It’s not a shame thing to keep this thread alive…
Just that I do not experience any trouble with Sygate and I’m receiving avast updates without trouble.
Rule based firewall could bring some trouble if ‘anything’ is wrong… For instance: other Windows applications and drivers must be correctly set: ndisuio.sys; alg.exe… etc.
A way of testing is disabling the firewall… if the avast update comes normally, so it’s the firewall.
I indeed see that a lot of times Sygate does not bring the pop up message of connecting to focus, it won’t be the most in top window. Other firewalls never do this (like ZA, for instance). Probably because Sygate uses a ‘real window’ and not a pop up message like the others.
Other times, only after boot I could ‘see’ the question for connection :-[
I neglected to point out that one of the things I tried was to set sygate to allow all traffic. That didn’t work. I also uninstalled sygate…didn’t work either. What I can’t understand is why the rule I created wouldn’t be the ultimate solution. ???
Can you post the rule?
Are you allowed to update? I mean, your avast registration key allows you to update?
See ‘About’ dialog when the update will expire…
I’ve been monitoring this thread for a while and have decided to jump in. I’ve re-read the posts and didn’t see this possibility noted.
IIRC Kerio has a mechanism that will detect if/when an application has been modified since the last time it’s hash was calculated. I’m thinking that, perhaps Kerio is seeing each new iteration of Avast.Setup.exe as a different program (something in it’s hash being different for some reason - creation time?) and therefore blocking it.
I use Outpost Pro 2.5 firewall and I’ve had a devil of a time getting Avast v4.5 to work smoothly. I can still check my logs and see that Avast has been blocked from an automatic update at one point in time and allowed exactly 4 hours later - without any activity on my part at all. Sometimes the rules work; sometimes they don’t. ???
It wasn’t until I set up Outpost to ignore changes to Avast.Setup.exe’s hash (Component Control, in Outpost terminology) that things started working more often than not.
Another thing not mentioned and may be a factor is if your Kerio configuration is blocking local loopback addresses. Adding loopback rules to Outpost’s Avast rules was necessary for me because I block loopback as a default rule. My logs show Avast.Setup using the loopback address for something. I suspect that when setup.ovr is “mutated” into Avast.Setup.exe the loopback address is used.
At any rate, although my logs show blocked connections, they also show allowed connections, and Avast is (almost) always up-to-date whenever I check it. Perhaps these ideas will be of some help to you.
Best of luck. Avast is worth whatever effort it takes to get it to work; including manual updates (which I did for a while while I figured it out.) 
Thanks gbark… very illustrative.
Yes… this happened for me and I allow ‘all’ connections from avast.setup and had no trouble.
Unfortunatelly, I do not use Outpost anymore :-[
Technical,
I’ve always thought that I’d like Kerio if I ever had to drop OPP. I like KPF’s more “graphical” interface, but OPP has its plug-ins and is so configurable that I doubt I’ll ever switch. 
My problem was about budget ;D
I’m using Sygate Personal Firewall (free)
I feel like you… Outpost is very configurable… It’s hard to left it behind 
For posting the rule, is this what you’re looking for?
Rule Summary: This rule will allow both incoming and outgoing traffic from/to all hosts on all ports and protocols. This rule will be applied to all network interface cards. The following applications will be affected in this rule: avast! antivirus service,avast! e-Mail Scanner Service,avast! service GUI component.And I checked the About screen. It shows my registration key, expiration says “never”, and updates expiration says “March 1, 2006”.
I appreciate everybody’s input on this. I hope this information helps bring me closer to a solution.
Oh my! Just a couple of days absence and now this flurry of posts! Well let me only say my bit on
Rule Summary: This rule will allow both incoming and outgoing traffic from/to all hosts on all ports and protocols. This rule will be applied to all network interface cards. The following applications will be affected in this rule: avast! antivirus service,avast! e-Mail Scanner Service,avast! service GUI component.
Imagine something in your pc masquerading as (or hitching a ride on) avast.setup or any of the other avast executables. Why, you gave it permission to connect to (and be contacted by) any IP address on the internet! Hardly the best way to deploy a firewall. And this is in a nutshell another aspect of my avast vs Sygate experience, i.e., in order to appease avast, one is forced to do something or another (in the above case degrade security) that he would not do of his own accord.
Please note that the (too) wide permissions given by the above rule can be also achieved essentially by allowing manually the avast executables to connect where they want after clicking ‘remember my choice and don’t ask me again’ before clicking ‘yes.’ This is so because of an uncomfortable quirk of Sygate to act as if a given permission applies to any future request by the same executable.
It is this very quirk of Sygate that made me operate it via advanced rules only, which had given me impressions of peace and quiet till avast put paid to them. Oh well, one can find solace in the realization that we, the non-Zone Alarm devotees, like to tinker (a.k.a. interact, configure,…) with the firewall rather than stick to a ‘set and forget it’ policy. So, in this respect , avast gives us all the interaction with the firewall we bargained for and then some!
kpfuser, I’ve been out all day, so just now getting back to your reply. And btw, thanks for that too!
I see your point about the potential of something sneaking in along with avast components. I’m sure it’s just as possible with a many, many other programs as well, with or without a firewall in use. The fact that this situation involves a firewall probably lends itself to a little more scrutiny, too.
I am, however, making a desperate attempt here to continue to use avast, and encouraged by reading the success of other users. When I see a product I like, I stay loyal to it until it lets me down or I find something else better to try. It seems as though this situation has come up often enough (not just in this forum, but in searching on the web) that the good folks at avast could come up with a solution.
This is why I decided to take the advice found by others here about using advanced rules.
So…Technical? Do you have any tricks in your magic bag that might make this problem go away?
davincim,
Don’t take anything I have said in this thread as a recommendation to switch to a different antivirus solution. I am also impressed by the volume of good press that avast gets and, after switching from Norton, I do intend to give avast a long and thorough try. Whatever my gripes may be about how avast interacts with Sygate, let us not forget that this is a secondary issue compared to the basic ones, i.e., the extent and quality of antivirus protection, the frequency and ease of updates, the range and scope of available scans, the demand on system resources, etc. So, just like yourself, I consider avast my antivirus product of choice. However, if we don’t gripe, what are forums good for? Maybe for exchanging slaps OK but not on the back.
Now, regarding
So...Technical? Do you have any tricks in your magic bag that might make this problem go away?
I am all eyes. I love miracles too but, in case one is not forthcoming, I suggest that you consider the following:
-
Give up on the idea of handling the problem through an advanced rule, as I have done already myself. After all, if you are using the free version of Sygate, the number of advanced rules you can write is limited (see a comparison of Sygate free and paid for versions). So save the rule for a case that can be handled neatly without having to open your pc to the world.
-
Operate your pc in ‘ask’ mode and click ‘yes’ (but not ‘remember my choice…’) any time avast wants to connect somewhere or be contacted by an avast server. You will have to click ‘yes’ twice early on and in quick succession each time you connect to the internet and every 4 hrs thereafter, if you stay connected that long.
-
If the above shoe doesn’t fit, try turning off the automatic update feature altogether and do a manual update each time you connect to the internet. It only takes a few clicks and the longest time to complete I have seen so far is 7s.
-
Continue hoping for magic.
But that’s just it, I can’t even get it to manually update.
I try from the system tray icon and from the application itself, and nothing is initiated when I select either the iAVS update or program udpate. It used to last month when I first installed it, but now it just ignores me.
And even more frustrating is when I’m in the program trying to update it and quit out of the application, it just hangs there for a while (avast interface doesn’t go away). Eventually it does (under 60 sec. I’m guessing), and sometimes Windows pops up its annoying offer to report a problem.
My life gets more complicated. 
davincim,
Does a repair of avast help your problem? (Control panel>Avast>Change>Repair)
–lee
It’s possible the first time I did it was the reason I was successful in getting a more recent update. I’ll give it another try. Unfortunately, I can’t post feedback until much later today…got to go to work.
davincim,
Why don’t you give the second option of my last post, i.e.
2. Operate your pc in 'ask' mode and click 'yes' (but not 'remember my choice.....') any time avast wants to connect somewhere or be contacted by an avast server. You will have to click 'yes' twice early on and in quick succession each time you connect to the internet and every 4 hrs thereafter, if you stay connected that long.
a try? You should untick your advanced rule first. If anything goes wrong now, it should be a more complex problem than how to configure Sygate to handle avast. In any case, you seem to have gotten yourself into a rather sophisticated mess the resolution of which should teach us all a thing or two. So good luck to you and let us turn it over to the 5-star generals of this forum.
hi kpfuser,
I’d rather sygate remember my choice because neither myself nor the rest of my family would want to be bothered by the regular pop-ups. And because it’s avast that I trust, I don’t mind giving permission to connect to the “mothership” on a regular basis. I reserve the “what about this one?” for programs I don’t use very often, or when I think they need to make a connection.
Your input is very much appreciated though!
devincim,
OK my friend. Have it your way.
Okay, I tried the repair utility and it seems to have made a slight change, but only temporarily.
First, the version of database is dated 1/28 – the date I performed the repair. Do they happen daily?
Second, when I manually try to update I don’t get the window showing the process of updating. In short, nothing visible happens and the date stays the same.
And lastly, when I did the repair it hung up on the services screen. I had to hit “cancel” to close down the window. I’ve done two repairs since I’ve had avast and both times this has happened. So on the plus side it manages to update the database, but on the down side it doesn’t completely repair or at least know when to quit the repair utility.
Avast support team: any ideas? ???
Version is 504-4 released on 1/28/2005. Ok, you’re updated.
The updates could be (generally) twice a week but if a virus is spreding in Internet you can have daily updates or even more than one by day.
On the Update (Basic) settings, choose ‘Details’ and check the option to see the progress of the update.
The date won’t change as you’re updated…
This is strange… you should be able to finish the repair option.
Did you have any other antivirus installed in your system? Which one?
Technical,
No, I’m not using any other virus app. I’ll do as you suggest about turning on the “details”. Thanks!