On Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Version 6.1 Service Pack 1 and Windows 10 Home, my Avast Free Antivirus 25.7.10308a (build 25.7.10308.945) causes the programs I use to remain open in the background even when I close them.
If I close them several times, there are multiple instances of the programs running in the Task Manager.
For example, Everything.exe, Winword.exe, Winrar.exe, obs64.exe, etc., do not close; the antivirus keeps them open with 0 CPU usage. However, others, such as CCleaner64.exe, do close when I exit CCleaner.
The stack trace reveals a critical issue between Avast Antivirus (ashShell.dll) and Microsoft Word (WINWORD.EXE), where antivirus components are interfering with the proper shutdown of the process.
Problem Source:
ashShell.dll (an Avast component) is blocking kernel operations (ntoskrnl.exe) related to process management.
The error occurs when Word (WINWORD.EXE) attempts to close, but Avast keeps hooks active.
Key Codes:
KeWaitForSingleObject + KeWaitForMultipleObjects: Indicates that the system is waiting for Avast to free up resources.
ashShell.dll!on_avast_dll_unload: Indicates that the Avast module is not unloading properly.
Consequence:
Word cannot terminate its process cleanly and remains in the background.
- Avast’s shields are not the problem; if I permanently disable them, the problem still occurs.
- Excluding the program from Avast does not solve the problem.
3-I’ve already repaired Avast.
4-Uninstalling Avast makes the error disappear.
5-With shexview.exe as administrator, I disabled all Avast entries and restarted explorer.exe. I also restarted the computer, but it didn’t work.
Instances of the application, for example, winword.exe, continue to appear every time I open and close Word.
