AD from Avast

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Hello
I have a friend who is blind. I have helped him to install Free Avast Antivirus. When the registration expires, then an AD from Avast pops up on the screen. As he can’t see anything he has a Speech synthesis. This tool helps him to use the computer as well as anyone else. The AD blocks his Speech synthesis completely, as the AD don’t use STANDARD PROCEEDING.
Every screen in other programs will disappear when you hit ALT+F4 but not this AD. As a comsequence of this he can’t use his computer which is very annoying, specilly for him as he can’t see. He asks me to remove this program (AVAST ANTIVIRUS). Please help him - how can he get rid of this problem.

2

thanks for reporting, i will fix the problem, for now he can press Escape to close
the add window.

3

He is using windows XP and ESC don´t close the AD-window. So please hurry up to fix this irritating problem for him. OK?

rgds

4

the tone is rude ::slight_smile: … and what prevents you from helping your friend to complete the registration process (or renew his registration for a year) and get rid of the popup ???

5

This is not an AD :

When the registration expires, then an AD from Avast pops up on the screen.

It is, however, a warning that the registration has expired, that his computer is unprotected, and that it is vulnerable to malware if all types … some of which will also make it impossible for him to use his computer and probably for a much longer time that the pop-up will.

Please, help him with the registration so his computer will not become infected.

By the way, this warning should start appearing approximately 2 weeks before the registration expires. Expiration should not be allowed to happen. With Avast 5, registering can be done on the GUI.

6

of course it’s not an ad ::slight_smile:

7

Carlmikael,

The support for 4.8 will end very shortly and that means your friend will no longer get virus definitions updates and his machine may get infected. Therefore, we are suggesting that you help your friend to uninstall Avast 4.8 and do a clean install of a newer version.

In the meantime, yonatan, who works for Avast, is going to fix the problem however the situation exists where your friend is going to be without antivirus updates very shortly if he doesn’t get the new version installed on his machine.

Here is how to uninstall Avast 4.8 and do a clean install of the newest version and you can help him do this.

I am giving you the download files for both 5.1.889 and the older version 5.0.677 since I don’t know if the newer version is compatible with Speech synthesis. If you install v.677 and later decide to upgrade, you will need to follow the procedure below to uninstall and do a clean install for the newer version or wait for a newer version to come out, which I’m sure there will be.

  1. Save a copy of newest version of Avast and save it to your HDD (hard drive):

Version 5.1.889 download files: - may/may not be compatible with Speech synthesis
Free: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe

Version 5.0.677 download files:
Free – http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free_eng.exe

  1. Download the Avast Uninstall Utility http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility and save it to your HDD (it has uninstall tools for all Avast versions and products).
  2. Disconnect from the Internet at this time.
  3. Go to Control Panel and uninstall Avast through Add/Remove Programs if possible and reboot.
  4. If Step 4 fails, boot into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly) and run the Avast Uninstall Tool. Uninstall version 4.0 and any other version and product of Avast he had on this machine at this time.
  5. Reboot.
  6. Install the newest version of Avast and reboot.
  7. Get Internet access and register your copy Free:
    Free – http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php
  8. Update the Avast definitions.

Knowledge based article:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=504#idt_0003

Let us know how this works. Thank you. :slight_smile:

8

@safesurf ::slight_smile: what’s the need to post a 10 miles long canned answer when you don’t even know if the OP is using Avast 4.8 ??? and that’s without saying that he precisely reported about an expiration popup, not an upgrade one ;D

edit: if you’re referring to his other few posts mentioning 4.7 … they’re from 2007 :smiley: he may be still running 4.8, but he didn’t say it. But he said “avast free”, and not “avast home” :wink:

9

SafeSurf, I know that you are aware that Version 5.1.889 is not beta but an official release, but others may misquote this in other threads. See http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=69305.0 and http://www.avast.com/release-history.

10

I have register and got a new key! I have hoped that it last for almost a year but the pop up didn´t disappeared and after that he can´t use his computer.

11

If you registered and got a new key, where did you input it ?

If you used the avastUI to register(?) you don’t actually see a new key, that is done within the avastUI seamlessly. The Registration section should show A) Current Status: Registered, B) Current registration will expire on: and C) the Date of registration:.

What shows in these fields ?

12

What version of Avast, 4.x.x or 5.0.x or 5.1.x?
Which version did you register and receive the key for?

The answers affect the solution.

13

Version 4.8 Home Edition
Build Sep 2009 4.8.1368
VPS 2011-01-17
Update expire 1 feb 2012

14

To clarify, you received a key for Avast Free/Home for 4.8 for 1 year? Where did you get this from? The support (virus definitions updates) will be discontinued shortly for 4.8, that is why we are having users change to a newer version, and you do not need a key to register – it is done online within the Avast GUI.

By the way, I waiting for a reply from yonatan to find out which version is compatible with the Speech Synthesis (version 5.0 or 5.1). We will let you know in this thread.

15

Hello,

I cannot reproduce this problem here - the window closes when alt+F4 is pressed.
Which version of avast are you using?
you may check it in the summary page.

thanks
Yonatan

16

Avastversion 4.8. Home Editon
Build sep 2009 4.8.1368
regards
Mikael

17

Is your friend using any other kind of security software currently or in the past on this machine including:

  • Antivirus (AV)

  • Firewall (FW)

  • Trial versions of AV, FW and other security programs

  • Other security software

  • If they were in the past, how did you remove them (the vendor’s uninstaller’s tool or another way)?

Sometimes remnants can cause issues.

Also, where did your friend get the 1-year license for 4.8 from?

18

Not sure whether adding this post will be of help, but still…

Could it be that, rather than the license expiry notification, Carlmikael is perhaps wishing to refer to the upgrade one (reads “avast! Licensing Alert” in the title bar) that, starting recently, now insistently pops up on every boot?.. (This: http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/7892/avastupgradealert.jpg) This one does indeed have the looks of an ad, is rather big (in a 800x600 resolution, it pretty much takes the whole screen), it indeed does not close by pressing ALT+F4 (even though, if you right-click its button in the task bar or click the icon in its window title bar, it does show the usual “X Close ALT+F4”) but only by hitting the in the window upper right corner, and, as I was also mentioning in another thread, unlike before, this upgrade notification popup doesn’t seem to get “disabled” by re-registering/entering a new license key (I too have tried that only to conclude it now no longer results).

Then again, concerning SafeSurf’s question above, I can also add, as I had also mentioned in that other thread, that I too have just re-registered my Avast Home 4.8 (just last week, on the 13th) and received too a new license key, expiring on February 1st 2012 at 00:00:00. (Previous key would expire only in summer, June or July, can’t remember for sure now, but as I was saying, I went for renewal now in hope that that would, as it had before, “disable” the upgrade notification popup. Regrettably though it didn’t now.) Registration done, as per usual, via the Avast website, license centre page: http://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php

On the other hand, and back to the Avast upgrade notification popup (in case of that being the case upsetting Carlmikael and his friend) and to “disabling” it (i.e. keep it from popping up on every boot), if helpful (eventually it may work out as a temporary alternative solution?) I can perhaps still add that the one way I could go around that was to rename the executable file that displays this popup, asw5Not2.exe (which is found in the Avast 4 program folder, [i]%programfiles%\Alwil Software\Avast4[/i], and which I simply renamed to asw5Not2.exe.old). I only do wonder whether doing this, renaming this specific file, bares any unwanted side effect to the normal functioning of Avast? ??? Also, a note to add that in order to be able to rename an Avast file (otherwise there’ll be a message stating access denied) one must either previously temporarily disable Avast’s self defence module (Settings > Troubleshooting > Disable avast! self defence module) or alternatively rename the file in Safe Mode (since Avast isn’t running then, obviously). (Note: If chosen to temporarily disable Avast’s self defence module, do remember to re-enable it back again afterwards, unticking the respective settings box.)

All in all, none of this invalidates, of course, the main advice here, which should be to upgrade Avast to the latest version 5 (which altogether rids users of the upgrade notification popup, of course) granting the best protection and as well seen that support for version 4.8 is actually due to end in a short time.

19

Hey carlmikael

tell your friend to upgrade 4.8 to 5.1 as soon as possible because if he enter a new key he still got popup to upgrade 5.1. And also vps of 4.8 are shut down soon so it is worth to use antivirus without vps.

20

hello

In avast versions 5 and above this problem is solved - it is possible to close our windows pressing alt+f4

thnaks
Yonatan