Hi, Have you used the special uninstall utility? If not, please follow the steps here: http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility in order to remove all traces of avast and then run a clean install. You need to restart in safe mode before running the uninstall utility. You can see how to do this here: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/smsysconfig.htm/