How to disable automatic updates in Avast 2015?

Hello There,

I hope this will help all other user encountering this issue with 2015 version of (at least) Free Avast.

I’ve just upgraded my Free Avast to 2015 version.

Upon unticking several options, when re opening avast interface they keep coming back on eg automatic updates, animating tray icon etc.

Is that option disabled for Free version or isit just me being idiot to figure it out?

I have registered with Avast, reset my password, added new device and still no avail.

Regards

Control Panel>Uninstall a Program>double click “avast”>click “repair”>reboot.

Why do you want to disable updates? Doing this will “disable” you from having/receiving
the latest virus definitions and you will lose some protection.

GUI>Settings>Updates>click on the “arrow”>select “manual updates”.

Many thanks for the response.

I’d like to re-itarate it’s not the case of disabling just eg automatic updates but a case where Avast keeps restoring previously changed settings for example animating tray icon and other different options.

What’s my reason for disabling automatic updates themselves is different issue which I did not raised in my post so I won’t be going there explaining that.

May I also point out (if it actually matters) I’m using just a Free version of Avast 2015.

What's my reason for disabling automatic updates themselves is different issue which I did not raised in my post so I won't be going there explaining that.
So you install security software to protect your system and at the same time you don't want to the software to protect your system in the best possible way ???

Why not telling why you want to disable automatic updates and which one(s) you are trying to disable?

eg because it’s there to change to manual ones - enough for you? getting slightly fed up with the supposed to be mods? you’ve got 12k posts on this forum and did not contribut to my question so far at ALL…

none of the options i want to change stay the same and avast is restoring them each time.

dont bother to reply i you do not intend to answer to the probelm itself.

I did not creat a topic why shall i leave automatic updates on.

getting slightly fed up with the supposed to be mods?
Meaning you don't have a clue what a moderator is. And no, I'm not a moderator as you could have seen already.
you've got 12k posts on this forum and did not contribut to my question so far at ALL..
I sure did. I asked you a question but so far you haven't answered.
dont bother to reply i you do not intend to answer to the probelm itself.
So far it seems that the real problem is you.
I've just upgraded my Free Avast to 2015 version
To what exact version? From what exact version? What have you already tried to solve the problem and how?

Why not telling why you want to disable the automatic update(s)?
Why not telling what exact update(s) you are trying to prevent?
Because the real problem seems to be you are having a problem with them.

Personally I want some things to stay disabled as well.

If it’s really that important to you Eddy, then here are a few reasons;

  1. I decide what comes onto my computer and when, not some programmer who doesn’t know me, my system or my needs.
  2. If you are running close to a bandwidth quota you don’t need your AV blowing the limit for you.
  3. It just makes gaming a real fun experience to disappear to lag city because your AV has decided to download a huge file.
  4. These are home computers, not missile silos. Checking for updates every 4 hours is serious overkill.

Even Micro$oft understand that it is acceptable to “Check for Updates” and then allow the user to decide when to do them.

I used Nortons until they got delusions of grandeur and I’d find my games suddenly minimised so the AV could tell me that an update was available. (Not to mention turning into a memory hog, talk about bloatware). I went to AVG but moved to Avast because AVG no longer have the option of turning off the autoupdate. The God like ESP powers of the AVG programmers apparently let them know far better than I when my program should update and I should have no say in the matter.

As for “not letting it protect you”, please be serious. How many planet wide virus threats were headed off by 4 hour autoupdating in the last 10 years? Like I said, these are home computers not missile silos, a daily check or check on boot is quite sufficient.

All I’m asking for (and I suspect snowball is wanting too) is that options stay where you set them rather than having to reset them every time you update.

Aside from anything else, having the option there but constantly changing it makes the product and company look bad. Why tell people they can set “Options” if you’re only going to change them again without telling the customer? Sorry, but that’s what malware does.

Now I didn’t come here to rant or get into a fight. I came here because I have the same concerns as snowball does. I’m trying the free edition to see whether the full program is worth spending my money on. To that end I’m also looking at how helpful and friendly the people are in the forums. If someone asks for help then they should get it, not a series of questions about their motives.

And sorry, but it’s none of your damn business why I or anyone else choose the settings we do.

If the program won’t stop changing the settings, just say so. I’ll uninstall it and go find a better product that does what I want it to do. (I can’t speak for anyone else)

John,
1] Read the eula
2] No you don’t always. It depends on the software, the eula, license terms.
3] You can set avast what to do if there is a update.
4] No it is not. 160,000 new malware samples created every day.

Well said John J - you’ve pointed all out perfect!

Eddy, I’m getting the grasp of how you’ve gained you 12k posts.

Cutting the argument short - I did not notice it restores the default settings upon update. It does in my example every time meaning save setting, close interface and reopen it.

Eddy, If I tell you I want to just disable the animation of tray icon, are you going to ask me again why I’d want to do that or are you going to get to the point of the initial problem?

I suspect I do not get any sensible response off you.

Eddy give me an asnwer before any of your future posts: Why would you give the option to untick something and restore it by the Avast itself without notifying me of it? dont tell me about EULA though, ok? What if I change 10 settings - do I neeed to re peat the setttings again every day? (although the issue is that Avast do not keep any settings, not to mention keeping them on till next re boot)

Obviously it’s either a bug or something I have missed to do - which is why I came here to find out in the 1st place!

How do you think your rubbish will HELP others reading the post through? have you thought of that?

Why all of a sudden to change settings to disable automatic updates??? Updates i.e. malware updates and program updates are very important for avast antivirus both protecting the user’s computers and making it’s own program very effective. Disable updates won’t protect your computer from the latest threats. As Eddy mentioned above all 4 points especially number 4 (that’s a staggering number of malware being made and it’s very important for antivirus software to keep up with these malware affecting user’s computers and laptop. If you disable automatic updates forever for your avast every new threat that comes up avast won’t be able to recognize the threats that comes onto your computers making avast think that your computer is clean which in fact it can’t be clean (it’s like not maintaining your car for a very long time and driving your car as you may be sure it’s running in good condition, which in fact it won’t be in good condition and you go to car repair workshop just to find out it’s got tons of issues). I suggest you to keep automatic updates “ON” for vps updates at all times and as for program updates select “ask when an update is available”.

I have never heard of a user wanting to disable automatic update. At JohnJ469 I totally disagree with you on all of your 4 points especially number 2. VPS updates (malware updates) are small files containing the latest malware signatures and it doesn’t waste too much of your internet bandwidth.

On top of VPS updates there’s streaming updates! Streaming updates are also very important. Streaming updates are updates that are sent to users computer every 5-15 minutes. Like Norton antivirus pulse updates. Avast! Streaming updates http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCkAeu60s18

I have been using avast free since the very first version of avast 7 and still using it. Best of the best antivirus software I have came across.

Staticguy are you Eddy in disguise?

Why keep coming back at the 'why would you want blah balah blah…"

Have you got a selective concetration? I do not mean to be ‘abusive’ but this is all snowballocks!

To cut all clear.

I promise I’ll be updating my Avast virus data base!

Scoutboy’s word for it. I’m outta here!

Eddy, I'm getting the grasp of how you've gained you 12k posts.
No you don't. My average is 3.079 posts per day. You are here 1 day and you already have 5.

Unless you are experiencing one (or more) problems with the automatic updates, there is no legitimate reason to disable them.
If you do experiencing problems, tell us what/how and provide details, and we will try to help you.

Eddy give me an asnwer before any of your future posts
How can I answer in a post before posting?
are you going to get to the point of the initial problem?
How can I or anyone else get to the point of your initial problem if you don't tell us what it is? Sorry but all our mind readers are currently on strike :P
How do you think your rubbish will HELP others reading the post through? have you thought of that?
How do you think to get help if you keep refusing to tell the initial problem? Have you thought about that? How do you think we can help you if you don't provide details like os/sp and what exact version of avast? Have you thought about that?

If you want a coconut that is hanging in a tree, you can jump what you want but that will not get you the coconut.
You will have to start at the base of the tree.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+disable+avast+updates

I rest my case.

It’s not about how to disable updates - I do update but manually. ::slight_smile: ::slight_smile: ::slight_smile: ::slight_smile: >:(

The problem is Avast 2015 Free version all the options i change eg untick keeps restoring themselves upon closing user interface to the default setting when i re open the interface. What’s there hard to understand?

The topic you have set:

How to disable automatic updates in Avast 2015?
And now you say:
It's not about how to disable updates

You still haven’t told what os/sp you are using.
You still haven’t told what exact version of avast you are using.

Guys…the poster is asking “why his personal settings do “not” stick and/or “saved”.?”
I strongly disagree with his reasoning but the poster should try a repair…

Control Panel>uninstall a Program>double click “avast”>click “repair”>reboot.

Para-Noid,

I agree. Avast has a problem retaining user settings, especially after Windows restart. Some settings are not saved at all. In some installs, an Avast repair or clean reinstall doesn’t help.

One thing I do every single day is to shut my laptop down completely.
Too many people use sleep mode and end up with other issues that a
reboot will often resolve.

I have noticed several users complaining about settings not being saved.
Hopefully this will be fixed with the next release…whenever that will be.

As snowball said, it isn’t about not updating, but about the settings not sticking, and that is a pain.

On the autoupdate or not there are reasons for choosing manual and one will give the auto fans some disquieting times. I prefer manual because rather than interrupting what I’m doing I can choose when the update (and perhaps reboot) will happen. Basically I set them to go while I’m having dinner and don’t need the system. This delay doesn’t compromise my security.

If you are under such imminent threat of malware that you require streaming updates every 10 minutes then your life will be a lot easier if you simply stop visiting pr0n and hacking sites and stop giving your email addy to every scam that you see on the net. That alone will decrease your vulnerability by 95%. :wink:

An interesting thing about viruses and malware that most people don’t think about are their targets. It’s accepted that they will do a number of things, but the very first thing they do is try to silently disable the antivirus and the updater. This way the malicious program can do it’s work unmolested and even when Avast, AVG or whoever create a fix, your system won’t download it anyway. The really cool thing about autoupdate is that you don’t need to do anything and the program doesn’t have to talk to you or ask permission for anything. Of course, this also means that unless you actually open the program and look, you have no way of knowing whether it’s actually working or not. :wink: I’ll repeat that, you have no way of knowing if the autoupdate feature is actually working or not. Think about that for a while.

So while your compromised system is being used for all sorts of things and the bad guys are preparing to clean out your bank account and max your credit cards, you’ll be here telling everyone how well protected you are. If they don’t clean you out or do anything else really obvious, you might be wondering sometime around October next year why your AV hasn’t updated to the 2016 version yet and realise then that you have a problem.

Scared yet?

Now while I think 4 hours is a bit excessive, I can handle it. Every 4 hours my Avast asks me to do an update and it bugs the hell out of me. And that’s what I want. Regardless of which AV program you choose, or whether it’s every 4 hours or just daily, those requests tell me that the program is fully functional and working and that I’m protected. If there is a successful infection the requests for an update will stop. With this warning I can pull the network plug and do what is required to clean the system, knowing that the bastard child of the son of a bitch black hat cannot do anything or call for help.

So if by some freak chance an autoupdate fan and I both got hit by the same infection, he’ll find out either when the bank account is empty or around October next year, I’ll know when the requests stop, a maximum of 4 hours. :wink: By taking an active role in your system security you are constantly checking that all programs are working correctly. When the requests stop, something has changed and must be investigated.

I do accept that the logic is convoluted, but it saved my arse a couple of times. :wink: