It wouldn’t surprise me if they create new rules before the update to allow it to run uninterrupted then remove the rules. Which really would be unacceptable to me if they don’t notify the user they are doing this.
In other computer forums, Avast is already being called a virus.
I wonder if there isn’t some truth in that.
For many weeks, Avast has been terrorizing me up to ten times a day using Ikarus.
On top of that, there are all the pop-ups with absurd messages. All that nonsense that keeps you from working. The program has now become a major nuisance, or rather Avast itself.
1 Like
Turn on Limited Mode. That cuts down on the number of scaremongering popups.
Re Limited Mode, see here for more information in this post:
https://community.avast.com/t/avast-renewal-attention/879007/3
First I tried a full uninstall/reinstall of Avast. Same issue, icarus.exe keeps nagging me several times a day. So I let it go. Right now I am trying TotalAV free, It seems quite efficient, but the free version is just a conduit to the paid version ($29). It doesn’t even have realtime virus detection. What I particularly liked about Avast was the possibility of disabling the AV for a set time without much fuss. I don’t even know how to disable TotalAV temporarily. Anybody has a suggestion?
EDIT: Somebody suggested to turn the Avast firewall. I did a full reinstall WITHOUT the firewall. This seems to have done the trick. So far, icarus has not shown up!
Those are rookie numbers 
Currently I have 23 copies. 183 MB of icarus.exe 
Uploading: 23x_icarus.png…
I have the exact same problem for MONTHs
I’m using Malwerbytes Firewall Control to manage my rules/etc.
Avast is wreaking havock with that disposable exe practice!
Not to mention only from some time they started to properly signing their binary! Before it was unsigned!!! Terrible practice.
Please allow us to set this files to fixed path/location so that our firewals can whitelist the damn exe.
Avast need to stop making new exes if old one failed to connect, have some timeouts so we can whitelist app/have it rerun if its once a while temp or something. its pain now!!!
I finally got fed up and uninstalled Avast. I am using Microsoft Defender on Windows 10. I hope it is good enough protection. Has anyone else gone the route?
Quite oddly, even though I have uninstalled Avast, there is still a file of Icarus logs left on my computer: “C:\ProgramData\Avast Software\Icarus\Logs”, as well as some junk files in local and roaming data.
I don’t recommend relying on Defender alone. I read an article from a journalist recently who tried that and it didn’t end well. I think if you stay away from websites with naughty stuff, you might be ok, but otherwise it’s a no-go.
As for the files left over, yea, that’s what most software does. It usually just deletes whatever files it copied during the installation. Log files are typically always left over. That’s why there are “cleaner” apps that do the cleaning afterwards.
Regarding Avast itself, what I’ve been doing ever since the magical update is to just disable automatic updates and then update it once a week myself. It is a bit annoying but better than having these alerts several times a day.
Thanks for the feedback. I was kind of worried about whether Defender was good enough. Some sources say it is fine, others differ. I don’t know what to believe. I did disable the auto update with Avast and hoped that would be temporary until a fix was found, but finally I decided to just get rid of it. I don’t think Avast has any intention of fixing this issue.
I also read within this thread that a user removed the Icarus exe file from his computer, but Avast still was able to update itself, this time without initiating Icarus and bothering the user. I thought Icarus was the updater. Does anyone know if this particular technique is legit?
I don’t like defender because it gives you no control. But it’s better than nothing.
There are 32 copies of icarus.exe on my system, and the temp folders in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avast Software\Icarus\avast-av-vps\temp take up over 500 MB of space.
This is ludicrous.
Weird… I’m still getting bombarded with the icarus.exe nags by my firewall, but my folder is clean. Your firewall must block/lock the .exe and Avast cannot delete the temp files.
I can’t even delete the files without disabling Avast self-defense. Even as an admin it tells me I need permissions from admins. Sigh. I think it is Avast that is preventing Avast from cleaning up the temp folders.
My firewall blocks everything before my VPN has started. Weirdly, Icarus is always the first thing to pop up wanting DNS access, even though I have set Avast to delayed startup. It would be nice if Icarus would actually abide by user preferences. But it kinda seems it still doesn’t.
I removed every instance of icarus.exe and all the other files in those folders. Let’s see what happens.
Great.
I tried updating Avast manually. Nothing happens. Spinning indicator forever.
I tried repairing Avast. Nothing happens at all.
I tried modifiying Avast. Again nothing happens.
When I try and modify Avast via Windows Apps menu I get an error that icarus.exe is not found. Yeah what do you expect when there’s 32 copies and over 500 MB of icarus and associated files that I cleaned up because Avast seemingly can’t clean it up itself…
So do I now have to do a fresh install of Avast Free? Can I even uninstall without icarus.exe? Probably going to have to do an AvastClear.
Icarus is such a piece of shit, omfg.
Edit:
Yup. Had to do an AvastClear in safe mode because the uninstaller is / relies on icarus.exe
After uninstall deleted all remaining folders etc.
Brand new installation of 24.12, import settings, go through the spiel of all the annoying dark patterns and upsells, see if indeed it only installed the components I selected (because that’s not a given!)… error 44001 when trying to open the Avast installer. Cool. It needs internet access to even open the menu? WTF?
Rundvleeskroket –
Maybe try a clean installation without importing anything? – you can modify/copy/import after setup is complete. HTH
I Import settings after the install has completed and a reboot.
I only install mail shield, web shield, and file shield. Nothing else. I don’t want or need any of it.
The error comes up when running the installer (icarus.exe) via installed apps → Avast → modify (to verify what components are installed) without internet access. I can repeat it and get the error every time. The installer errors out without internet, and works with internet. I’m pretty sure older versions of Avast did not do this.
Try it yourself. You’ll probably get the same error.
This is extremely frustrating. icarus.exe is making my firewall and me beyond annoyed… Think I might as well switch over…
But does anyone have an answer to this issue before I consider jumping ship