Avast won't allow program to run

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

My GPS navigation software, iGuidance v3.0, won’t run unless I stop On-Access Protection. I get no error messages. Program just gets stuck on startup screen displaying standard warning for a driver. I’ve tried excluding the location of the program from scanning, still no luck. Please help.

2

What “standard warning for a driver” do you mean? What operating system do you use?

Also, does avast! tray icon spin when you start iGuidance and it gets stuck? Does it help if you stop (or pause) some of avast! resident providers, e.g. the Standard Shield?

3

How?

For the Standard Shield provider (on-access scanning):
Left click the ‘a’ blue icon, click on the provider icon at left and then Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and click on Add button…

Do you use a firewall? Which one?

4

Computer is running Windows XP Professional.
“Standard warning for a driver” is a warning screen that says: do not operate software while driving a vehicle. Normally you click on “OK” button and map shows up on the screen. When I click on “OK” button nothing happens.
Avast! tray icon doesn’t spin when I try to run iGuidance.
I terminated resident providers one by one, still the same thing. Only stopping on-access protection allows program to run.

5

This would be normal if Standard Shield blocks the program because it is infected.
But if you can ‘run’ the program… I can’t imagine why avast will block its normal behavior.

Did you try to submit the program folder to on-line scanners?
Kaspersky
Trendmicro housecall
Ewido

6

This is exactly what I did.

The only firewall I have on the system is windows firewall which I disabled as well.
Program still doesn’t run with on-access protection enabled.

7

Did you use Norton in this computer before?

Can you post the contents of these Windows Registry keys in your system?
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\VDD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\VDD

8

No I never used Norton.

As for registry settings:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\VDD and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\VDD
have one default string entry with no value set and one VDD=C:\Program Files\Avast4\aswMonVd.dll each.

I played with avast! settings some more and it looks like I have to disable three resident providers alltogether to run iGuidance: standard, p2p, and instant messaging shields.

9

Can you run a test…
Go to file C:\Windows\System32\Config.nt and at the end, add a REM in front of the following line:

REM device=C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswmonds.sys

then Boot. Will it work?

10

It would be interesting to try to reproduce this problem in our lab.

  1. Does it run even without any GPS device attached? (or does it at least get to the “stuck” phase even without a GPS device?)

  2. Is it possible to get the software? Let’s say a demo version or something?

Thanks
Vlk

11

No. It still doesn’t run.

12

  1. I am using iGuidance with bluetooth GPS antenna. I unpaired and removed GPS device from “My Bluetooth Places”. I also turned off device itself. iGuidance got stuck at the same point.

  2. There is no demo version available that I know of.