I am really disappointed in Avast. I downloaded a two year license for three computers three months ago. I called for support because one of the PC’s the software has ceased to work and called Avast only to get shoved off on iyogi. First of all, I can’t understand them since they’re in India. Second, they try and charge you for fixing the problem which is bullshit. The problem is the program stopped working and now I’ve got a bad virus on one of the PC’s, to which yogi replied, well you bought the product and you have to buy the support. Bunch of crap, and they’ve seen the last dime out of me. >:(
Hi condor221, welcome to the forum
The forum is much better for seeking help, and is probably quicker.
Maybe you could follow essexboy’s helpful instructions for the malware?
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0
essexboy is our certified malware expert and is probably best placed to help you there and then someone here could try and get avast! working again
Scott
May I ask the version of avast you have?
I must admit I’d be terribly angry in a situation like that too. Especially on the phone, who wants to pay for additional help with a program you purchased?
Agree with SPG, the tremendous support offered here is free, quick and easy to apply fixes you can do yourself.
If you described the problem it would get fixed like numerous problems in the past have already.
Good luck, wish you the best.
Hmmm !!! >:(
That not a good thing to hear. Its like “I give you this for free. Its dont work. Buy my product. Its dont work. Bye.”.
Im questioning my self now. I cant stop to see bad experience from iYogi now that aint normal…
Im very sorry for you condor and im exactly sure that i know what you feel now.
I hope you will get a help on the forum or from a proper staff member from avast! that again wont say the same bad respond that has been bring to you.
Me that would think that this service would bring the beginners to got better idea from handling computer well its not now.
Mr.Agent
Bigbear oh also you should hide your email for prevent spam.
Just to let you know.
Mr.Agent
ok, but I think your a little confused I never had a problem and these forums always help me out. haha
Weird it says its hidden. Can’t figure it out.
Ok my bad sry its your msn. Well MSN got their email also so im not that bad.
Wow I’m dumb I see what i did.
Well now you know so let stop because i dont think condor will like that we steal his topic.
So sorry condor.
Hi Guys,
Didn’t expect anyone to reply! lol
Ugh…First, the Avast version is 5.0.677 and acquired a mere 3 months ago. It is loaded onto two desk tops and one lap top. The secondary computer which is used to visit pirate sites for location purposes for rights enforcement and is bombarded by viruses on most of these sites apparently managed to shut down Avast from updating on October 26th. I was unaware of that fact since I’m not the home user on that P.C., which is an HP.
NOW, when you attempt to do ANYthing, we get a message from a program called, “Security Tool,” telling us the pc is infected, and prevents most actions from being performed on the pc. It also protects itself from being deleted from the deletion program. Blue screen occurs next and gives the message that there is a fault which reads: SPCMD.COM.SYS
There is also a program called something like: IRSIS which has been installed which is an alien program and put there by the virus. It too cannot be deleted. As I said, when I call yogi, they wanted like $300 for support. This PC only cost $400 and was bought for the purpose it is being used for. Before spending $300 for something I don’t need, I just as well buy a new PC!
Pure and simple, I think the whole thing is a rip off and I am spreading the word, believe me!
Thanks guys.
iYogi may well be a rip-off, but Avast normally is not.
So you’re saying that Avast ceases to work, or the computer itself?
Did you have a previous A/V program installed on your computer before installing avast? Do you have any other “security” software such as firewalls, anti-malware, or other A/V’s?
There are instructions on how to remove the “Security Tool” Rogue A/V here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-security-tool
let us know if that helps, or if you need more help.
no, it was working fine since August, and didn’t cease to work until the end of October. A virus penetrated Avast and then basically has taken over the computer. It is now a worthless hung of medal until I can get that damn virus out. Yeah, I had norton before and used a special program to remove it all.
gotcha. Well, I’d recommend taking a look at the link that I posted previously to remove the malware. Bleeping computer usually is a very good resource for removing rogue-A/V’s and it seems that you have one of them.
Remember, Avast is an A/V, and in the free version, it just protect from Viruses and rootkits. Since Malware isn’t really considered a virus, it doesn’t quite protect you in that fashion. It’s best to either purchase Avast AIS or something with more resident protection, or Malware-bytes Pro.
Let us know how you make out after following the directions on the link that I sent you. If need be, we can ask Essexboy for his assistance, but this doesn’t look serious enough to warrant the assistance.
Ok, I appreciate it. I have the paid version of Avast.
Download, update & run Free Mbam. http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
Let it quarantine its findings and post the log here.
Btw, if you have to go to dangerous sites, it would be a good idea to use NoScript with Firefox…
asyn
Since you have the paid version, you have access to Avast’s Sandbox / Process Virtualization module. It lets you run a program in a safe, virtual environment so that when a piece of malware slips by the shields, it will be isolated from your PC to do any harm. It’s a good idea to run your browser sandboxed especially when you visit high-risk sites. Just right click the application and select Run in Sandbox, or Always run in Sandbox. If you download dangerous files frequently, then you can take it a step further and uncheck the first option in the Expert Settings to sandbox all downloads aswell.
The virus will not allow Malware to be downloaded onto the computer…
Can you download MBAM to another computer and transfer it to the infected pc by cd?
If not, then you may need the help of essexboy as he can help with his tools in an environment outside of windows, in the form of a live cd.
Scott
Hi lets try this first, if it fails go to Plan B
Note: If using Firefox right-click on any download links and choose Save As
Please download OTH to your desktop
Please download OTL to your desktop
Please download the attached file Scan.txt to your desktop
Double click the OTH file to run it and click Kill All Processes, your desktop will go blank.
http://oldtimer.geekstogo.com/OTH/OTH_Main.gif
Then select Start OTL. OTL will now run
[*]Double-click on the Custom Scans box and a message box will popup asking if you want to load a custom scan from a file
Select Scan.txt that you downloaded
[*]Click the Quick Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan wont take long.
[*]When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows. OTL.Txt and Extras.Txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
[*]Click the Internet Explorer button, post these logs in your Virus Removal topic.
Plan B
Download Rkill from here : there are several flavours to choose from, if one does not work then try the next
* rkill.com
* rkill.scr
* rkill.pif
Once it is downloaded, double-click on rkill in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Security Central and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the program looks for various malware programs and ends them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close and you can continue with the next step. If you get a message that rkill is an infection, do not be concerned. This message is just a fake warning given by Security Central when it terminates programs that may potentially remove it. If you run into these infections warnings that close Rkill, a trick is to leave the warning on the screen and then run Rkill again. By not closing the warning, this typically will allow you to bypass the malware trying to protect itself so that rkill can terminate Security Central . So, please try running Rkill until malware is no longer running. You will then be able to proceed with the rest of my instructions.
Do not reboot your computer after running rkill as the malware programs will start again.
Then run OTL as above