I’ll answer by Sasha (if he does not mind ;D). No avast! does not use the Internet Mail provider to scan by MSOutlook. It uses an special plug-in that can be configurated by the other provider (Outlook/Exchange)

Don’t worry you do not use Exchange…

About the help, more information about the avast4.ini file you can see here. See section, [Simple] and item ShowHelpCheckList. If 0 than it shows the Help Check List at startup. If 1, avast! will hide it! Maybe you have to boot your system :wink: