For some reason downloading new skins doesn’t work with the computer. I have put them in the skin folder and nothing is showing up except the two default ones. What’s going on? The computer is an administrative account on XP home.
If you’re downloading skins with Internet Explorer, as soon as you click on them, they will auto-install themselves. No additional action required on your end.
I have no clue which browser you used since you left no info inside your post.
What is the extension of those files you manually put in skins folder ? It should be .asws
If it’s .aswcs, that’s installation file, not the extracted skin file. You need to double click each .aswcs file to manually install each skin.
I tried double clicking it. It brings up the which program I want to open it with program.
Select the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashSimpl.exe (simple user interface) I think that is the one that can unpack them.
If you had used the get more skins inside the Simple User Interface Menu, then it should have installed itself. If however, you downloaded the skin .aswcs file and saved to disk it won’t know what file to use to unpack it.
I had this same problem, (I am using Firefox mostly.) but I overcame it… how did I do that?
I put the skins into the skins folder and I double clicked on each one… which caused the skin to open, sans the av information… you know, kind of like a blank graphic? I think after that, avast!'s skin thing, recognised them as existing… I did not have to instal anything… but I don’t remember exactly how I did this… I tend to be an intuitive user…
If you downloaded them with Firefox as you said yourself, whatever you did, you had to install it because all you’ve got by downloading it with Firefox is installation file .aswcs and nothing else. You have to install it to extract the skin file from it… Trust me, I know exactly what I’m talkig about, I made bunch of those skins and I know how they work.
This is what you get when downloading with Firefox:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/8730/1tv5.jpg
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4307/2ni8.jpg
DavidR also mentioned what needs to be done in case your computer doesn’t know which program to use to open these skins 
However… why complicating things more than it’s needed. Regardless of if you love or hate IE and you use Firefox or Opera or any other browser out there… I am 100% sure you still have IE installed because it is normal part of your OS.
1.) Start your IE,
2.) go to skins section on avast! web site
3.) click on skin that you want to download
and in less than 15 seconds, skin will be downloaded and Auto-installed on your system. Nothing is easier than this…
szc
If you downloaded them with Firefox as you said yourself, whatever you did, you had to install it because all you’ve got by downloading it with Firefox is installation file .aswcs and nothing else. You have to install it to extract the skin file from it… Trust me, I know exactly what I’m talkig about, I made bunch of those skins and I know how they work.
I believe you, I just don’t remember… (pretty sad, as it was only a week ago)
Ok, I just downloaded a skin…
I put it into the Skin folder, and double clicked it, which produced a larger file with the same name, and a text file, Avast took care of the rest… as for technicalities in case that does not work, I have no idea…