help guys, weird error message?

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

hey guys new to these forums. I needed virus software so my buddy gave me his avast pro CD and a keycode. Ive been using it without any trouble for some time, however I keep getting some strange box that says I stole this copy and it will be shut down? I dont know what this means because it is my friends copy. There is a link to purchase it for 75% off? Should I just do this instead? Thanks guys.

2

Yeah, you probably have a pirated key. You could take advantage of the offer. Avast! Free is still an option for you also. But please, lose the pirated install.

3

I am not tech savvy at all. How do i erase it from my computer? Do i need the install disk I used to install avast?

4

Well, before you get started with that, what Windows version and service pack do you have, so you can figure out what to replace it with.

5

You don’t need the CD.

Assuming that you have win 2000 SP4 or later OS, XP, Vista, Win7 etc. - If you choose to buy the much reduced Pro version license, which I think is a pretty good deal given the circumstances. Then you should have a legit license file sent to you by email.

I don’t know how you would actually enter that in your existing installation. But once you receive your email with license file (license.avastlic) attached or link to download, then I would suggest doing a clean install.

  • Download the latest version of avast Pro, 6.0.1289 http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_pro.exe and save it to your HDD, somewhere you can find it again (if you didn’t save your last download). Use that when you reinstall.

  • Download the avast! Uninstall Utility, aswClear.exe find it here and save it to your HDD (it has uninstall tools for both 5.x and 6.0.x).

    1. Now uninstall avast! (using add remove programs, if you can’t do that start from the next step), reboot.- 2. run the avast! Uninstall Utility from safe mode, first for 5.x if previously installed and then for 6.0, once complete reboot into normal mode.- 3. install the latest version, reboot.

If you are going to go with the avast free version, same drill download and save http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free.exe