Cannot run automatic updates

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Sorry if i dont write very well, my english is horrible.

When i launch the actualization of the program, nothing happens, and when i see de events, i read this message:

14/09/2006 7:46:03 SYSTEM 1728 An error has occured while attempting to update. Please check the logs.

I check the loghs in the path C:\Archivos de programa\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\log, and in the aswMaiSv.log, i see that:

09/14/06 07:45:34 000008B8: Started as service, Log = 1
09/14/06 07:45:34 000008B8: Build 4.7.871
09/14/06 07:45:34 000008B8: Windows XP Estación de trabajo (Service Pack 2)
09/14/06 07:45:34 000008B8: Using WinSock 2.0
09/14/06 07:45:35 000008B8: AutoRedirect settings changed 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: IgnoreLocalhost settings changed 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: POP Start settings changed: 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: POP Listen settings changed: 127.0.0.1 12110
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: POP RedirectPort: 110
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: SMTP Start settings changed: 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: SMTP Listen settings changed: 127.0.0.1 12025
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: SMTP RedirectPort: 25
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: IMAP Start settings changed: 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: IMAP Listen settings changed: 127.0.0.1 12143
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: IMAP RedirectPort: 143
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: NNTP Start settings changed: 1
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: NNTP Listen settings changed: 127.0.0.1 12119
09/14/06 07:45:36 000008B8: NNTP RedirectPort: 119

Please, I need HELP. :frowning:

2

The log you posted is for the Internet Mail provider (and it is perfectly normal).

The errors from your update problem will be at the end of this file:

C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\setup.log

3

Thanks for your help! :wink:

The last words in the log that you say are there:

00:25:29 min/gen Return code: 0x20000000 [Something done]
00:25:29 min/gen Stopped: 14.09.2006, 00:25:29

I try to update at 7:45. I dont understand why the last time that the log showws is 00:25. I need more information, please.

4

One question.

Must i open some ports in my firewall or router to try to update Avast4? If the answer is yes, ¿What ports i must to open?

Im spanish (if someone speak in my lenguage).

5

I cant update automatic but can manually.
I started my computer today 14.09.06: 08,00
The last in the setup log is:

13.09.2006 20:44:15.000 1158173055 general Stopped: 13.09.2006, 20:44:15

6

Another tip.

When i try to update in “add or remove programs”, in the Windows XP control panel, the conection fail. In the windows that shows the error, i read that:

14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: InvalidateCurrent: invalidated server ‘Download23 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: SelectCurrent: selected server ‘Download58 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 package: GetPackages - set proxy for inet
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Type: no proxy
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Auth: no authentication
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: InvalidateCurrent: invalidated server ‘Download58 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: SelectCurrent: selected server ‘Download47 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 package: GetPackages - set proxy for inet
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Type: no proxy
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Auth: no authentication
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: InvalidateCurrent: invalidated server ‘Download47 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: SelectCurrent: selected server ‘Download3 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 package: GetPackages - set proxy for inet
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Type: no proxy
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Auth: no authentication

Please, i need help. :frowning:

7

The local browser port (80) :wink:
You don’t ‘have’ to open the port on your router, I mean, change any configuration to do that.
If you can connect the Internet you should be able to update avast.

Which firewall do you have?
Make sure your browser is not set to “Work Offline” (this option is generally in the File menu). If it doesn’t help, try switching the proxy settings from “Auto-detect” to “No proxy” (I’m assuming you’re not connecting to the Internet via proxy).
Left click the avast icon > Settings > Update (Connections) > Proxy

8

I can connect internet with no problems, and i chek (in explorer and in avast) “No proxy” in the settings. My browser is not set to “Work Offline” (well, i can write here ::slight_smile: ) And the problem are the same.

My firewall is Kerio Personal Firewall, and it works fine even the present day.

I dont understad why avast try to find a proxy when updates:

14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: InvalidateCurrent: invalidated server ‘Download58 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 general: SelectCurrent: selected server ‘Download47 AVAST server’ from ‘main’
14.09.2006 12:57:58 package: GetPackages - set proxy for inet
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Type: no proxy
14.09.2006 12:57:58 internet: SYNCER: Auth: no authentication

Any other idea? ???

9

Do you have Microsoft Automatic Update turned on?

This is the week when Microsoft makes its monthly updates available. Have you yet received and installed your monthly updates?

I am not saying that there is a problem with the updates from Microsoft, but my research suggests that the Windows Automatic update process can prevent avast from performing its automatic update.

This happens when there are updates to be downloaded from Microsoft but Microsoft is applying delaying controls to the downloading.

10

Is avast.setup allowed to connect the Internet?

Yes. Which is your avast version?
Can you download servers.def from here? http://download1.avast.com/iavs4x/servers.def
And save it to C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\setup folder
Start the update again.

:o :o :o :o :o
Are you sure? This is an absurd!!! >:( :frowning: >:( :frowning:

11

Thanks Tech for your critique of my testing abilities.

I am certain.

12

We can speak frankly with the ones we’re friends :wink:

Is there anything published in Internet about this?
Does Alwil team have said anything to this?
Does this occur with other antivirus?

This is ridiculous, is MS protecting your computer or making things harder?
Is there any marketing - sell ‘approved’ programs - issues here?
I don’t want (I don’t like) to blame MS for nothing but AVOIDING antivirus update is an ABSURD!!! :frowning:

13

Tested this repeatedly last night on the system of one of the folks I support.

This week Microsoft updates are available but are being throttled.

While the automatic update process is running at system startup the system is being, to some extent, frozen. You can try to do things but the automatic update process is “hogging” the system. This “hogging” appears to last 6 minutes. During this time the avast automatic update process tries to run but also appears to be a victim of the “hogging” and the errors reported in this thread are logged by avast.

If the Windows automatic update service is set to manual (instead of automatic) then the avast automatic update process proceeds as normal. (There is a caveat to this as well - if the Windows Defender product is used it will go in and start the Windows update process whether you want it to or not).

To restate, while only tested on one machine (WinXP SP2 fully up to date - except for this weeks updates) the condition was fully repeatable.

I suspect this could affect other products update processes as well as avast.

There are a number of reported concerns about the Windows automatic update process and recommendation to not run the service in automatic mode. I am certainly not suggesting to folks to turn it off.

Note: I am suggesting this problem only occurs when there are Microsoft updates to be downloaded and the download is being delayed by Microsoft controls.

However, somebody needs to be looking at the reported problems with the avast automatic update process since the avast team believes that piece of their product is invincible.

I believe I have now found 2 likely causes for it to experience difficulties.

Edit: The machine this was demonstrated on was a P3 733MHz with 512Kb RAM and a broadband connection. It could be that there is some trigger level at which the Windows automatic update process (under throttling conditions) stresses the system sufficiently to prevent timely avast network access.

Thinking back, I was puzzled by a period of time when, on a similar machine (P3 1GHz), I was getting the red box from avast at every startup. Since there were comments here about DNS problems etc, I changed my DNS servers, made no difference and the problem went away. Now, I am fairly sure it was during the “mega update” from Microsoft that contained 18 updates in one release and that took them about two weeks for most users to be able to access. I shall have to go backto my old machine and see if the avast and windows update logs match.

14

Windows updates are truly being throttled, I ticked 4 updates and excluded the Malicious Software one, so far after two days only one has been downloaded and installed, three to go.

However, I have had one avast VPS update during that period. I’m not sure that my windows update process is running as I have mine on Notify not download and I can’t see anything in Task Manager that might be it.

15

I wish someone from Alwil team just confirm this behavior ::slight_smile:
I could not test this in my system…
I mean, this is not a good behavior for me… MS shouldn’t control my antivirus… :stuck_out_tongue:

16

I doubt that this can be happening on every system.

I suspect that the VPS update process has some timing mechanism for contacting each server, if it does not connect successfully then it moves on to the next server but would run out of servers without success. It seems to me that in a “resource hogging” situation this would most likely affect older, less powerful systems (as was the case in the system used for testing).

I did not report this when it happened on my old system. I wonder how many users, when this might only happen once a month for a day or two at most, would bother to report it.

If you think about it, this user reports no problems in a manual update. Indeed quite a few folks have reported problems with automatic updates, but they can get manual updates. So their systems are perfectly capable of performing the update function, it is nothing wrong with their connections, firewall etc. It is just that something is preventing the avast update process from working properly at system startup.

You (Tech), have often recommended the delayed option for updating, I think in most cases that works for folks by getting the avast update away from all the congestion at startup. I just think that this Windows update issue is a more extreme case of startup congestion.

17

That makes more sense… but, in this case, any program that congest the web traffic could, in theory, create a problem to antivirus update.
It won’t be an exclusive problem of Windows Updates as I thought (and blamed) before. So, my assumption and surprise can’t be justified…

18

Not so fast young Tech …

The thing that worries me about Windows update is that - for whatever reason, it blocks out avast update running smoothly, because the major components of Windows update are running at extremely high CPU usage - you will recall that in an earlier post I mentioned that the avast update functions are running at “Below Normal” priority - that means that avast update processes are hardly being scheduled to the CPU at all while Windows updates hoggs it.

I have just run the Windows update on my old computer (p3 1GHz 512Mb RAM). It has not been turned on for a few days, apart from that it was up to date with avast VPS and Windows XP SP2 updates so I knew it would need to run a VPS update on avast and the Windows updates for this month.

I think that some of the differences I have logged in running avast update at the same time as Windows update are … interesting. I will post them a little later in this thread.

19

People using games complain about avast using band while updating…
So, at least, people should be able to CONFIGURE this priority… the ones that are not concerned, keep it on below normal.
The security paranoid (like me ;D) could keep at high priority…

Anyway, I delay other things and keep avast updating 8)
I boot very often during day… I have scheduled avast to update much more frequently, unfortunatelly, than the VPS update period.

20
People using games complain about avast using band while updating...

Even though, as I said, avast was not getting much of a look in at the CPU I did notice at one point that once avast’s setup.ovr did get the CPU it was consuming a very high level of CPU for a short time.

I rather think that is what avast users are seeing - rather than any consumption of network bandwidth - and it would explain what I have described as “sluggishness” of my system during an avast update.

This is all quite interesting - takes me back to the days when I was coding deep in the kernel of an operating system - and worked on implementing that system for a major airline in Brazil - alas poor Varig … how times have changed.