I’m still grappling with a problem I posted about previously, but have narrowed it down a little I think.
I have changed my Avast password and it recognizes this most times, but not always. Exceptions I have found are if I try to access ‘Settings’, or Avast asks to scan a periphery. It daily tells me MBAM is trying to access my passwords, but If I click for it to not allow this it again asks for my password but won’t accept it. In these cases it says I am trying to access a protected area and asks for a password, but it won’t accept the one I have set up.
Does Avast require a second password for protected areas? If so how do I set one up? If not what can I do about this problem?
I’m hoping someone can help. The inability to tell it to block a threat is particularly disturbing.
It daily tells me MBAM is trying to access my passwords, but If I click for it to not allow this it again
Did you create a password to protect your Avast settings ?
As this sounds more like what it is asking for not your password related to your passwords, so which are you entering ?
Are you trying to allow MBAM to scan the area (if so why) ?
Or are you trying to stop MBAM scanning it, if so you need to do that in MBAM.
MBAM is a separate issue. It is a part of Malwarebytes, which I also have running. As such I am not concerned in having it.
I only know of one password I have with Avast. During this problem I have changed it two or three times in an attempt to solve the problem. There is no issue with changing the password, it just doesn’t let me enter those areas designated a ‘protected area’. Examples are ‘Settings’ and requested permission to scan a periphery such as a USB thumb drive. Also to allow or disallow MBAM, which it sees a a potential threat. (I think that is probably a false positive as it is a genuine part of Malwarebytes.)
I notice in the menu the first item on the list is an ‘Activation Code’. Where does that fit into the scheme of things? Maybe that is what it needs to enter the protected areas, but I don’t have a record of having set such a code. It does also accept a subscription code at that point, and I tried that code to get into Settings, but it doesn’t accept it there.
The whole password system seems a maze to me and unnecessarily complicated.
Regardless this is an interaction between two security based programs MBAM and Avast - which is trying to protect you.
Personally I don’t find the avast passwords overly complex - but I can’t see what you are seeing on your screen, so screenshots of these alerts/notifications would help.
If you have set up areas for avast to protect, then what would you expect when a program tries to enter those areas regardless of what that is. It isn’t seeing MBAM as a threat as such, Avast is just doing what you asked of it.
Are you also using the Avast Passwords browser app, as I just wonder if this could have anything to do with this ?
Unfortunately I can’t understand exactly what is going on as I can’t see what is on your screen.
Firstly, ignore my comments about MBAM; I am pursuing that through Malwarebytes and it is not connected to my inability to sign in to Avast protected areas.
I have tried to take a screen shot of the Avast window that asks for and rejects my password, but when that window is on the screen the screen capture app becomes inactive. The best I can do is a jpg photo I took of the screen. The window is about 16mm x 110mm and appears in the centre of the screen. In ‘Menu’ I select ‘Settings’ and get this Authorisation box. The password is one I entered a day or two ago and Avast confirmed it had been changed. I have attached the photograph.
That certainly looks like the Avast Program Self-Defence Module kicking in and the request for a password is because you have set a password for any changes. Why it isn’t accepting it I just don’t know if this is the current (and correct) password.
This could well be the MBAM scan and possibly because it is going in there not just reading files, but to be able to delete/remove permission for anything it doesn’t like.
Personally I would exclude the Avast Folder/s from the MBAM scan there is just too much possibility of a conflict.
Definitely nothing to do with MBAM. I turned off every Malwarebytes protection module and rebooted the computer. Malwarebytes, as I expected notified me it wasn’t protecting me. I then went to Avast Menu/Settings and it still rejects my password as was shown in the photo I sent you.
On my Win 10 it is the only option apart from uninstall. If I go for a complete reinstall do I need to uninstall first or will the install process handle that? I agree with your thought that it may be the best option.
I tried the repair option, but, as you surmised, it didn’t solve the problem. I then tried a complete reinstall of Avast Premium Security. The re-install worked fine with it finding my existing Activation Code It asked me to sign in and I did without any problems using my existing password. Then I tried to go to some ‘protected areas’ including ‘Settings’. In every case it would not accept my password! So I still have the problem, even after a complete re-install.
My wife has Avast Premium on her computer; it is one of, (actually the only), device hanging on my multi-device account. She can get into Settings without her being asked for a password at all… it just goes straight in. Her computer is virtually identical to mine, an HP All-in-One desktop with the same version of Win10 and the same version of Firefox browser.
We both have Malwarebytes Pro and after I re-installed Avast Premium the first thing it did was tell me Malwarebytes should be uninstalled as they ‘might get in each other’s way’. I haven’t done that yet, but am prepared to if it will solve the problem, but having said that, it hasn’t caused any conflict on my wife’s machine. We initially installed Malwarebytes as it covered areas Avast did not at that time. With ongoing improvements to Avast perhaps we no longer need Malwarebytes anyway?
What can I do now? I have followed all your suggestions. Do you have any other thoughts? I am in Australia so can’t ring Avast’s US 1800 phone number. Is there another way I can ask their technical department direct?
If I were you I would first uninstall Malwarebytes then do another full clean reinstall Avast again with your system free of all Antimalware software (except Defender).
I see you have Avast Premium, so you can contact Avast support and raise a ticket online here: https://support.avast.com
Support may take a while to respond to you, and likely to question what other antivirus/antimalware software you have installed.
If you uninstall Malwarebytes, you can always re-install again if ever needed, but do turn off the real-time protection.
Thanks Rocksteady. I had resisted doing that as the problem seems to be related to accepting my password. To my knowledge the effectiveness of Avast has been unaffected, just the problem of not being able to get into protected areas. But I guess that is the next step and, hopefully, I’ll do it today.
Thanks Rocksteady. I have uninstalled Malwarebytes, but when I try to uninstall Avast Premium it asks for my password. I assume it must be considered a ‘protected area’ and when I entered my password it wouldn’t accept it. I then changed my current password and tried again with the same result. The strange thing is when I uninstalled and reinstalled Avast Premium yesterday it did it without asking for my password. A solution that occurs to me is that Avast Support may know what that password is, assuming one exists. If so, and they could either tell me it or go through a procedure to let me select a new one, I wouldn’t need to uninstall all.
Any thoughts before I go to support.
That link lead me to restoring the Avast account password. There seems to be no mention of an AV password. I have been there before and used it to change my password, but it is now clear from your response it was that account password I changed. I didn’t know there was a separate AV password.