Avira's 2012 Products Emphasize Simplicity with 'Fix It Now' Button

German security vendor Avira will release 2012 editions of their security products next month, the company said.

PCMag.com recently met with Tjark Auerbach, Avira's chief executive, and Chris Weltzien, Managing Director of Avira's new North American division, to talk about what's been happening with the company.

This year marks Avira's 25th anniversary; that's impressive longevity! Also this year, the company moved from 13 scattered locations to a single building. "I much prefer meeting people face-to-face," said Auerbach. "I'm happy to drive a couple hours and talk in person rather than just use the telephone." Avira has also opened a North American office in San Francisco.

Security Products
I last reviewed Avira Premium Security Suite 10 and the free Avira AntiVir Personal 10 in the spring of 2010. That's long enough ago that Avira had fallen off my radar just a bit. Auerbach explained that Avira skipped version 11 in order to restructure the development department. "Our way was good, but not optimal," said Auerbach. "We decided almost a year ago to change ourselves into an agile development company. That's uncommon for a German company."

Although there was no version 11, Avira released two service packs for version 10, to keep it current. The coming 2012 products are the last ones using the older development style; the 2013 edition will be all new.

About the 2012 products Weltzien said, "The interface is cleaner, the communication is easier. There are more default configurations and fewer questions. My own favorite is the 'fix it now' button. If there's a problem, just click and fix it!" Auerbach noted that the typical age of an Avira user is over 45. "This is a product for the die-hards," said Auerbach, "the ones who still know how to use a C: prompt."

What about Windows 8?
I asked Auerbach for his thoughts on the antivirus protection announced for Windows 8, admitting that I haven't been impressed by Microsoft Security Essentials. "You can be impressed or not," replied Auerbach, "but they have done a good job. Hats off to Redmond for building antivirus into Windows. I know some of the developers personally and they've been working like hell on this. I just hope the malware writers won't find a way to disable it."

I'll review Avira's 2012 free antivirus and full security suite as soon as they become available.

Download Avira 2012 Beta Versions