Since at present there isn’t any way to prevent the icons when you do a clean or new install,
there also isn’t any way to prevent then when you use your procedure.
I haven’t seen anything in a custom install to stop the icons. I simply delete them after the install.
(I know, an option would be nice to have.)
Yes, I follow your reasoning. I have noticed that kb970158_x86.exe is run when I update the program to a new version, but it is also run automatically from time to time even though I have Update → Program set to “Ask when an update is available”. Perhaps kb970158_x86.exe has to be run simply to check whether a new version is available. In any case, the updater should not, in my opinion, add any new icons.
Not exactly done, but it is using it for the updates (and other things?).
But it is just a update.
The question why the update runs each time.
Check if the update is installed or download the update and install it.
See if that makes a difference.
The strange thing is that there is no update to install since I am already running version 17.4.2294. But kb970158_x86.exe is run from time to time anyway. If I “manually” check to see if an update is available (Settings → Update → Program → click on “Update”), kb970158_x86.exe is not used, only instup.exe is used, and it does not add new icons, as the kb970158_x86.exe process does.
I have a suspicion that avast installs this KB to ensure that XP has functionality to allow some avast functionality to work. I don’t know if it is this exact KB number as I haven’t written it down.
I have seen something like this being installed during an avast update/install and if I recall it normally has an /silent switch on the run command. It doesn’t run every time as far as I can recall, but I could just be missing it on occasion as I don’t sit glued to the screen when avast is updated/installed.
Yes, it seems to me that it is run at the end of every Avast program update, with the “/silent” switch. I have no idea why it is being run automatically by instup.exe.
Well the instup.exe is the avast install-update function, so it will control installations and updates. So I would imagine that instup.exe has a check routine for what OS you are running and if XP would ensure you have this KB installed. Though why it would continually do this rather than check for the presence of the of the KB, I have no idea.
