I have Avast on my laptop & I wanted to install it on my 15 year old daughter’s laptop as well (both Windows XP). She had a system re-store done by a technician who installed SUPER AntiSpyware Professional on her computer. I was told this is fine anti-spyware program, but not an anti-virus program. I went to download Avast, so she is also covered by an anti virus program. I thought everything went fine. Avast asked me if I wanted to re-start the computer & perform a scan. I clicked yes. The computer re-started but nothing happened. No scan. I went to click on the Avast icon on the desktop & I got this message: “The application failed to initialize properly, click OK to terminate the application.” If I click OK, nothing happens. I had to click on the X in upper right corner to get this message off the screen. I thought maybe I did something wrong, so I should try to un-install Avast & start all over again. For some reason, the computer would not let me un-install this program. It tells me the un-installation attempt failed? What did I do wrong? ??? The icon is on the desktop but not in the lower right corner start-up area. Any ideas on how to finish the installation so the program is not stuck in a state of limbo? ??? Thanks!
Hi, me again.
Likely cause is a pre-existing AV already installed, or not completely uninstalled.
What AV was your daughter using? If that is properly removed, it is likely avast will work OK.
You didn’t do anything wrong, just the self protection in Avast prevented it uninstalling.To uninstall Avast, you can either try it in safe mode, or disable the self protection module. (Right click the tray icon, click “program settings”, click “troubleshooting”, tick the second-bottom box.)
But best to address any prior AV installed, first.
Oh, I am getting so frustrated! I un-installed the SUPER Anti Spyware Professional, then went to click on the Avast icon on desktop. It still wouldn’t do anything but say “application failed to initialize”. So I went into safe mode & did a un-install of the Avast that was on there. Now I have been trying to re-install it. I keep getting a blue screen error that shuts down the process. I finally got the computer to stay on the entire way threw the installation process & when it was done I got a message saying there was an error during installation. There must be something more going on here? Any ideas? ???
Sorry, I could have been more clear.
Superantispyware runs OK with Avast; as the tech said, it’s not an AV.
What you are looking for is another AV that might be (or might have been) installed on the computer.
Look in “add/remove programs”
Try a search of the computer for “Norton” or “Symantec” or “McAfee”.
If Superantispyware is still removed, leave it of for now, but if it is still present, at some stage a scan would be a good idea.
Don’t go online with this computer until it is sorted.
No other antivirus programs that I can find? ??? I guess I messed up un-installing the SUPER antiSpyware. :-[ Now I have no way to do any scan at all! How am I to stay off internet if I need to figure out how to download a antivirus program? ??? Is there a way to get on in safe mode to get to internet & download a program. Or what about installing it onto a flash drive stick from a different computer & then installing it on my daughters computer which is the one I’m having problems with. I’m really starting to wonder if something else is going on here with the blue screen error that popped up. I don’t see why it is so hard to download a anti-virus program. It seems like if computer sits idle too long, the error comes up. Maybe it’s a virus? ??? I noticed the system updates were off in the security center & that is what started me on my journey to this whole mess. My daughter just wants to go chat with her friends on instant messaging. She doesn’t think anything was wrong & I am messing it up! :o Do you help out with any other problems other than Avast? ??? I’m up for what to try next, any ideas? ??? Thanks
Some questions.
-Is the Superantispyware (SAS) installer file still present on the computer?
If so, the program can be re-installed.
If you are able to do this, set it to update and scan the computer with it.
-Were automatic updates turned off in your daughters computer?
If so, the chances of malware having installed on the machine are higher.
A total generalization: teens usually have a higher incidence of malware infection than others, even if they mainly use the computer for
IM. There are a large number of social “hooks” aimed straight at this demographic.
-There must have been an AV installed before. What was there before SAS was put on by the tech?
If there was none, the chances of infection move from “higher” to “certain”.
Ask your daughter what was used. If she doesn’t know, that raises the probability of infection another level. (But the main aim is to try
and find out what was installed. I’m not trying to play a blame game or guilt trip, here.)
Some solutions:
Firstly, this is your daughters computer. Check with her (Assuming she is the owner) that it is OK to run these fixes. They will have the effect of deleting all temporary files (Stuff that has not been specifically saved), cleaning any malicious files (hopefully) and restoring the computer to a safe and secure condition.
If you can re-install SAS do so, connect the computer to the net, have it update, and run a quick scan. (Post the scan report.)
-You may need the license key to activate the resident protection. Hopefully the tech stored that somewhere for you, and told you where it is. (That is, if it really is the Pro version.If it’s not the pro, and resident protection can not be confirmed, do not connect the computer to the web.)
If you can’t install SAS, and have trouble removing what is left of it (and Avast) you’ll need to download some files to a clean flash drive, using your other computer.
-Download SAS Uninstaller assistant.
-Download the Avast uninstall utility.
-Download the Avira reg cleaner (7th tool on that page.)
-Download ATF Cleaner (any of the four links below the animated “downloads” chevron)
-Download MBAM (free version).
-Download Avast (full setup file, titled “…setupeng.exe”, 36.99Mb, just below the words “Free Registration” on that page.
Transfer these files to your daughters desktop. That computer should remain disconnected from the web, until stated below.(Use the “safely remove hardware” button to stop the flash drive before removing it from a computer- not vital but sometimes causes problems if this is not done.)
-Run “ATF Cleaner” from its location on the desktop, with the settings as indicated in the picture below.
-Run the Avira reg cleaner. This is done by double-clicking it, and clicking on “Keys auslesen”. It will take maybe a minute, then produce a list of AV entries. Select them all, with a tick in the box beside each entry, then click “Beenden”. (If you recognize any of the names, which may include Norton, AVG, Avast etc, let me know.)
-Run the Avast uninstall utility.
-Run the SAS uninstall Assistant.
Reboot whenever prompted after running these, or at least once, now, if not.
This should clean the slate.
Now
-Install Avast using the setup.eng file downloaded. Reboot as prompted, but do not opt for the (default) boot scan at this stage.
-Run the MBAM installer, let the program install. Run a quick scan, and remove everything found. (Post the scan report.)
-Check that the Windows firewall is turned on. This can be checked via the control panel; either “Windows firewall” or “Security centre” should take you to it.
-Reconnect to the web. Update Avast, then update MBAM. Run another quick scan with MBAM, remove anything found (if anything) and if there was, post the scan report. If MBAM prompts for a reboot to finish removal at the end of any scan, please reboot promptly.
There’s quite a lot of stuff to do there, and probably a fair bit more than I’d do if I had access to and could see the computer, but I’m attempting to cover all bases.
Any questions? Please be clear on what is required (which might very well be modified depending on some of your answers) before proceeding.
This is just a first quick question as I know I will be back with more. Where would I find the SAS installer file? As a side note, I do happen to have the SAS backed up on a Flash Drive stick. U may have just gone to bed by now as it is 6am where I am at and probably about 9pm where u are at. I may just try the flash drive & then check threw the rest of your suggestions while I wait for you to get back on later.
cant seem to find SAS installer file & transferring SAS from flash drive to my daughters computer didn’t seem to work. It only transferred a “shortcut” which did me no good. >:( So, here I go to follow your suggestions…downloading files from good computer onto clean flash drive. I’ll let you know what happens & I’m sure at some point I’ll have a question.
Well, I got threw the 1st step of running the ATF cleaner. But now I am stuck! >:( I downloaded the Avira registry cleaner & had a bit of a problem with that. It went to a win zip file and I did not know how to get it out? ??? I asked somebody & they helped me to click on extract & then I moved it to a folder I could find. From here, I went into this folder and copied it onto the flash drive and then pasted it onto my daughters computer. I double clicked the umbrella icon for Avira and got this message “the application failed to initialize properly”? BTW, when I double clicked on the Avira on MY computer, I couldn’t find anything that said “keys auslesen” I see 2 boxes to click, 1 says “configuration” the other says “scan for keys”. If I click “configuration” I see something that says “scan for HKEYS” and then 5 boxes to check. Next, since I already have Avast & MBAM on MY computer, I can’t try to download them again can I? (That is the only 2 that I already had installed from your list. I also have something called CCleaner, don’t know if that is any good?) Also, I put the Avast & MBAM on the flash drive from MY computer. When I go to plug the flash drive into my DAUGHTER’S computer, the icon changes & it just says “shortcut”. Am I putting these on the flash drive wrong? I know you can either right click and copy then right click and paste on 2nd computer or you can just drag and drop. Why would the Avast & MBAM icons only say “shortcut” when plugged in 2nd computer?
Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. You can’t move a program from your computer to another, all you can do is locate (or download) the installer file for that program and copy that file to another computer. Then, running the installer file will set the program up on that computer.
A shortcut is just a link to another location on the computer it appears on. So moving a shortcut from yours to another won’t work; it will be pointing to a location and program that doesn’t exist on that computer, only on yours. Likewise, moving an executable (.exe) from one computer to another won’t work for a program that needs to be installed. It will (should) work for a stand-alone application, like ATF cleaner, or the Avira reg cleaner. (Except the reg cleaner needs some other included files to operate. Instructions below.)
You can download a setup (installer) file for Avast or SAS even though those programs might already be installed. (You can’t then run it to install the fresh copy on an already installed program, though.)
Important to click “save” rather than “run” when downloading these, and make sure they are saved to your desktop, to make it easy to find, or to a folder you might create and designate just for that purpose.
I don’t know where the Avira reg cleaner file (as originally downloaded) has gone, but if you can, try and find the original (unzipped) file…I think it will have a folder icon that looks like a regular folder, with a zip down one side. Or maybe an old fashioned hand operated press. (I use a non-standard program for this, so can’t remember the details of the one that comes with Windows.) It is titled “registrycleaner_en.zip”.
If you can find that, transfer it to your daughters desktop, and extract the files from it, also to the desktop. There will be 6, a number of .dll’s, an .exe, and a .txt. It needs all to run.(Delete the original one you’ve transferred, that failed to initialize.) If you can’t find it, download it again; save to the flash drive. Don’t let it include itself in any zip file manager if prompted.
(I gave you old information about the German version of the reg cleaner, sorry. That was the version I had. I see there is an English one, now.)
Set the configuration by clicking on the button, and place a tick only in the box “HKEY_Local_machine” which will probably simply mean removing one other tick. If you can get this to work, it should produce a list of results that consist of letters starting with “HKEY_Local_machine…” and ending with the name of any detected AV. I’m real interested in those names.
If that doesn’t work, don’t spend any more time on it, we’ll move on to the next thing.
As you’ve probably gathered, you need the setup (installer) file for MBAM. It may be on your computer. Try searching for “mbam-setup.exe” (without the quotes.)
If you find it, it can be transferred via the flash drive, and then installed on your daughters computer. If you can’t, download the setup file and save it to the flash drive, then transfer it. Then install and run it.
We really need to know what AV was installed on this machine, if any, especially if you can’t get the Avira reg cleaner to run.
mindydee113 How are you going with this? Do you want it broken down/new steps?
Don’t mind.
Just download it and if you see something which ask you to install it then click next,next…
Then you should read the terms or something like that then you see if you accept the term and services or you don’t accept!
Then continue with next and click on complete installation I think then continue clicking next!
It will ask you to do a boot scan then you should see if you want to do or not.
If not then click on no because scanning takes time.
Then you see two system tray.
You’ll get 60days to use it but you should register for a licence key and insert it for get about 14 months of use.