Back when I was running v4 on my office computers, I had gleaned from the forum there was a way to set the delay on bootup for avast! to update its files by inserting an AlwaysConnectedWaitSeconds= value into the [InetWD] section of the INI file (avast4.ini at that point). This worked well and appeared to be fully functional in the same format used with v5 after that upgrade with an updated filename (avast5.ini), but seems to no longer work in the upgrade to v6 and every CPU checks for updates immediately. Is this specific initialization command still applicable in v6 and is this primary initialization file still named in the program’s installation subdirectory as “avast5.ini”, or is it somewhere else in Documents and Settings?
I’ve got 5 computers in my office network that all get booted up at about the same time each morning, and I’d like to stagger their initial download of the latest virus definitions to smooth out the load on my Internet connection. Even though it’s a wireless broadband service that has decent speed, having all 5 computers trying to update simultaneously tends to bring everything to a crawl, and some other programs that perform post-boot updates that CAN’T be adjusted (Secunia, FileHippo, Windows, etc.) can abort and return error messages because they interpret the limited bandwidth as having no Internet access at all.
This isn’t necessarily a critical bit of dysfunctionality and getting latest updates for the AV quickly each morning is definitely a good thing, but I’d rather stagger their timing for the updates by a few minutes rather than have to wait those same few minutes between turning each computer on and staggering their boot cycles manually in that fashion – more for my convenience than anything else.
If this function IS still valid, why isn’t it listed as a specific option under the advanced settings for users to specify within the GUI, rather than being forced to edit the INI file?
Now your avast5.ini might differ in content, the first two lines are required for it to work, they can be anywhere between the two headers mentioned.
Use Notepad to edit the avast5.ini file you don’t have to disable the avast self-defence module, just acknowledge the modification when the self-defence module questions it.
Para-Noid – Thanks, but I know of those settings. I want to maintain the auto-update feature on all these machines, and just exercise more discrete control when each one’s avast! initiates the action over the entire office network. I already have “load after other system services” set to help keep various start-up functions from jamming up the process for each one, but that doesn’t provide the timed function I had working well in v5 before all of them were updated to v6.
DavidR – So I take it that despite being at v6 on the main executables, the INI file is still named avast5.ini; thanks for that confirmation and details of the proper location within the INI file, which is pretty much as I had recalled.
Hadn’t mentioned it before, but this is a mixed network with 3 running WinXP Pro SP3, 1 Vista Ultimate (32-bit), and 1 Win7 Ultimate (32-bit). Sometimes their OS differences seem radical, other times not so much. I’ll find and reset all the INI files in each machine and test/tweak this weekend to stagger each computer’s post-boot attempt to update by something like 90-100 seconds and give each one enough time at a high bandwidth to mostly complete its download of the current definition set before the next machine starts trying. I’ll report back later on the outcome.
Yes the avast5.ini file has remained the same as there were too many permutations for people upgrading from avast5 rather than a clean install of avast 6 would mean a lot of registry settings might also have had to change.
So it would have been a messy update path, those who updated from the avast5 UI will still see the old folder structure also as that too would have generated lots of registry changes. Those who did a clean install of avast 6 will have seen slight changes Avast Software instead of Alwil software and Avast Software\Avast for the program folder instead of Alwil Software\Avast5.