I am used to closing all applications when installing new software under WinME by shutting them down in the system tray where applicable or by terminating them using Ctrl+Alt+Del.
What shall I do about avast under WinXP when i am gooing to install new software? There is no avast symbol in the systray nor is there any task listed under Ctrl+Alt+Del. Shall I go to the avast processes and kill them before installing new software or do I not need to bother about avast at all?
There really should be no need to disable your AV to install applications. It is perhaps the time you most need an AV, installing new applications when you really don’t know what it will be installing.
There should be an icon in the system tray well two actually the main one ‘a’ and VRDB ‘i’ icons, see image 1.
Are any of these there ?
Have you checked if they aren’t hidden by clicking the < to the left of the system tray icons.
In the Task Manager there should be avast processes, they begin with ash or asw, see image 2.
What avast processes do you have ?
How did you install XP, was it a clean install or did you upgrade over winME ?
No, don’t do that. antivirus should be on to check if the installation program is clean.
Anyone else tried to install OO 2.4.0 with avast 4.8.1169 ?
I’m just about to hit ‘ignore’…seems to be proceeding okay.
That screen of OpenOffice 2.4 installation didn’t show on mine. I was able to install openoffice 2.4 with no problems.
There is no need to turn off Avast! with installing programs. Turn off Avast if and only if you will install a driver. Avast might detect the driver installation as a virus or malware trying to infect the pc.
OO 2.4 install follow-up.
After ignoring request to close avast!, installation completed without any apparent hitches
Sorry. I forgot to mention that I use a utility called “StartStop”, which can disable all Startup Programs in one single action (even during startup itself which is paused for a definable time to give the user the opportunuty to press ESC in order to configure StartStop). When installing new software I use StartStop to disable all autostart programs and therefore no avast icon is present in the systray.
Even with all autostart porgrams loading there is no avast task shown upon Ctrl+Alt+Del in WinXP (as I know it from WinME). However, the processes
ashDisp.exe
ashMaiSv.exe
ashServ.exe
ashWebSv.exe
aswUpdSv.exe
are always present irrespective of StartStop configuration. And as I learnt from your replies, I will let them do their work as far as the installations can be terminated succesfully.
Are you using avast 4.8.1169 ?
The reason I ask is avast has a self-defence module that should stop their termination by another application.
The only entry in the msconfig startup tab is the ashDisp.exe the avast system tray icon (and interface to the context menu, on-access protection, simple user interface, and program settings). So theoretically the only avast part startstop ‘might’ have any effect on would be ashDisp.exe, if it is even able to do that ?
Yes, I am.
There is no avast icon in the system tray after a restart using StartStop disable function, and it is quite easy to kill all of the five avast processes that are shown upon Ctrl+Alt+Del. No self-defense whatsoever.
I must correct myself. My avast version in WinXP is not 4.8.1169 but 4.8.1098.
It is in WinME that I use 4.8.1169 and I must tell you that the situation there regarding avast self-defense is not much better. On the one hand the avast icon is not prevented by StartStop from showing up but on the other hand the processes that are displayed upon Ctrl+Alt+Del (ASHMAISV.EXE, ASHSERV.EXE, ASHWEBSV.EXE) can easily be deleted by twice clicking on each of them in CodeStuff Starter.
Your version sounds confusing - please check again. The last prduction build of avast 4.7 was 4.7.1098. So it seems you do not have 4.8 on your XP system.
The new functions of avast - including self-defence - are not implemented in avast when running in a Windows 9x system (Win 98, Win 98SE, Win Me).
Please refer to the attached screenshot for the version information.
Do you suggest now that I uninstall my “non-existent” 4.8.1098 and install 4.8.1169 on my XP system instead?
No rather I suggest that the avast team explain how it can show avast 4.8.1069 from Dec 2007 when there was no avast 4.8 available then.
It does make me wonder what on earth you have running on your system. My initial though is that a uninstall and fresh install would probably be a good idea.
Like Alan, I suggest an installation from the scratch:
I followed your instructions, Tech, and achieved a smooth deinstallation of the funny version and new installation of 4.8.1169.
I don’t think I had any malware on my system. Couldn’t it be an error in the German language version which you are not aware of? You will find in the attachment a screenshot I made during deinstallation. It shows both the faulty “avast! 4.8” (in the vertical bar at the left) and “program: 4.7.1098” in the text part, which should be correct.
That was the [non-]version that I had! I’m [sort of] pleased that some one else has found it.
As instructed above, uninstalling and re-installing does work. Perhaps the mixed-up version is due to a faulty installing process caused by other processes(?).
No, it’s shown you’ve installed the 4.7.1098 version ???