Free Avast 7.1 blocks Paint Shop Pro 9

system · 2017-03-11T01:52:07.000Z

b60 post:11:

I reported the issue to Avast and they sent back a message saying that they can’t find a record of my account in their system, even though I’ve been using Avast for many years!

I also reported the Problem (in my case with PaintShop Pro 9 AND PaintShop Pro XI to Avast and they replied
(quote)
"Hello,

We’re sorry, but we can’t seem to find a record of your license in our system.

If you use Avast Free Antivirus, please visit the FAQ section of our website or the Avast community forum.

If you use one of our premium products and believe you’ve received this message in error, please reply directly to this email advising us of your order ID or the email address you used to make the purchase. If you do not remember your order ID or which email address you used, please provide your full name and the postal address you entered when purchasing Avast.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
The Avast Support Team"
(end quote)

So apparently anyone who is using the FREE version of Avast is screwed! >:(

Asyn · 2017-03-11T04:02:07.000Z

See Reply #11. (Also works for Avast Free users.)

system · 2017-03-11T05:11:41.000Z

Asyn post:21:

See Reply #11. (Also works for Avast Free users.)

I saw that reply and actually started to submit the form, but how would “false positive” apply to this specific situation? There is NO virus warning produced (no “warning” at all) as it would be with suspected “infected” files.
And the program does show as “running” in the Processes tab of Windows Task Manager, but fails to load on the screen. So which file would likely be the one affected by Avast then? The program’s .exe file or one of the UI.dll files?

Asyn · 2017-03-11T05:30:51.000Z

Try setting the behavior shield to ask.

system · 2017-03-11T05:52:37.000Z

Asyn post:23:

Try setting the behavior shield to ask.

Tried all possible settings for ALL shields, even turned ALL shields OFF and it made NO difference!
The only way I was able to get PaintShop Pro to open again was, by uninstalling the 17.2.2288 version and reverting back to an old version…which, as I just now noticed, “screwed” me too, because I forgot to turn off automatic updates for the Program, so it automatically (without notifying me) updated once again to version 17.2.2288…meaning once I shut the computer down tonight and restart it tomorrow, I will most likely find PaintShop Pro to be blocked AGAIN…unless Avast has suddenly fixed the problem which would amount to nothing short of a miracle!
I’ll let you know how it turns out, but don’t hold your breath! :-\

bob3160 · 2017-03-11T17:44:34.000Z

What version of PSP ??? Is it a legally registered program ???

system · 2017-03-14T23:37:25.000Z

I have the same problem. Updated free Avast about a week ago and since then Paint Shop Pro 9 will not launch in Windows XP Pro although it shows up in task manager. Also, the computer then hangs and will not shut down, I have to power off at the switch. I have tried the suggestion of putting Paint Shop Pro in the Settings> components> behaviour shield> customize but this makes no difference. Is Avast likely to fix this problem anytime soon?

system · 2017-03-16T05:27:09.000Z

disable
settings / troubleshooting / avast self defense module

(Unfortunately the exclusions do not work on self defense module and disable shields does not work either)

userg-1 · 2017-03-16T06:54:35.000Z

Disabling avast self defense module works, but is it safe to disable it? Avast please fix it.

system · 2017-03-17T02:51:56.000Z

Is that a problem before?

Normally an anti virus launches before the operating system, examines the memory and examines itself
Then it examines everything that moves, and a virus can only come from outside, and it will be examined and, unless excluded, quarantined before saying ouf: AVAST will not even ask you your opinion in silent mode

Personally, I think that if AVAST can do this, we do not need more

What is this module that does not take into account exclusions?
And here that does not even quarantine but blocks programs at launch?

I take the “risk”

system · 2017-03-17T18:04:12.000Z

ardf post:27:

disable
settings / troubleshooting / avast self defense module

(Unfortunately the exclusions do not work on self defense module and disable shields does not work either)

I have the same problem on my computer, but it allows me to use Photoshop,
But i don’t have free Advast i paid for mine and it upgraded a few days ago, so computer is just pile of crap right now

system · 2017-03-19T07:28:08.000Z

kjmartland: The problem is for Paint Shop Pro, not for Photoshop
Otherwise, it would mean that … ahahah avast = malware If you do not pay ?

system · 2017-03-20T02:54:53.000Z

Presuming you mean Avast 17.1.
Have similar problem but with PaintShopPro Photo X2 stopped working after free Avast upgrade. It’s there in Taskmgr.exe but no GUI.
Disabling all shields didn’t help. Works in Safe Mode and if I uninstall Avast.
Only thing that works is to go to Settings/Troubleshooting and unchecking “Enable Avast self-defense module”.
Not sure if it thinks there’s malware in the program but it doesn’t report it when I do a scan.

alanwin · 2017-03-23T21:39:17.000Z

Thank you for posting this, for complicated reasons I had to do a rebuild of a legacy XP Pro machine with Paintshop Pro X that simply would NOT launch. Disabling Avast (17.2.2288) self-defence mode FINALLY let it launch. I wasted 6 hours on it trying everything and I would quite like my life back. >:(

bob3160 · 2017-03-24T13:33:52.000Z

jpwilk2 post:32:

Presuming you mean Avast 17.1.
Have similar problem but with PaintShopPro Photo X2 stopped working after free Avast upgrade. It’s there in Taskmgr.exe but no GUI.
Disabling all shields didn’t help. Works in Safe Mode and if I uninstall Avast.
Only thing that works is to go to Settings/Troubleshooting and unchecking “Enable Avast self-defense module”.
Not sure if it thinks there’s malware in the program but it doesn’t report it when I do a scan.

That would indicate that something in PSP is accessing something within Avast. The self-defense module protects Avast from tampering. Primarily designed to prevent Malware from turning off the protection.

Eddy · 2017-03-25T19:17:01.000Z

Disabling avast or even running windows in Safe mode does not help too.

Guess what... avast doesn't run in safe mode. If you can't use PsP in safe mode, the problem is not avast but something else.

userg-1 · 2017-03-27T12:56:45.000Z

Eddy post:35:

Disabling avast or even running windows in Safe mode does not help too.
Guess what... avast doesn't run in safe mode. If you can't use PsP in safe mode, the problem is not avast but something else.

You can guess as many times as you want, it’s Avast self-defense module which do not let Paint Shop Pro to run. After disabling it, the program runs normally.

system · 2017-04-04T10:28:44.000Z

I had “freeze” for some time on a XP machine (reboot mandatory), I searched for a long time hardware, HDD, Memory … and also conflicting programs … it was random but regular: Between a few hours and a maximum of 2 days! and “couic” => freeze
Since deactivating the self-defense module, never again!

Grrr AvAST, AVASTT !!! :-*

DavidR · 2017-04-04T12:43:13.000Z

This is certainly strange, bordering on weird.

Unless the function of the self-defence module has changed (and I haven’t seen anything in black and white), it should only prevent another process from accessing/modifying avast features/function/locations/settings.

bob3160 · 2017-04-04T12:57:08.000Z

DavidR post:38:

This is certainly strange, bordering on weird.

Unless the function of the self-defence module has changed (and I haven’t seen anything in black and white), it should only prevent another process from accessing/modifying avast features/function/locations/settings.

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=197295.msg1380566#msg1380566

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