Avast! prevents defragmentation of Windows registry!

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Testing period: Two years approximately
Operating environment: Windows 7 64bit and Windows 10 64bit
Tested applications: Registry First Aid Platinum v10.1.0 Build 2297 and Auslogics Registry Defrag

Note: Karspesky and Windows Defender antivirus do not interfere. Avira antivirus interfere by default but has option to allow the change in system files.

I apologize if the subject has already been treated here. If not, someone has a solution?

2

How does avast prevent this, i.e. what errors/alerts are being displayed ?

I can use CCleaners Registry cleaner function and RegSeeker on my win7 32 bit OS (and in my XP Pro) system without issue. Though I don’t use registry defrag tools as I don’t consider it necessary.

I just wonder if your reg defrag is trying to touch/modify/move avast registry entries and the avast self-defence module is preventing that. Hence my question about how is it preventing it.

3

Not sure but disable avast self protection in settings and see if you can defrag the registry.

4

Some information (simple stated).

The Windows registry is not just one file where things are stored in.
Windows “protects” those files so a “normal” file defrag isn’t touching/defragging them.
The registry defraggers basically overwrite the Windows protection and defrag those files.

The real questions are :
1]Does it speed up things ?
2] Is defragging needed ?

Answer to 1]
Well, in (as they say) “the old days”, it really could (and did) speed up things.
The main reasons why it worked :

  • The way files where stored on a drive and how the system read them. (FAT16, FAT32)
  • The (s)low speed of the drives and systems
    If I only speak about Windows, with the introduction of the NTFS file system there isn’t much improvement if you defrag it.
    This has to do with the way files are stored and accessed.
    With nowadays systems there will be (almost) no noticeable speed/space increase after performing a defrag.

Answer to 2]
Not really.
See Answer to 1] for the reason.

5

I thank you Sir Eddy for the technical explanation. That is very important. but the question here is why the avaste interfere in the application operation. And what is the solution to avoid this. I’m interested in it only. Appreciate your attention.

6

No error. defragmentation action just does not occur. Just uninstall avast and everything works. Appreciate your attention.

7

I tried that and it did not work. Appreciate your attention.

8

Does it work if you disable the shields ?
Disable one at a time and try the defrag.
If it works, disable the next and try again.

And as a note…

Note: Karspesky and Windows Defender antivirus do not interfere.
One reason for that is when a av is installed while using Windows (10), Windows defender will be disabled.

Also having two (or more) av’s installed can result in all kinds of problems.
The problems can also be there if you do not uninstall a av completely before installing another.

9

You didn’t answer the question I asked in Reply #1, how did avast prevent/interfere, errors messages, etc.

Without more details we are just speculating as what it could be.

10

Removing one element of a conflict may well resolve the problem but it doesn’t find exactly why the conflict occurred.

As I mentioned the self-defence module could have been one to look at, but that should have resulted in a popup permissions dialogue window. It would be a little like the one when trying to delete a protected file, which is effectively a windows error dialogue.

Whilst Eddy mentions your comment:
“Note: Kaspersky and Windows Defender antivirus do not interfere.”
Do you still have those installed or were you just using them as an example ?

If you did have other resident protection there could be a lock between the two when trying to scan a file one is locking the file as the other tries to scan it, deadlock.

11

My dear friends, i never installed or used two antivirus simultaneously on my computer. Because I know that it can cause side effects.

During the test period i have disabled all Avast Free protection modules but this does not work well. The only action that works effectively is uninstalling Avast Free.

I repeat, Avast Free block the action of target applications silently. Without showing error messages, etc.

Testing period: More than two years on multiple computers!

During this long period I noticed that the problem does not occur with the following antivirus: KASPERSKY, WINDOWS DEFENDER and AVIRA FREE (partially).

Still patiently waiting for a solution…

12

I think I said I think the solution would be to have the Avast configuration panel an option to temporarily disable the protection of system files that make up the Windows registry, especially the protected files located in the “C: \ Windows \ Sistem32 \ Config” on Windows 7.

Here I leave this suggestion for Avast Team :wink:

  • Similar to the solution adopted by Avira Team …
13
I think I said I think the solution would be to have the Avast configuration panel an option to temporarily disable the protection of system files that make up the Windows registry
That option is already there. It is called disabling the avast self defense and/or the shields.
14

Excluding system locations can leave your system at risk even if you remember to enable it after disabling it.

Have you made any changes to the avast default settings ?
Check the avastUI > Settings > Components > File System Shield > Customise > Suspicious Behaviour (HIPS) > Monitor the system for malware-like behaviour - set the Sensitivity to its lowest setting or disable.

15

Exists but does not solve our problem. Unlike Avira where such an option exists and functions.

I waited two years trying a solution alone without success. so I decided to ask for help here. apparently I’ll keep waiting …

But this does not prevent continuing fan of avast! :wink:

16

Already contacted avast ?
https://support.avast.com

17

Thanks for remember Sir Eddy!
I use the free version and I think that is not supported. :wink:

18

It sure is supported and it is (just as the av) free :wink:
Simply submit a ticket and mention this thread in it.

19

I’ll try then. Grateful for the attention!