The Avira Protection Cloud

Malware detection is reaching new heights.

  • Every day, new threats arrive on the scene, tasking your antivirus with ever more malware to scan, detect and block. That’s why we’re raising your security to the cloud, freeing your system’s resources for the good stuff: work, web, games, communication. Take your protection sky high with cloud scans as fast as lightning and virus information that is updated in real time.

Cloud Scanning: More muscle, less weight.

When you enable the Protection Cloud, the digital fingerprint of suspicious executable files on your PC (e.g., .exe, .dll) is checked against real-time virus data in the cloud. If an unknown file is found—that’s rare for most people—it’s uploaded for inspection and then classified as clean or infected. But fear not: we won’t upload your documents, pictures or other personal files.


Matching just a tiny fingerprint consumes a fraction of the system power it would take to comb through an entire file. The result? Ultrafast scanning that conserves maximum PC power for your normal activities. What’s more, cloud scanning works with virus information that is updated nonstop in the cloud. So you’re protected against the latest threats, even between regular product updates.


Ready to take to the skies?

For home use, the Avira Protection Cloud is included with Antivirus Premium 2013, Internet Security 2013 and Internet Security Plus 2013.

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In our business line, Avira Protection Cloud is an integral component of Avira Professional Security 2013 and is incorporated into our business bundles: Avira Endpoint Security, Avira Small Business Security Suite and Avira Business Security Suite.

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  • The Avira application discovers a suspicious file on a PC.
  • The file's digital fingerprint is extracted and sent to the Avira Protection Cloud for review.
  • The fingerprint is compared with those of files that have previously been analyzed by the Protection Cloud. This process can have two outcomes:
  • The fingerprint belongs to a file that has previously been analyzed in the Protection Cloud. It's immediately labeled as clean or malware.
  • The fingerprint is new to the Protection Cloud. The complete file is uploaded to the Protection Cloud, thoroughly examined and judged as clean or malware.
  • The Protection Cloud informs the status of the fingerprint (clean or malware) to the Avira application on the PC.
  • If the file is classified as malware, the Avira application removes the threat.
 

We’re all in this together.

By activating the Protection Cloud in your Avira product, you are banding together with Avira and our whole
user community to recognize and stop malware before it spreads and infects other users.

  • Detection updates in real time
    Protection is based on the most current malware information at all times, not just when your antivirus software downloads virus definitions.
  • Scanning that is lighter than air
    The files accessed by your computer are matched against the fingerprints of files stored in the cloud. As more scanning is done in the cloud, less processing power is required by the antivirus application.
  • Access to the very latest anti-malware technology
    Access Avira’s super computing malware analysis grid and get the best Avira detection ever.
  • Prevention of false positives
    When our Virus Lab has access to unknown files at an earlier stage, it can classify them sooner and with more sophisticated analysis systems.
  • A bird’s-eye view of the threat landscape
    The Protection Cloud serves as a central location to observe attempted cyber attacks throughout our user base. In turn, our ability to address potential outbreaks is dramatically enhanced.
 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  • What kind of data gets exchanged between the cloud and my PC?

    The files shared with the Protection Cloud are executables, for example files that end with .exe or .dll. PDFs, text files, pictures, Word documents and other private files are not uploaded to the Cloud. The Avira Protection Cloud transmits the file path to our system. To protect customers' privacy, the user name gets deleted from the path.

  • What data gets uploaded exactly?

    An executable file is only uploaded if the Protection Cloud does not recognize it. After upload, it is analyzed and classified as either clean or infected. When the same file is detected on another computer, it is not uploaded because its existence already known to the Protection Cloud.

  • How do I know which files are uploaded, if any?

    At the end of each cloud scan, there is a report that includes all information about scanned and uploaded files. The cloud scanner can be customized so that a user must confirm each upload and can deselect data that shouldn't be uploaded. Full reports can be found at Control Center > Reports > Scan Reports.

  • Can anyone get access to my uploaded data?

    No. Uploaded data is only used for malware analysis and is saved in our cloud data center. Sharing this data with third parties is prohibited. Everything happens automatically: no one checks the files individually.

  • Is the uploaded data encrypted?

    Yes. The exchange of files between the user’s system and the Protection Cloud is always encrypted, although the content is always of a non-personal nature.

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