Hello all. I have a question regarding my Avast. It says that it is unsecured, and when I go to “fix now” or similar suggested ways to fix it on the Avast interface, it does not respond. I first noticed it November 2nd, but thought it was just a minor issue that would be fixed upon reboot or next update.
I have noticed that there have been multiple threads regarding the issue, such as:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=87650.0
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=87292.0 (I don’t have his CC Search issue though)
Due to the amount of people experiencing the issue, I am assuming it is an issue with a recent update (Which is usually the only time I have trouble with Avast), but could it also just be a recently widespread virus? In regards to the former issue, I tried to update Avast from the icon, but it does not respond. In fact, Avast as a whole isn’t really responding right now, including scans. This is a little ominous, so I have stopped using the computer in question (Is this the right thing to do? My dad is of course going to be working from home on it tomorrow, so that is a fantastic coincidence :() and am posting on another computer in my home. It is running XP and does not have the unsecured warning.
The computer I am referring to is running Vista (I am an awful person, but lazy and cheap ;)) and is primarily used by my brother and I for gaming purposes (Aside from my dad using it for work once every few months). We are both generally conscious computer users, and we have not yet had a major virus (Or any. Don’t completely remember) with the computer. The only way I could see the computer getting a virus would have been through a bad ad, but we do not visit any site with notoriously bad advertisement histories.
Anyway, my question is what steps should I take in regards to finding a solution, or if a solution has already been found, how to implement it. I don’t have a ton of experience in regards to viruses or troubleshooting and the likes, as I have not had any deeply concerning problems until now.
From what I have gathered from the other threads, I should first try uninstalling and reinstalling Avast (in safe mode I assume?) and see if it was just an update error. Then I should try downloading Malwarebytes and using that if the previous stop does not work. I have not done any of these things yet and won’t be doing them today (I need to go to bed), but I think I would be able to do so without much help. However, I have no clue what I would do besides that if the issue is not solved automatically or through the use of the two methods mentioned earlier. So basically, can you guys shed some light on the issue for me in the meantime? Hopefully when I come back tomorrow there will be enough information so that I can fix my issue.
EDIT: I should also probably mention I am just running the free avast, and using version 5. Could that be the issue?
Thanks to all that help!
