i like avast so far, but i really dislike the skinning feature. i find it to be a bit bloated. is there any way to disable it?
no current way to disable it, however this may be an option in the future
You can buy the Professional version, not skinned ;D
Or, just try to use the simplest skin: Low res.
Sorry but I cannot agree with your statement:
Great users (Sasha) and Alwil’s team (Martin Novak) did such a great work. Simple skins could not bore you… I cannot believe not just one fit your needs… Did you try: Lite-On, Corporate, Flat’n’Simple, Petite and Petite Blue? Quite simple and good ones 8)
i thought skinning is one of the UNIQUE features of avast! ;D ;D ;D
ive tried pretty much all the simple skins on the site and i pretty much dislike them all. the skinning feature is unique, especially for an anti-virus but sometimes people (eg, me) would prefer a more uniform look to their software. a tutorial on how to skin avast! would be nice, i suppose. i DO hope, though, that an option to disable skinning comes out in the next version.
ive tried pretty much all the simple skins on the site and i pretty much dislike them all.
:‘( :’( 
i seriously don’t see a need for such an option to disable skins… 
maybe you can try the pro version (enhanced user interface) which is not skinnable… 
I agree with you 100%. Especially wrt to the uniform look of applications. I would very much like avast! to adhere to the native XP skinning engine.
Disabling of skins is one of the most important features of the next version of avast. For “normal” people, to skin or not to skin is just a question of personal preference. There’re people, however, for whom turning off the skins is a must (e.g. visually impaired people with screen readers) and we’d like to make avast accessible even for them…
I’m very happy to hear this. And am looking forward to see a skin-free avast!.
Me not 
Long life to Sasha and Martin Novak
Anyway, I understand you Vlk and agree with you: avast for all 8)