I have deleted and reinstalled avast. When I go to maintenace and try to due an update it says it can not connect to the server. I saw under settings>udates>proxy settings that avast is set to use internet explorer settings. When I change it to direct connection it seems to work. What in internet explorer is stopping avast from getting updates automatically. Can someone help? I have IE8
Hi ron0903,you will need to provide some imformation about your system for anyone to help you,xp,vista,windows 7? firewall, are you using a router?. I dont think ie8 will stop avast as i have same browser and avast with standard setting’s and all is fine.
Welcome to the forums, ron0903 
It appears that you are using a beta version when you should be using 5.0.0594 which is the latest stable version.
Hi ron0903, and welcome to the forum.
- What version and product of Avast are you using?
- v. 5.0.594 or something else?
- Avast Free, Pro or AIS?
-
What is your firewall and did you check to see if it is blocking Avast?
-
Do you use a router and is that blocking Avast?
How do you normally connect to the Internet? Proxy or Broadband/Cable/DSL?
You can also try this:
Open Avast GUI > Click on Settings> Click on Updates >Scroll down and click on Proxy.
Ensure automatically detect settings or direct connection is selected (unless you use a proxy of course) > Click OK. Now please try to update.
But this all depends on how you connect to the Internet, and if you found a setting that works for you, use it. It has nothing to do with IE stopping Avast from updating.
Let us know how you do. Thanks.