I am so done with avast av!

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

As a long time user and advocate for avast’s products, I am dropping any/every install I have and will immediately send out emails to everyone who was ever an IT client, or friend or family member of mine - and suggest they do the same.

For whatever inane reason, the powers that be in the company have decided that the explicit choices made by the users of their products are to be totally and utterly ignored. Users make their own program and update choices for valid and specific reasons. No matter what those reasons are, they should never be overridden just because a program author makes an arbitrary decision for the sake of sales or marketing, with no idea of the ultimate impact it will cause. If the author decides that a specific program or version will no longer be supported - fine, that is within their prerogative to choose their direction - but there should never be a massive, undeclared and forced version update with absolutely no concern for the end user and absolutely NO choice given prior to it happening. I can’t understand why anyone would blatantly and intentionally screw the very users they claim they want to help when it comes to a security related product like AV and malware software. If avast refuses to be considerate of their users, then they shouldn’t expect anything from the user base they’ve just took a proverbial dump on. This is without a doubt - regardless of any good or bad reasoning for why it was necessary - ridiculous and unacceptable behavior. Avast’s choices DO NOT trump the user’s choices - ever!

To be specific and clear… I and others I’ve heard from today have older PC’s that have been ‘topped out’ when it comes to the speed/memory options they have. These machines tend to struggle with these increasingly bloated and evermore memory hungry versions as they’ve been rolled out. They may not have the latest and greatest hardware, but these machines are well running and capable, and have many years of service left in them. Every one of them would loose some of their functionality if upgraded (i.e., sandboxing that was later removed), and it will certainly cause them to suffer with performance issues due the increased requirements of these newer versions… not to mention that avast’s track record of having buggy version releases that have paralyzed PC’s whenever they’re version updated has led to little confidence in avast’s choices. They’ve forced similar changes several times before, and this one is only the latest and by far the worst thought out one of all.

Every one of these PC’s is running Windows 7, so there’s no obsolete OS issues in play here. Each and every one of them was running avast 6, and were ALL set with their program update options carefully and deliberately specified as MANUAL PROGRAM UPDATES ONLY. The operative word being “was”… until today when they were forced into a background update to the latest 2014 version - AND - absolutely no alerts, selectable options, or prior notification on any impending version change or expiring versions was ever seen. The only indicator once the upgrade was finished was the “you’ve been upgraded - restart to continue” popup staring at the user after-the-fact. Productive machines turned to slugs in an instant.

In very simple terms… if you walked out to your car tomorrow morning and found your tuned v-8 engine was suddenly and silently replaced by a slug of a slant-6 by your car maker, you might just begin to understand what kind of impact this has caused. Now it’s up to me to rip out this new software and replace it on every affected PC with something worthwhile and respective of the settings chosen for them. A fresh waste of time and money, with more effort than should be required and even more lost productivity until they’re overhauled… all for what reason? I don’t know what that reason is and I’m way past caring if I ever find out.

One last note… I won’t assume that any company execs frequent or even care about the posts in these forums, and I’ll be honest to say that at this point, I don’t care either. This will be my one and only post, so forum users shouldn’t bother with any apologies or offers of help. I won’t be back to read them. This post is to alert users that they might need to evaluate the trust they place in any company that clearly has no regard for their very important and personal choices.

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See: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=156014.msg1130913#msg1130913

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Just uninstall it via add/remove. Download avast uninstall utility via here http://www.avast.com/en-nz/uninstall-utility and run your computer in safe mode and run that tool. After that download Avast Cleanup Tool via here http://rejzor.wordpress.com/avast-cleanup-tool/. Scroll down a bit you will find a zip file of Avast Cleanup Tool click on that and an window will open double click on Avast Cleanup tool. Start your computer in safe mode and run the Avast Cleanup Tool.

Since you don’t like the way Avast is doing for you! Just install a different antivirus such as MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials). MSE doesn’t include any other tools/new function. It always has the same tool and function which will be good for you.

4

Your car analogy is broken, because in avast!'s case your inline 4 was replaced by a V10… Antiviruses operate at their peak performance when they are absolutely up to date. Miss out program updates and you risk of having less than intended protection. Miss out on cloud or signatures and you’ll lose even greater chunk of protection. That’s the reality and that’s how it is. Why people insist on v7 which will soon be 3 years old is beyond me. 3 years in malware world is like eternity.

5

Doesn’t matter… it’s not up to you or Avast or anyone else to choose for the user. It’s their machine and their choice. They have reasons for what they do, what they like, what they choose etc., and understand the risks. User’s selections shouldn’t be ignored for any reason.

6

If it is in the interest of the user (in this case better protection), sometimes user choices should be overruled.

Guess why companies have admin(s) and not let the users handle the entire IT facility… :wink:

You could say it was the users own choice.
The user decided to secure their system(s).
avast is only helping them to do so in the best way.

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i am avast user and so far lover. however i agree that NO ONE, repeat, NO ONE has the right to overrule me on my machine.
avast should only give notice of dropping support and let owners do as they will. never make changes on someone’s machine without permission. they have no right. it is wrong.

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See: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=156014.msg1131015#msg1131015

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But why would you want to use ancient outdated version!?!?!?!? WHY?

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asyn.

yes, i have seen that response, but if it ever happens to me i will be gone. however it is unlikely to happen as i always stay completely up to date on all programs except os as i just can’t afford to relace either computer or os.
there must be some way other than forum to notify people rather than change what is set to disallow.
maybe simple readme sent to all via update. admittedly, i am not computer code savvy, so i can’t really say how it could be done. i just wish for good privacy and protection for all.
not trying to be snide here, just voicing my opinion.

hopeful avast user for foreseeable future
skinnypops

11

Administrators have the job of maintaining computers and acting as an agent in the best interest of the company who owns the computers. Individual users (other employees) do not own the computers they are working on in a company. With that said an administrator’s decisions shouldn’t be overridden by an outside anti-virus company that has no idea what is in the best interest of the company whose only stake is that someone installed their software. It is unethical and immoral to believe that your reach should extend beyond that.

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  1. Again, doesn’t matter why… it’s their computer, not yours or Avast’s
  2. If you have ever worked in a corporate environment there is a lot of software which you utilize with a lot of users (hundreds or thousands of users) with different configurations, different equipment etc., and if something goes wrong, because it has not been adequately tested, this then hinders the corporation and everything they are doing… production is stopped, clients are unable to get their answers, things aren’t delivered and money and time are lost because some outside company who has nothing to do with your company decides it’s in your best interest to do what they want… they don’t care how it affects you, they just feel it’s better for you… seriously??? Is that logical to you? Why do you think Microsoft doesn’t just push updates to you whenever they feel like it? Not even just Microsoft, MOST companies don’t adopt such an insane method. Oh you were in the middle of creating the spreadsheet, I don’t care, I’m just going to update your software now and while Im at it, Im going to reboot your machine for the changes to take effect. Lost your work… oh well… Where does it stop?
    3)For personal users the same things apply however to a lesser degree, but that still doesn’t change the fact that this is a piece of software installed on YOUR machine… boundaries need to be maintained. Don’t change my settings, don’t push updates to me, don’t do anything that is in my best interest… I will decide what is in my best interest. It serves avast no useful purpose other than to piss people off to feel the need to push themselves on people. The arrogance involved to think that is absolutely mindblowing
  3. For both personal and corporate you can reread the OP’s post for other clues… some machines out there cannot handle anything else… they are setup exactly how they want them, they don’t want to get new hardware or cannot afford it and changing software whenever Avast feels like it isn’t acceptable. Give the user the choice, they may choose to get new hardware or may just get a new AV or may just accept the risk of some protection as opposed to the best protection.
  4. Lol see the post right below this one
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Your latest “upgrade” has borked my main internet machine (XP) completely.

After updating yesterday AGAINST MY PREFERENCE it started by simply blocking every attempt I made to run my browser (Firefox). Having read on these forums (thank God I have this Linux box) that I ought to be able to roll back to a usable version by uninstalling the Space Invader version and reinstalling, I tried that: guess what? My previously trusty machine can now not boot AT ALL (either into normal Windows or into Safe Mode) to allow me to uninstall completely. Courtesy of YOUR “UPGRADE” it now shuts down “to protect my hardware”. Yesterday I had a working computer in daily use; today I have a brick, thanks to Avast ignoring what I had told it (not) to do. AVs are supposed to protect against stuff that screws up your machine, not do the job for them.

If I can get my main machine working again, it will never again run Avast. Period.

14

Your way of thinking goes along the lines of hiring a personal security guard and then disregard his demands for your security. Because that’s what you’re doing if you’re thinking you know it better than a security firm like AVAST Software.

As for corporate deployment, it’s administrators job to perform proper deployment. WHich also includes full control over definitions or at least program versions. If you’ve deloployed antivirus to clients and let it update directly, it will of course do just that. But if you update them from your repository, it’s still under your full control. Though avast!'s main policy still controls what you get into the repository, it just gives you time to test and adapt or report possible issues. So that’s not exactly avast!'s fault if admins do half ass job… And i’m sure avast! allows that for corporate environments.

15

If I tell my security guard to wait in the car and I get mugged walking down the alley then yes it is my fault but I have accepted the risks involved. If I tell my security guard Im a maniac, a drunk and have no idea what Im doing so no matter what I tell you, protect me and don’t let me go down that alley then he damn well better not let me go.

There is a difference.

You’re missing what the OP and the post above you by PassingCloud are stating… this update was made against their preferences, they are now suffering as a result and since they are able to post and things are spelled correctly I’ll assume they are not maniacs and not drunk and didn’t sign up for Avast to do what it feels like on their machines

16

I agree AVAST should NOT force an program update to any machine… For example what would of happen if Apple would of force os8 update to every Iphone user it will be a nightmare !!! People choice not the company THE USERS KNOWS WHATS BEST FOR THEIR COMPUTERS even if they don’t who cares is their problem not AVAST.

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@dprout69, you’re exactly right - it’s about accepting the risk, which is a matter of knowing in advance what the risk is and being given a choice of what to do about it. If something absolutely must be updated for some reason, please, have it install nicely and allow the user to test the additional, er, features - one by one and revert if something breaks, until sorted out.

In my case, initially, it seemed to be “just” the browser that broke, which is pretty bad for a start. I ran Task Manager and watched it start up, then after a few seconds stop, every time. No rollback on the new Avast interface, which couldn’t call its online help, couldn’t see any obvious settings in the unfamiliar interface, so “oh sh##”, Add/Remove Programs - and away to Blue Screen Hell, on my everyday machine. The one I wanted to protect. (Sigh.)

Avast (and let’s be honest, it’s not just Avast. Firefox is even further down Bloat Road, as are many others.) used to work so well, just kept out of the way and occasionally surprised you with a warning about something. That was all I really expected from the free version; I did look at the paid upgrade, but for an occasional domestic surfer it was a bit like hiring that security guard to patrol my front door when the simple Avast Free lock seemed to be keeping the undesirables out quite well enough for my minimal needs. I like lightweight. I like quick. It’s why I went for Avast in the first place. (And Firefox, come to that.)

I noticed a couple of versions ago that the system tray icon seemed to be churning away a lot of the time, but although that was already slowing things down I decided not to upgrade the “front panel” any more until absolutely necessary and just to let Avast update its virus files. Turning on my monitor when I got back from the shops and finding that something had updated itself - and something as mission-critical as the AV! - was almost insulting.

Nothing has that right. It asks. I set the machine up like that precisely to prevent what just happened. I decide when to update, after reading the experiences of other people who have done so. Having seen several threads of discontent here, I would still have been a happy, and more-or-less safe, user of the simpler Avast now, had this fiasco not happened unbidden.

So now, if I’m lucky, maybe there’s something on one of those old boot discs which can repair a registry (I’m assuming that’s what it is) belonging to a non-running system. Or trying to find the file I found years ago on how to do a Repair Install - somewhere in the borked machine, I’m sure. Or, God have mercy, having to install the whole thing again and find all the installers for everything … and set everything up again …

Oh, and “since they are able to post and things are spelled correctly” … Know exactly what you mean! Yes, I am indeed not a maniac AFAIK, although I might well have been slightly drunk this Saturday evening if I didn’t have a shredded box to attend to. >:(

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Your logic makes no logic. If you know it better, why do you even bother using an antivirus then? You seem to (by your logic) know it better than experts at avast! virus lab. The reality is, users don’t know a thing what’s really best for them unless you’re a PC guru in which case you’d have your AV fully updated to the latest possible version. And that’s a fact.

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Hi RejZoR,

I cannot see the reasoning for protesting against a program security update on a machine.
Why we do not hear anyone about Google Browser silent updates (a policy also performed for reasons of security).
No one is skipping a browser security update as far as I am aware of.
If the browser outweighs the old cycles one takes on a lightweight portable browser version, but does not stop updating.

If the poster is so reluctant about this. why has not he tweaked his registry
so that he could decide to always be back-ported when he like that?
Whenever the user knows what is best for his computer he should have the knowledge to do so.
When he does not know, he apparently does not know what is best for his computer.

polonus

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In addition, near sighted and misinformed/uninformed decisions threaten us all imo…Out of date software, shields off, patches not applied.
And that’s simply unacceptable.