Switched on laptop to find a yellow question mark beside the avast system tray icon, this time I checked under components to find out which particular one and found it is the Behaviour Shield, is there anything apart from switching it back on that will stop it from turning off on its own?
Perform a repair of avast and check if the problem is solved.
If not perform a clean installation of the latest avast version with the off-line installer and check again.
Repair Avast:
Control Panel> Program and Features (Add/remove program)>Select Avast> Select Repair. Reboot when completed
https://www.avast.com/faq.php?article=AVKB204
If Repair doesn’t fix the problem, try the following:
Clean Install of Avast:
https://goo.gl/4Ptzkf
Thanks folks.