I have just upgraded to avast 5.0. I prefer avast to let me know when a update is available and I prefer to update manually. I prefer not to have automatic updates.
However as it is not set to automatic updates, I get an exclamation mark over the avast icon (in the taskbar). I find this exclamation mark mildly annoying and worries other people who do not know what it refers to. Is there anyway of disabling this exclamation mark, without having to set my preferences to automatic updates?
-Open avast UI
-Click “Settings” at the top right of avast UI
-In the left pane, select “Status Bar” and there you can uncheck the component which you do not want status bar to monitor
thanks, works a treat! 
My pleasure ;D
Works a treat, but is treating the symptom rather than the disease, why it appears.
Why would it not be set to automatic updates, the virus signature updates are automatic so as to provide the pest protection with an up to date virus database. These updates are incremental and measured in KBs not MBs so I can’t understand why these would be an issue, I’m on dila-up and I don’t find them an issue. Program updates are set to Ask, so no surprises there of large downloaded, etc.