Any Problems With Latest .1367 Virus Definition Update?

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Booted PC today and latest virus defs. for .1367 downloaded. Then the fun started.

Shortly thereafter WIN 7 locked up. OK … So I rebooted. Avast is disabled and GUI indicates Avast service is disabled. Click on FIX button - zip. Click on start service button - zip. PC locks up again. Tried to do same if safe mode - zip. Tried Avast repair in both normal and safe mode - zip. Wasn’t sure repair would work in safe but gave it a shot.

Did a system restore and after playing around for awhile to get that to work finally was able to boot back into WIN 7 in normal mode. Low and behold, Avast shows same diabled status. Could not get it fixed and PC hanging up again. Booted into safe mode and ran MBAM scan - clean but then safe mode started hanging up.

Got fed up and did a full drive image restore - MBR + partition for WIN 7 drive. Back to Avast .1289 and everything fine. Staying there till I get some feedback on lastest .1367 def. update.

One other possiblity is I picked up a rouge ver. of SpywareBaster last night. I went to update it and it said new ver. available but I had to uninstall and then install new ver. Downloaded new ver. from Javacool web site, the vendor, and scanned file with both Avast and MBAM. Both said clean. Checked the download sigs and all looked legit. Installed the new ver. did a little surfing therafter and all looked OK. Then shut down PC for the night.

2

Hi DonZ63

Our Suggestion is Please do not use any other antivirus and spyware blaster. It would conflict with avast.

Using Malwaresbytes is a legit one.

So now please go with removing the spyware blaster and Uninstall the avast with Avast uninstall Utility (http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear.exe)

Please reinstall it and check it

Thanks

3

I have used SpywareBlaster for years. It conflicts with nothing since it is not an active program. All it does is modifiy your browser settings and loads web site URLs to block.

4
Our Suggestion is Please do not use any other antivirus and spyware blaster. It would conflict with avast
SpywareBlaster does not conflict with avast.....it is also a passive program however as essexboy say it is not needed with the latest browsers

and the URL block you can get with using openDNS in your router

5

iYogisolutions1 That is totally BS as spyware blaster is totally passive!
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html#Overview

6

First, the WIN 7 installation booted fine today. So I really don’t think the problem was with the new ver. of SpywareBlaster. It was only after the latest vir. defs. for .1367 downloaded and installed was when Win 7 and Avast when bonkers.

7

@DonZ63,

JFYI, after any type of repair or fix of avast, you usually need to reboot after it to really see the consequences.

8
JFYI, after any type of repair or fix of avast, you usually need to reboot after it to really see the consequences.
Like I said originally, repair would not work. I kept getting a popup window that stated it errored out with a log. I reviewed the log and it was a lot of gibberish that said Avast had to be reinstalled.

I reinstalled the new 4.5 ver. of SpywareBaster last night on WIN 7 install with Avast .1289 installed. Rebooted this morning without issue. I did receive the usual Avast upgrade popup but did receive a popup about defs. being updated. Avast GUI however states defs. are current. I just I will try the Avast upgrade one more time since the new ver. of SpywareBlaster is already installed.

9

Besides the fact that not all your sentences are clear (so we have to assume what you really meant), my suggestion is still valid. After that definitions update you made, when avast shows a different update from the one you applied, then REBOOT immediately.

BTW, when you uninstall avast, you should ran the removal utility under Windows Safe Mode AND manually clean any (hidden) folder that contains “avast” or “alwil” in its name.

In addition, running the removal utility for ALL previous versions of avast you EVER HAD may help to really perform a CLEAN installation.

I hope someone else has some additional tip.

10
Besides the fact that not all your sentences are clear (so we have to assume what you really meant), my suggestion is still valid. After that definitions update you made, when avast shows a different update from the one you applied, then REBOOT immediately.

BTW, when you uninstall avast, you should ran the removal utility under Windows Safe Mode AND manually clean any (hidden) folder that contains “avast” or “alwil” in its name.

In addition, running the removal utility for ALL previous versions of avast you EVER HAD may help to really perform a CLEAN installation.

I did originally uninstall Avast version .1367 and rebooted. However WIN 7 was still locking up. At that point, I reloaded my WIN 7 installation with a backup image that had Avast .1289. This is how I am running currently.

I really believe this new .1367 version has serious issues. I will however give it one more chance. If it hoses my PC again, I will install Norton Antivirus that is sitting on a shelf next to me collecting dust.

11

Well, updating again MAY get you to a better result, but only if the previous upgrade had some “glitch”.

My point is for you to clean ALL previous installations of Avast with the removal utility (run it for each and every version you ever had before). The removal utility works best from Windows Safe Mode (since less files would be “locked” or “protected” or “in use”).

Since some (hidden) folders of avast may be left even after the removal utility, you could enable Windows Explorer to show all type of files/folders (system, hidden, with known extension…) and search for any folder/file with “avast” or “alwil” (like “avast5” for example). Delete them.

I am repeating myself, since for some reason it seems you are starting all over using almost the same “path” than before. My intention is for you to clean your system from remnants first. There were already reports of some situation where a REALLY clean install of avast (6.0.1367) was more successful than an update.

The next step would be to “unblock” the setup.exe (right click → properties → unblock), and also delete all firewall rules related to Avast (even if the firewall is “off”, and even for the built in Windows Firewall).

When you run the new clean installation of Avast, do it with right click → run as administrator.

When the installation finishes, reboot immediately, even before configuring anything else, and even before updating.

HTH.

12

I appreciate your concern ady4um.

Maybe this will get across what I did to resolve this. I did an image restore that contained Avast 6.0.1289. Note the wording iamge not a system restore. My PC was restore to the exact state it was on Nov.24. The only thing that was a bit odd with this recovery was my system clock was off an hour. Never had that happen previously with an image restore. Note: the time change in U.S. occured on Nov. 6.

I never had any problems with that version. There was no reason to uninstall that version since it had upgraded previously to version .1367 with absolutely no problems. I had previously run with version .1367 for at least three days and multiple definition updates to that version had occured without problems. So the isssue here was not version .1367 but with the definition update I downloaded yesterday. Other threads in this forum I have read confirms this since Avast has temporarily suspend the .vps whatever, has it not?

In any case, I have updated to version .1367 and so far so good. The acid test will be with the next Avast auto definition update.

Now if someone from Avast will state unconditionally that you have to totally uninstall any previous versions of Avast 6 for this .1367 version to run correctly, then I will uninstall. I have not done that since I made a lot of configuration changes and I hate to reconfigure something I done previously.

BTW - these issues are not exclusive to Avast. Norton had a well publized definition snafu last fall that trashed thousands of PC. I guess this is a testament to the deplorable QC state the industry has sunk into.

[Update] Virus definition auto update just occured so hopefully Avast has straightened the problems.

13

First, Avast Team won’t tell you to clean install unless there is a reason. This was not a general recommendation.

My comment was that SOME users that had SOME type of problems decided to troubleshoot, without apparent success, but cleaning all and installing anew worked for them.

About the image, I understood it perfectly the first time. You were still going back to have the same “past” versions, registry entries, setups, older back up copies of the VPS and so on.

The possibility to back up Avast’s settings has been a desire / hope / wish / feature request for a long time, so I understand your point about it.

The complete VPS for complete download so to update an off line system is, as you commented, currently not working. It has been “retired” until they correct the problem.

For future reference, when you have a particular problem with one definitions update, while you KNOW that it was working before, usually it is “naturally” resolved by some simple alternative procedures, like for example:

_ simple reboot;
_ wait until next definitions update is found;
_ repair of avast and reboot;
_ installing again over the current installation (no uninstallation needed) and reboot;
_ other additional solutions;

(those are “or” procedures, not necessarily “and”).

So returning to a previous image, or even a “clean up” are more for impatient cases in MOST situations.

I’m glad you have your system working now.

14

Well, don’t know if I am out of the woods yet. I shutdown the PC for a while. When booting, had an entended period before I got to the WIN 7 logon. Once logged on, all was fine. I did reinstall MBAM Pro previously, so hopefully that was the cause and not Avast .1367. Will keep monitoring.

For future reference, when you have a particular problem with one definitions update, while you KNOW that it was working before, usually it is "naturally" resolved by some simple alternative procedures, like for example:

_ installing again over the current installation (no uninstallation needed) and reboot;
_ other additional solutions;


I will answer these one at a time:

_ simple reboot;
Tried that. Didn't help
_ wait until next definitions update is found;
Not an option since PC was locked up.
_ repair of avast and reboot;
Tried that. Repair failed multiple times.
_ installing again over the current installation (no uninstallation needed) and reboot;
Would not have helped since OS was trashed.

Bottom line. Because of the .dll code injection Avast does along with other anti-malware products, There is a high likelihood your OS will be hosed if the anti-malware software malfunctions.

15

your signature say you have Emsisoft…is that correct ?

16

Yes, Emisisoft Anti-Malware installed. Running it with all real-time functions disabled. I do periodic scans with it since I have found it great at finding Trojans other software doesn’t.

17

It does have a integrated Ikarus virus engine that may conflict with avast

18

I have been using it every since I installed Avast on a new WIN 7 install over 8 months ago without incident. It’s WIN 7 service doesn’t start until you physical start Emmisoft. Default setting is manual. Again not using it in real-time mode.

Again my original problem with Avast started immediately after an Avast definition update after boot time. Nothing else was running at the time the definition download completed.

19

As already mentioned several times, disabling shields (or equivalent of other security tools), or disabling services, or disabling drivers, may not be enough. That’s the reason for the specific removal utilities for each security tool.

Just to give an example, Avast has context menu additions, a screen saver, a localhost, an SSL module, several shields (not completely independent from each other), a service, a driver, and possible more.

If a user would “try” to “disable” Avast (so to use an additional resident security tool instead), how many interconnected items and settings would be really needed so to neutralize any possible interference with that other security tool?

Each update of Avast (usually twice a day) can change the engine and the virus definitions. To that, add a recent program update, which included also new settings that were not there before.

Some security tools are designed to be non-resident scanners or alike. Usually (but probably not always), Avast will work correctly together with those. Certainly with resident security tools Avast might find some conflicts, if not in some version, then maybe in the next.

Use only one resident security tool, and run the respective removal utilities for the others you ever had.

20

The only other resident scanner I had running was MBAM Pro. Both Avast and MBAM Pro have recommended exclusions for each.

I have had two Avast auto definitions updates after cold boots without incident. So I will view what happen here as an Avast “hiccup.”

For anyone reading this thread if you want to protect yourself against “hiccups”, malware, and system/hardware failures. DO FULL DRIVE OR PARTITION IMAGE BACKUPS ON A REGULAR BASIS.