The same thing has just happened to me. I posted on another thread. I used to have Avast but when I up graded to Windows 10 more than 12 months ago I had terrible trouble with Windows not loading and discovered that by removing Avast and just using Windows Defender the problem went away. Today i went to scan an individual file and realised tht at some point avast had randomly reinstalled I have absolutely no recollection of reinstalling it.
If you posted it in a other thread, you did not do it with the same name as you are using here.
And what part of “avast doesn’t install itself out of the blue” is it that you don’t understand ?
You upgrade to Windows 10 and you had avast installed.
That is what triggered it as has been explained in other threads.
That means you did not remove avast completely.
I understand “Avast doesn’t install itself” I am a native English speaker and have major in English in my first degree. The simple fact is that I did not to my recollection reinstall AVAST but it is there.
I have found the other thread I believed I had posted on and I apologise but I somehow stuffed up that post, but it was an old 2015 thread anyway so this one is more appropriate. (It was the first one which came up on a google search.) When I went to post on the 2015 thread I was warned that nothing had been posted in 120 days.
Given that there is more than one thread with this kind of topic, obviously other people have experienced a similar issue.
I further apologise if I have upset you in some way. When programs whatever they are seem to install themselves it is a little bit of a worry which is why I went searching in the first place.
I will uninstall it. It is my recollection that I did remove AVAST after installing Windows 10 because it was not until I removed AVAST that Windows 10 would function. For over 12 months the only anti virus software operating was Windows Defender with no sign of AVAST in context menus, notification trays or task manager. I believe you that it may not have uninstalled completely. That seems a reasonable explanation.
Thank you for your reply!
I hope your day improves. You seem a little grumpy.
I only registered to make this post.
Some program that I downloaded installed Avast. I didn’t ask for it. I’m perfectly happy with Avira. I uninstalled Avast thinking that was the end of it. I continued to get popups from Avast. I went to regedit but was unable to remove it. The other day I got a message from Avast saying it was in a passive mode. I checked my programs and say that it was back. Now, if it didn’t reinstall itself who did? It sure in hell wasn’t me. Avast is lying if they say they didn’t do it.
I will say that using the unclear program has removed everything completely. I hope that I din’t have to return here.
You probably had Avast installed when you installed Ccleaner. It was a pre-checked item that you most likely missed.
To uninstall Avast is a two prong removal. First step is to uninstall it via Programs and Features.
Next, remove the remainder using their removal tool http://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avastclear.exe
Run avastclear and allow it to reboot into Safe Mode. Follow the instructions. Once you reboot, Avast should be gone.
This may help: https://youtu.be/KD8LO8OxmvM
I just had this happen today, with a computer already running Bitdefender AV. I run Avast on another computer, but not this one.
I had only downloaded the update to CCleaner Free via the company website, which directed me to FileHippo for the installer. I submitted to VirusTotal to verify the file. Then I checked the advanced install option and everything looked good, so CCleaner updated to the latest version 5.40.
Then shortly afterward I noticed an Avast icon in my system start menu, and an Avast notification icon in my system tray. I really don’t recall seeing any pre-checked Avast offers on the screen. So I uninstalled Avast after verifying that Windows Programs and Features showed the Avast install date as today. I double checked and do not have any Avast installers in my downloads folder, or anywhere else. I reran the same CCleaner installer again to see if there were any Avast offers available, and there were none. Mystery???
Anyway, Avast appears to be gone now. Do I really need to run avastclear? What remains behind if I don’t do this safe mode step?
You would not have seen the Avast installation option the second time since there are still
Avast traces on your system. Till you run the removal tool, the remaining Avast files and reg. entries will remain.
Removing them is your decision to make.
Thanks. Ran the avast removal tool, mainly so I could run the CCleaner installer again. No bundled offers with this new install attempt either, so I have added my two cents to the other thread with the CC rep looking for data on the issue. His post has cleared up my questions, and left me feeling better that my PC is not possessed, and that I am not getting old … but that latter issue is entirely possible, ha!
I have had the same problem. Avast free seems to have installed itself on my computer and that of my partner. I also noticed the rather arresting icon on the desktops (we use Bitdefender). The experts on here seem to be in denial (it can’t happen; you must have installed it at some time in the past, etc). But Google even has a preformed search phrase for it. I think Avast should take it seriously because it is bizarre to say the least. When legitimate software becomes tainted as possible malware then it could do great damage to Avast’s reputation, which I know has been good.
Is avast actually active (resident) or is it running in compatibility mode. (Not resident.)
If you updated Ccleaner, it is possible that you didn’t notice the pre-checked box to install Avast.
If it was installed even though you already run an AV, then it should have installed in compatibility mode.
I’m the Product Manager of CCleaner. I’d like to make it clear that silent, drive-by installs of Avast are absolutely not the intended result here. You should always see the consent screen when installing CCleaner Free edition or Pro Trial (see attached image). The paid ‘Pro’, ‘Business’ and ‘Technician’ editions do not contain this promotion.
We are monitoring a small number of edge cases where it seems the consent checkbox is not displaying correctly. After gathering what information we could from our users on the CCleaner forums, we were able to identify a case where high system load could delay the offer from displaying immediately. This allowed us to reproduce the issue internally and resolve it. We made change to guard against this root cause and released it in v5.39 (January 16th). There is potential for another bug/edge case to be causing the consent checkbox to not be visible, and this is what I would like to continue to investigate with your assistance.
If you have encountered this issue in the installer of CCleaner v5.39 or later, it would be of huge help if you could respond to the following questions so we can identify some reproducible conditions and gather clues to the root cause. We want this fixed just as much as you do. Together, I’m confident we can get to the bottom of this.
I have just gotten here and registered to inform you, that the same thing has just happened to me:
Avast was installed on my win10 today without asking me and without installing any other program that I’m aware of or has requested.
I found it out by Chrome popping up a message alerting me that Avast extension has been added - I selected to remove it, and then noticed that it has been also added to my taskbar.
I definitely did not install it myself, and no one else has access to my computer.
I will remove it, but I think you should find out how this happens.
I have absolutely no recollection of reinstalling it.