Just downloaded 1296 Home from Avast’ site digitally signed 09.01.09.
Installed it on my new PC.
Wanted to get the settings just like they are on another machine with 1296.
The choice ‘Report file’ is missing on the new one on the left side.
I have it uncheched on my old one, just wondering…
If this is a change, is there any other new changes?
If you’re using the Enhanced Interface (Pro version), the report settings are into each Task, and not on the Program settings.
If you restore the Home version (or run ashsimpl.exe), you’ll have that settings back (although it just work with the Home version scannings).
I’d also ask - did you have a Trial of the Professional version previously?
The thing is that if you invoke the program settings window from the tray icon - it is displayed according to the last UI you ran previously. So, if the Enhanced UI was the last started before, the Report file option is not there; if Simple UI was the last one, it’s there.
I invoked the program settings window from the tray icon.
No user interface was started when invoking Program settings and no user interface had been started before that, but Report file option was not there.
So no Avast at all on the new machine before today.
But Report file option is still there by now.
HL
Edit: Just to avoid confusion.
I used Avast a little time with the ‘trial’ key that is in the download.
This key was still in use when I missed the ‘Report file’ option.
No user interface at all was opened when program settings window was invoked from tray icon.
Then I put in my own Home key, ran a scheduled boot time scan and everything was OK.
Yes, here is evening…
Remember that Zonealarm could have some problems with avast scanning and system restore, you need to adjust the avast settings to avoid it.
If you use ZA firewall and avast you should exclude the scanning of the tracking.log which we believe is the cause of the avast hanging up.
For the Standard Shield provider (on-access scanning):
Left click the ‘a’ blue icon, click on the provider icon at left and then Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and click on Add button. Write there:
?:\System Volume Information\tracking.log
For the other providers (on-demand scanning such as the screen-saver or the Simple User Interface):
Right click the ‘a’ blue icon, click Program Settings.
Go to Exclusions tab and click on Add button. Write there:
?:\System Volume Information\tracking.log
The System Volume Information folder belongs to Windows System Restore.
Tech, I don’t believe the tracking.log gets placed there by ZA as it is in my system volume information folders and I have never had ZA on this new system. I also normally disable system restore and did so shortly after setting this system up, but that file is in every partitions system volume information folder.
So it would appear to be the way ZA either monitors or interacts with it that causes the problem. I haven’t got that file excluded on my system and outpost firewall pro doesn’t have this impact.
No problem, it still doesn’t explain why this is a problem with zone alarm but not other firewalls, weird.
Then again I’m no longer a fan of ZA any more, it has in these later versions IMHO got bloated and gone downhill and that was before this issue reared its head.
I have used ZA since 2000/2001 and most of the time together with Avast.
ZA has never interfered with Avast on any of my XP machines.
IF there is a conflict between the two of them it must be with newer versions of ZA.
I’m holding back on the new versions because of the bloatness.
The installation-file for the new ZA free is 7-8 times the size of the version I use.
Tracking.log is as pointed out a windows file because it was on this PC long before
it had seen Avast or ZA or anything other than junk following the machine.
I too disable system restore on all my systems as soon as possible because I don’t trust it.
Even IF tracking.log should have made problems, it is in the exclusion list for on-access protection
by default as *.log. So making a new exclusion for on-access would have been a vaste of time.
I see no reason for scaring people from combining Avast and old ZA-versions.
Many use that combo and for people who like it simple I think that combo is good.
I have read much about the discussion that untrusted apps can Possibly take advantage
of trusted apps(iexplore) for outbound connections. Wilders had a very long inconclusive thread
about that. Just for safety I removed permanent permission for Iexplore and gave
it to Opera only. Iexplore is just used for MS Updates.
Inbound protection for old ZA’s is as stealth as can be.
It messed up my system one time too much so long time ago that I don’t remember the details.
The problem with System Restore is that something gets restored and something not.
This may give inconcistences.
The probability of this increases with time and what has been done in the meantime.
What saves me is Norton Ghost images of whole partition.
But my main point is how good the combo ZA free and Avast has worked for me.
The problem with system restore is that it simply isn’t reliable enough and frequently there are unforeseen consequences if it does work, but many times for what ever reason it doesn’t work, broken restore points, etc. and for me that just isn’t good enough, so I went for disk imaging for my replacement of system restore.
Another issue is that many people think it is much more than it is (the name doesn’t help), it isn’t a back-up application as many think.
Just that System Restore is not as bad as you’re saying… it could work and help. It does not substitute the full backups but it can help on software and drivers installations.