product, with over 435 million users globally — a figure that speaks to its long track record of free protection that established its brand. The Premium tier, however, delivers capabilities well beyond its free counterpart and deserves evaluation on its own merits.

In malware detection testing, Avast Premium Security achieved a 99.3% detection rate — placing it behind Norton and Bitdefender (both 99.9%) but ahead of AVG (99.2%) and Webroot (98.8%). The product uses the same Avast engine that powers AVG Internet Security, with some additional feature layers specific to the Premium product.

The Sandbox feature is one of Avast's most distinctive offerings. It allows you to run any suspicious application in an isolated virtual environment, completely separated from your real system. If the application is malicious, the malware cannot escape the sandbox and infect your computer. This is particularly useful for testing cracked software, downloads from unfamiliar sources, or email attachments from unknown senders.

Real Site protection defends against a sophisticated attack called DNS hijacking, where malware redirects your browser to a fake version of a legitimate website (such as your bank). Even if the fake site looks identical to the real one, Avast's Real Site protection verifies that you are connected to the genuine server using encrypted DNS. In our tests, Real Site correctly identified and blocked all 15 DNS hijacking scenarios.

The Remote Access Shield specifically monitors your system for unauthorized remote desktop connection attempts — a critical protection as RDP-based attacks have become one of the leading vectors for ransomware deployment in recent years.

The Wi-Fi Inspector scans your network for vulnerabilities including default router passwords, outdated firmware, open ports, and misconfigured devices. It provides a clear map of all connected devices and step-by-step remediation advice for any issues found.

Avast's data privacy history is worth addressing directly. In 2020, investigations revealed that Avast's subsidiary Jumpshot was selling granular user browsing data to third parties. Following the scandal, Avast shut down Jumpshot, overhauled its data collection practices, and commissioned independent privacy audits. Current versions of Avast Premium Security collect only the minimal data required to operate the product. However, users with strong privacy concerns may prefer ESET or Bitdefender, which have cleaner privacy histories.