The latest iAVS update was published on: 5.6.2005, version: 0522-15
No reinstallation of the program is needed for virus database updates!
If you are connected to the Internet, updates are downloaded and installed automatically without any user action. The presence of a new version on our servers is checked when the Internet connection is established, and every four hours afterwards. Please download the following file only if you really need it (e.g. if your computer does not have any Internet connection).
Guestion is: What that means?: Please Download the following files if you really need it
So I manually downloaded because Avast didn´t do it automatically for some reason. So what happens ?
If you are NOT connected to the Internet (off-line computer), you should manually download the update file and run it: vpsupd.exe)
If you ARE connected to the Internet (on-line computer), the updates are downloaded and installed automatically without any user action.
What are your settings (Program Settings, Update (basic) section), mine are set to ask when update is available, meaning avast checks to see if an update is available and notifies you and you click if you want to download it now; otherwise you will need to do a manual update later.
You can also set it to update automatically if an update is available, it will download it and update automatically.
If I remember well, Avast! search for updates every 4 hours automatically and when you start the connection. Please, go to the Windows Services Panel and check the status of the Four Avast Services: the right setting for the automatic Update Service is “started” and “enabled” (in Italian “Avviato” and “Abilitato”)
From Avast FAQ *The blankets and inside of them are mine.
[b]3) How does the update service work?[/b]
At first, avast! tries to detect if the computer is connected to the Internet - it sends a packet to one of our servers and waits for reply (i.e. ping). If the packet is received, avast! "knows" that the computer is connected and the update may begin. If there´s no reply to the packet sent, avast! will try to ping the server again every 40 seconds.
If the ping is successful, avast! connects to our server and checks if there´s new update available. If it is, avast! will download and install it. If not, avast! will wait for 4 hours and then tries to connect and check for updates again.
Shortly said: avast! detects the connection to Internet every 40 seconds and looks for new updates every 4 hours.
On an on-line PC, Avast Home edition checks for the updates when it starts and every 4 hours after that by default. So, even if your PC is kept on-line, Home edition’s auto-updates can be “outdated” by 4 hours in maximum.
I think you happened to update the virus database manually during this period, which is more likely the case than the possibility of the auto-update not functioning at all. If you are not sure, right-click on the Avast “ball” at the task tray, select “Avast log viewer” and click on the “notice” section. If you can see messages “The virus database (VPSXXX-XX) was automatically updated.”, then, the auto-update is functioning.
That’s normal. As I (and probably Avast team, judging from that they didn’t post in this thread) thought, your Avast seems to be working fine.
It is rather natural that you be albe to manually update the virus database before the once-per-4-hours checks considering the recent quick pace of the updates of the virus database.
