why cant I get this program to work?
Hi ! I suggest reading the Settings Help page which opens when you double click the Avast! icon on your desktop.
Simple user interface
The usage of the simple user interface is indeed very easy.
[i]The following five points will get you started.[/i]
Select the areas to scan.
Select how to scan, and run the scan
Dont worry plenty of people around to get you started 
I guess you would have to be more specific about this “cant get to work”.