Is aswrec.dll in avast (detected by avg as eyecandy) a virus?

Hi folks,

I have avast as the main antivirus on my computer real time protection and avg as a backup, doesn’t startup with computer.

AVG sees aswrec.dll in avast as an infection (eyecandy)and from google searches I see that this file is related to the software updater in avast.

What are your views on this, an infection or not?

Many thanks
Joe

this is what we think of it :wink:

When Software Collides! https://blog.avast.com/2014/05/09/when-software-collides-what-to-do-with-your-old-antivirus-program/
Why Using Multiple Antivirus Programs is a Bad Idea http://blog.kaspersky.com/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/

if you want a extra scanner, use Malwarebytes, as it is designed to run alongside your AV

suspicious files can be tested here www.virustotal.com / www.metascan-online.com / www.jotti.org

When will people ever learn that two AV’s shouldn’t be on the same system ::slight_smile:

One resident AV one Firewall.
In these 2 cases, more is not better and sooner or later will lead to a conflict.

Never :-\

All AV should have a av detector included in the install file and give a warning … some AV have this

Yeah I’ve tested a couple that will detect another AV if installed, one of them even detected Malwarebytes ??? :stuck_out_tongue:

And then you have those users that say it is a sales trick to get rid of the competition … so i guess some have to learn the hard way

+1 :slight_smile:

The way the OP described it, there is technically nothing wrong with how he’s running his AV’s (two of them).

The user stated he is only using one in real-time which is the only correct way to use two AV’s; he is then using the other as a backup scanner. The only thing he may want to consider is making sure real-time protection on Avast is turned off when he runs an AVG scan and also ensure no AVG services are starting.

The using two AV argument is applicable when you try to have two competing AV’s in real-time on your system simultaneously, but you can certainly run manual scans as long as other steps are observed.

What AVG is detecting is software updater which for all practical purposes is nothing more than an add-on, and potentially classified as a PUP by some other companies, and pure useless nonsense as classified by me.

Keeping all the above in mind, no it is most likely not infected, but when running two AV’s in this manner, keep in mind that questionable things such as what you encountered may arise when it looks at the other AV’s folders but most likely is not a problem.

IMO a better solution is to run Malwarebytes if you’re not already and as an additional scanner use Emsisoft Emergency Kit (award winning and much better comparative results than AVG). It’s portable which means absolutely nothing is installed. I’ve been running it for years alongside Avast with no problems.

If I remember correctly AVG detects another a/v during install and
will not allow itself (AVG) to be installed when there is a resident
a/v already on the machine. By default AVG will not install on a
computer if it detects avast is already on the PC.

At least that’s the way it was four or five years ago. The last
time I ran AVG was late winter or very early spring 2010. That
was when I started using avast. It was avast v5.0.xxx

Thanks folks for replies.

I have done some further googling tonight and it does seem that this aswrec.dll file has been causing a problem for some users for some time now.

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=150764.45

and from virustotal

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/bd249dceb575416697ca8d5b1d5eac08cb09236d3b276432be589cf37cc823f6/analysis/

Dprout69 may well have have hit the nail on the head that its nothing to worry about and is related to the software updater.

Just wondering if I was to reinstall avast again do I have the option NOT to install the software updater and not have the aswrec.dll as a result?
.
A false positive or not, I don’t know but this particular file does seem to be present in my avast up to date installation.

Thanks a lot for all your help.

joe

Just wondering if I was to reinstall avast again do I have the option NOT to install the software updater and not have the aswrec.dll as a result? .
you already have the option to remove anything you dont want from ad/remove programs > uninstall > change [b]avast! 2014: Changing, adding, or removing individual program components and features in setup configuration of avast! Antivirus[/b] http://www.avast.com/en-eu/faq.php?article=AVKB96#artTitle

quietman7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/186533/is-it-bad-to-run-multiple-antivirus-programs/?p=1046121

Wrong…even disabled there will likely be active low level drivers running so disabled or not there should never be two AV’s on the same system.

Wrong… as I stated you may get a RARE false positive off the other AV, but it won’t prevent you from getting accurate results off your entire system. You can have two AV’s as long as only one is real time. I’ve been running it like that for years… No problems… We agree to disagree.

You can agree to disagree, I still say your wrong and it’s poor advice to have two AV’s on the same system “even when one is disabled” as previously explained and backed up by the detailed information found in the links Pondus has supplied for your reading.

This also refers back to my earlier statement of ( when will people ever learn not to have two AV’s on the same system ) ::slight_smile:

If you want a second opinion, use a program like HerdProtect
It scans your program in the clouds and checks it against 68 different AV’s
My personal advice don’t ever ask it to scan C:\
( It might take a while. :slight_smile: )

Well I would think that in lots of cases malwarebytes will detect the same malware and even virus as a standard antivirus package and malwarebytes can run in real time too, so as reagards running two antivirus packages at same time (which I am not doing) it does weaken the argument that two antivirus packages will ruin your system, though personally I wouldn’t do it.

But my main concern is this aswrec.dll file I don’t really want any adware or malware files particularly if it is bundled with a package such as avast.

Joe

Malwarebytes isn’t an anti-virus which gives it the ability to run alongside of AV’s :slight_smile: It’s designed to detect what AV’s typically miss.

There’s a simple solution, you either trust your AV or you don’t. If you don’t, why are you using it ???
If you want a second opinion use a non resident AV. I’ve already posted one such program.

See https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=150764.0. It should have been removed by a micro update https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=150764.msg1106685#msg1106685. If it hasn’t been, then uninstalling Software Updater should remove it.