HOW TO TURN AVAST BACK ON AFTER ACCIDENTAL 'REMOVAL'

General Topics
1

I’M NEW HERE, AND FRUSTRATED. I ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE ‘CHANGE OR REMOVE’ KEY ON THE FREE 4.8 AVAST PROGRAM IN THE WINDOWS PROGRAM REMOVAL AREA OF CONTROL PANEL. THIS WAS DONE WHILE TRYING (STUPIDLY) TO CHANGE THE LEVEL OF SENSITIVITY OF ONE OF THE PROVIDERS… SUDDENLY, ON RETURNING TO THE MAIN SCREEN, THE AVAST ICON WAS GONE, REPLACED BY THE RED WARNING! WINDOWS SECURITY SHIELD. WHEN THE SHIELD IS CLICKED ON, THE MESSAGE IN SECURITY CENTER IS: AVAST REPORTS ITSELF TURNED OFF. RECOMMENDATION: TURN BACK ON’…BUT I CAN FIND NO WAY TO DO THIS…AFTER A SEARCH, I SEE AVAST IS STILL IN THE COMPUTER FILES/FOLDERS… PLEASE HELP! P.S. AS I AM A TOTAL AMATEUR AT THIS, I WOULD LIKE TO AVOID THE SOMEWHAT COMPLICATED ‘UNINSTAL’ PROCEDURE, AS IT APPEARS AVAST IS IN THE ‘SELF-DEFENCE’ MODE AND MUST BE REMOVED BY THE ‘SAFE MODE’ METHOD…

2

Please, avoid CAPS… you’re not shouting and the readability is lower.

I suggest an installation from scratch:

  1. Download the latest version of avast! Uninstall Utility and save it.
  2. Download the latest avast! version and save it.
  3. Uninstall avast from Control Panel (if possible). If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after that.
  4. Run the avast! Uninstall Utility saved on 1. If, for any reason, you can’t run it, try booting in Safe Mode and doing it from there. Anyway, boot after you’ve run it.
  5. Install avast! using the setup saved on 2. Boot.
  6. Register your free copy or add the license key for Pro.
  7. Check and post the results.
3

Hi, welcome to the forum.

No need to shout. I can hear you fine. :wink:

[s]Go to the control panel again. Is Avast present in the list? If so, select “change” then “repair”.

What appears to have happened is that you have either uninstalled the program, (likely) in which case you’ll have to re-install it (this would be a good time to update to version 5, which is better)

or
you have removed one of the components, the file shield I think it was called (the basic resident protection). I don’t think this is so likely, as the a icon has gone completely.

Don’t worry about the complexity of a full removal/re-install. Unless there is something wrong with your computer, this will be quite straightforward. I ( or someone else) will talk you through it.[/s]

Please make sure your Windows firewall is on (it probably is, or the “red shield” would probably have appeared concerning it) and advise in your reply what OS you use, and any other security programs installed, past or present.

Edited as Tech has replied.

4

sorry about the caps…my operating system is windows xp professional …no other security systems installed…system firewall is on…i have downloaded the new 4.8 version, but it will not run after installation i get an error message. probably because avast is still in the computer, as shown by a file/folder search, but is not visible from the control panel program area.
i cannot uninstal without going to safe mode, which i’ve not done before, as the ‘self-protect’ mode is on, even tho’ the avast is completely invisible on screen…

5
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Have a look at this simple tutorial for rebooting into safe. It’s not a difficult procedure. Be prepared for the desktop to look very “bare-bones” and at a much lower resolution when it starts.

You should already have saved the file linked above, the Avast Uninstall utility, to your desktop.
You should also have the full install file for the replacement. I recommend the latest Avast 5 version - it is simply better in every aspect - but if you are determined to use 4.8, OK. Be aware that support for 4.8 (updates) ends soon, probably at the end of this year.

-Disconnect from the web.
-Reboot into safe mode.
-Run the Avast uninstall utility. It is intuitive to run.
-Reboot. The computer will reboot into normal mode, unless you used the second method (msconfig) in the tutorial link to get into safe, in which case you’d need to reverse those steps (as explained in the tutorial).
-Check that the folder C:\Program files\Alwil is not present. The security centre should now be saying something like “no antivirus detected”. If it doesn’t, reboot again.
-Install Avast. When the orange “a” icon is in the system tray, and animated, you can reconnect to the net.
-Reboot as prompted, twice is a good idea.

You should be all good to go.

7

How are you getting on with this?