New user problems

I have installed and updated Avast, but the icons on my taskbar are still grey. I read somewhere in the information that it meant that it is waiting for me to do something before it is active and blue. The VDBR generator is grey also. Please advise me. I am afraid I am not protected. I have looked and looked and cannot find anything else I need to do. I got the license from you and it said it is activated.

Grey is good (providing they work, rotate, etc.) ;D the icons have a 3d effect shading which lighten what isn’t a Royal Blue even further, so it looks blue grey.

This is further complicated by the colour of your background and your monitor/graphics card.

Thank you for replying. Yes, they are a dark blue grey and the “a” one rotates sometimes like when I open Outlook Express or IE . It says that 6 out of 7 providers are running and the Outlook/ Exchange is the one that is not. (I use Outlook Express, so that may be why that one is not running? ???

The ‘I’ will rotate when I tell it to generate now. I am not sure what a VRDB generator is? This is all very different from Norton, McAfee and Zone Alarm that I have used before. And I have just had another bad experience with McAfee, so trying this one.

A little more on the color

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=24467.0

As DavidR pointed out there are a lot of factors dermining the actual color.

A brief account of the vrb can be found here

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=24803.0

It will generate about every 21 days.

:slight_smile: Hi :

  It would be wise to read our "FAQ"s at :

  http://www.avast.com/eng/faq-avast-4-home-professional.html  .

@ Monahans
Or better still the avast help file available off-line, check the Healing, VRDB section.

Stick around and browse the forums, especially the sticky topics at the top of each of the forums. They provide a wealth of information to help you get the best from avast.

Welcome to the forums.

Thanks for your answers. Big Help!!! With those facs I was able to see that it does seem to be working and more important…that others have seen the same problems.
The only issue now is that when I tell it to do a boot scan, it does the scan but it will not let me stop it using the “escape” key and when it finishes, it offers the options of 1 delete, 2 delete all, escape, etc. but none of them work. The “virus” seem to be just parts of a program like Panda from reading the facts. I have to just turn off the computer to get out of the screen which is bad.
One of the fac notes said it is because of having two antivirus programs installed, but I have uninstalled McAfee totally as far as I can tell. There is nothing left in add/remove. Search turns up a few files. Do you think I can just delete them straight from the search list? One is a program called McAfee Shredder, but it does not show up in add/remove or in my list of “all programs” does not show an uninstaller. And another is McAfee technition but it says it cannot find the file.

The boot-time scan is used when a virus can’t be dealt with with windows running as it may be in use, or protected by windows because it is in a system folder, etc. It is a special tool, which select when you need it.
Because it is operating outside windows you have limited controls and the ‘but none of them work.’ comment, I suspect you have a USB keyboard ?
If so you need to ensure that the USB devices are recognised before windows drivers are loaded, there is a setting in the BIOS to do this.

As your system boots keep tapping the Del(ete) key and it will bring up the BIOS screen, sorry I can’t say were this setting is your the USB devices/keyboards is as there is no standard layout or naming between manufactures. The problem is how do you do this if the keyboard isn’t recognised prior to windows, you may have to plug in an older PS2 connection keyboard and then boot. I despair at System manufactures that sell pre built systems with USB keyboards but haven’t set the BIOS to recognise them.

Deletion isn’t really a good first option (you have none left), ‘first do no harm’ don’t delete, send virus to the chest and investigate. So not a good habit to get into.

Before doing something you should have an idea what effect it will have, e.g. check the help file, etc. Scans have different sensitivity, locations, what files to scan, etc. so if you choose to scan all local disks at a ‘Thorough’ sensitivity and you choose to scan ‘Archives,’ it will take a very long time.

Archive (zip, etc.) files are by their nature are inert, you need to extract the files and then you have to run them to be a threat. Long before that happens avast’s Standard Shield should have scanned them and before an executable is run that is scanned. Thorough is also by its design very thorough and perhaps a little overkill for routine use, were a Standard scan without archives should be adequate.

I have only ever done a through scan with archives once shortly after installation just to ensure a clean start state, but with XP for example avast will do a boot-time scan after installation if you select it, this I believe will be quicker and reasonably effective. Like everything in life things are a compromise.

:slight_smile: Hi Monahans :

 COMPLETELY REMOVING McAfee can be time-consuming; they have a "Removal Tool" on
 THEIR forums at http://forums.mcafeehelp.com . IF you have their "2006" product, look
 for "VSCleanup"; IF you have their "2007" product, look for "MCPR". I do have the website
 address for "MCPR" if you need it .

Mcafee has an uninstall tool that you could run to ensure any possible remnants are removed.
http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/VSCleanupTool.exe

OK, Great! I will give the removal tool a try.
And yes, it did act like it could be the USB wireless keyboard and mouse that were not letting me do escape or delete. I really don’t think I will be needing a reboot scan very often?
Thanks so much for everyone’s help!

Your welcome, glad that we could help.

I always keep a spare mouse and keyboard, both PS2 connections just in case.
Even though my BIOS is set to detect USB devices, one of my programs (Drive Image, works outside windows) doesn’t recognise my USB wireless optical mouse, so if I’m going to use it I have to connect the backup mouse and reboot.