Avast Forum:
I just now recognized a familiar pattern in your newly released redesigned UI, 17.8.3705.249. So far, it has been following the same sequence of events that your most recent Avast UI was forced to experience. Perhaps you require all your Avast iterations (and your users) to go through some sort of initiation process – an obligatory set of rituals. Here’s what I’ve observed: We are presented with a new UI and its associated programs. The programs work, but are also flawed. For instance, we can schedule scans (Quick or Custom or something else), but after several days of success, they suddenly fail, and no longer run automatically as scheduled – they must be activated manually on a same-day basis, day-by-day. We report these failures a few times in your forum (and perhaps also via individualized messaging), then we’re finally told that the issues are known and a fix will appear in the next build or release or whatever corporate-preferred label. At last, an update arrives, and the Quick or Custom or whatever scan now runs as scheduled. Unfortunately, there’s something wrong; although the scan runs, an important scan feature fails us or in some way malfunctions. Usually, the failure may be considered trivial or to be nothing more than slightly inconvenient – e.g., the icons or progress indicators don’t behave as they otherwise should or don’t appear at all. We report these annoyances a few times, then finally we’re told that the issues are known, and a fix will appear in the next build or release or . . . whatever it’s called. After a few months, the fix is finally evident, and the whole scan works for a while, then two or three days later, for some reason, it collapses or backtracks to its earlier flawed status – progress indicators gone, for instance. We shrug, occasionally find a workaround (“Guess I’ll have to start it myself”), and await another updated version, hoping that this time the whole program will run, all its features intact and responsive and functioning without our intervention, and we will no longer have to monitor programs scheduled to automatically scan our laptops on a pre-determined day and time.
The above passage details my Avast Free Antivirus experience so far. My experience is summarized as thus (although somewhat repetitively, just in case . . . [heh – sorry]): Your most recent past version’s Quick Scan wouldn’t run automatically as scheduled, then it was fixed, except that its progress indicators no longer appeared without manual intervention. Days or so later, that particular QS scan progress feature was fixed, but then your updated newly designed UI was released, with Quick Scans eliminated and replaced by a Custom Scan option. Seeing the change, I then scheduled daily scans using your new Custom Scan program. The Custom Scan ran twice, but no progress indicators were displayed at all. I reported the progress indicator problem to your forum and awaited a reply or fix. Today, the scheduled Custom scan completely failed – it didn’t run at all. I verified that it wasn’t running by checking the UI’s Custom Scan tile, and the Scan History record. Seeing it was indeed immobile and hadn’t worked, I activated it manually as its menu allows, and it ran – but minus the progress indication icon or box. Oh well, at least a manually activated scan is possible. Of course, now, based on my observations, I’ve anticipated what may be next in my Avast interactions. Next, I’ll probably be told that the CS scanning failure is a known issue. You’ll then fix the auto-scan problem, except that no in-progress indicators will appear per scan. Then you’ll correct that particular flaw, and all will be okay for a few days, but after those few days, the program will start to weaken – and a new flaw will emerge. At this point, you’ll release an entirely new design, and the whole Avast experimental UI process will start again.
Maybe not. Maybe you’ll simply fix your Custom Scan program, along with whatever developer-approved progress indicator has been chosen (animated task bar icon, or message box, or etc.), so that both scan and in-progress indicator run right on time, and in tandem. Perhaps, when finally fixed, the repaired Custom Scan and its related features will continue running as scheduled, and won’t regress to an earlier flawed condition, or suddenly quit again altogether.
Anyhow, I’m mainly writing to request that the Avast tech team:
Please fix your Custom Scan and associated progress indicator(s) – or better yet, please reinstate a fully operational Quick Scan program, animated progress icon or message box included.
Thanks.
Sorry.
–jjb
P.S. I appreciate whatever help can be provided. Really. ! --j
System Notes:
Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit, Build 1506, 4 GB RAM
Pre-Avast: Windows 10 Defender (currently disabled via system Group Policy, which is apparently the only WD elimination method possible)
HP Compaq Presario CQ50-210US Notebook PC (laptop)
Chrome browser, 63.0.3239.84 (Official Build) (64-bit) (cohort: Stable)
Hardware Acceleration: cleared (disabled)
Avast Free Antivirus, 17.8.3705.249, built for Windows 10
Previous Avast Free Antivirus, 17.8.2318, as of 11/09/2017 (Actually, I may have received a version updated from this one, but if so, I don’t recall – sorry!)
I also tried your Repair program via my Windows control panel – no luck
In addition: I turn my laptop on at 8 a.m. daily, always with electric connection vs. batteries
My scans are scheduled to start each day at 8:28 a.m.
Thanks much. --j
