Alwil Software has released three new security products today, all of which include version 5 of the popular Avast antivirus. Avast Free Antivirus is now the company's flagship product and replaces Avast Home Edition, Avast Pro Antivirus is an update to the old Professional edition, and Avast Internet Security is a new software suite.

Version 5 brings several improvements, such as a smaller footprint that uses fewer system processes, quicker scan speeds, a "Behavioral Shield" for threats not present in Avast's definitions, and a revamped GUI. Meanwhile, the Pro and Internet Security options add a script shield, a sandbox, and a command line scanner. As a suite, of course, Internet Security also has an anti-spam filter and built-in firewall.


The official Avast blog notes that if you're using version 4.8, updating to 5 is painless. You can download the base software here free of charge, but the Pro and Internet Security solutions are $39.95 and $59.95, respectively.