Not able to update

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

i am not able to update my avast 4.7 home edition which has the virus database of 8 august 2006 and this is a problem because whenever i try to update it gives me a message that says"Error:Cannot connect to server"
this has been happening for sometime and i use norton internet security 2004 whose time just ran out and that is what is the problem according to me,i may be wrong…
anybody please help me!!!

2

It is not wise to install two resident virus scanners on the same system. :stuck_out_tongue: Have you tried
this for the un-installation of Norton?

3

Also, you need to be sure that Norton Firewall don’t block Avast to access internet.

4

:slight_smile: Basically, check:

  1. If the servers.def file is corrupt or 0KB (C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\servers.def).
    You can try and download the servers.def file, http://files.avast.com/iavs4x/servers.def and replace the one in the avast setup folder.

  2. If your subscription allows the update right now (i.e., if it is not expired).

  3. If your firewall settings and allow avast.setup to connect.
    If you’re not sure, just turn off your firewall (to be sure the update failure is not due to it).
    Maybe you should ‘remove’ avast.setup entry, try to update, receiving a new alert from the firewall, allowing it and checking it to remember.

  4. Check your proxy settings into avast!:
    Left click the avast icon > Settings
    Update (Basic) > Details > Proxy
    Make sure your browser is not set to “Work Offline” (this option is generally in the File menu).
    If it doesn’t help, try switching the proxy settings from “Auto-detect” to “No proxy” (I’m assuming you’re not connecting to the Internet via proxy).

5

thanks guys for the unbelievable help i appreciate it,turns out it was Norton Internet Security that was the culprit,now i have no problems regarding this issue and i wish to thank everyone who read my post and who have replied!!!

i’m really happy!!! ;D

6

Norton Internet Security could still be your firewall. You don’t need to disable it, just to allow some legit programs to access the Internet.
Do you have any other firewall besides NIS?

7

Hallo, Tech

I have the same problem as riskpusher but I haven’t been able to find a solution. I tried and do every thing you said but in my case Avast freezes up when I’m trying to get into “Details” in “Update (Basic) > Details…”.

I tried to do it manually (though my computer has a permanent conection to Internet) as well but it shows an error, sth like: “Installer is being used by another program” or so.

Any idea?

Thaks a lot

8

About the two avast! balls dissapearing, I had the same problem but found out by myself that SUPERantispyware was preventing Avast! to start up, because SUPERantispyware has a scanner that prevents some programs to load at startup. I deleted SUPERantispyware, reinstalled Avast!, and all was well. If you have SUPERantispyware and have been having problems with Avast!, you might want to delete SUPERantispyware.

9

hey! i also have the problem of avast freezing up whenever i try to access the update(basic)!

10

Do you mean the interface freezes when you switch to “Update (basic)” configuration page?
What operating system do you use?

11

When this occurs, if you click ‘ctrl+alt+del’, can you see if avast.setup proccess is running?

12

yes it does show up but it is shown as “Not Responding”

13

You can’t open the Update tab of settings WHILE avast.setup is running. You’ll be change the update settings while an update is being done…
But, of course, avast.setup shouldn’t be shown as “Not responding” state…
Do you use a firewall? Which one?

14

my firewall is Norton internet security’s firewall, as i had mentioned earlier,it is the 2004 edition and its subscription has run out and that is a major problem because there is no default user set and it seems to be blocking all communications to the internet and i usually disable it and surf the net.
since it is of no use to me(because i will not update my subscription) i would like to uninstall it and have free software like comodo and such other things in its place,
I now have a question for you,would i be able to make my own internet security suite with the different free software available on the net like spybot s and d and comodo,
also i would like something that would block pop ups in opera and something for blocking all the annoying ads encountered while surfing the net.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Also,i would repeat it again,can i build my own security suite so as to say? a collection of software that would do the job of my Norton Internet Security???
and thanks for taking such interest in my problem.

15

Go ahead… be happy 8)

Yes, you can and you can fill your needs better than with a Suite.
Firewall + antivirus + antispyware + good browser (with pop-up blocker, script control, etc.) should do the job.
Better is searching avast forum for each option. You’ll find a lot of suggestions.
My suggestion is:
Firewall: Comodo
antivirus: avast (for sure)
antispyware: Windows Defender
antitrojan (only for on-demmand scanning): a-squared and AVG Antispyware
Good browser (with pop-up blocker, script control, etc.): Firefox or Maxthon (well configurated).

16

Hey again guys,
recently i dumped my norton internet security 2004 which was out of date and i installed comodo firewall,i found a folder in c:/common files which was labeled" symantec shared"

i deleted it since i uninstalled norton and i did not have any other norton software on my system,
as soon as i did this,upto 9 gb of my c drive was freed up and i was a little taken aback but gave myself a little pat in the back but now my microsoft office is not responding and i had to uninstall it and reinstall it .
all i want to ask is,will this have any long term effects as i think there are’nt any short term effects
Please Help!!! :-[

17

Probably, deleting the folder you could have ‘removed’ the entries for OLE files scanning. OLE are, shortly, documents and sheets from Microsoft (Word, Excel documents, etc.).
Symantec products are well-known to left a lot of things behind when removed… This trash could conflict and affect the system.
Even now, I recommend:

  1. Remove all Symantec products through Add/Remove programs from Control Panel (LiveUpdate, LiveRegistration, etc. included). Boot.
  2. Use Symantec removal tool following the three steps defined in the SymNRT tool info or here.
  3. Boot.

Full SymNRT info:

  1. Download and save these three files to the Windows desktop:
    a) ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/tsgen/MSIFIX.bat
    b) ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/tsgen/SymNRT.exe
    c) ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/linked_files/tsgen/SYMMSICLEANUP.reg

  2. Run the three files that you just downloaded
    a) On the Windows desktop, double-click the MSIFIX icon.
    Click Run.
    A black window may appear very briefly.
    b) On the Windows desktop, double-click the SymNRT icon.
    Click Run.
    Click Next.
    Click I accept the License Agreement, and click Next.
    Type the letters and numbers that you see in the white box, and then click Next.
    Click Yes or OK at each prompt.
    You may need to click more than once. Your computer may be restarted for you more than once.
    You may be asked to repeat some steps after the computer restarts.
    c) On the Windows desktop, double-click the SYMMSICLEANUP icon.
    Click Run, and then click Yes.
    Click OK.

  3. Boot.