I use dial-up as well and my settings are.

Update (basic), for both Virus Database and Program, ‘Ask when update is available’. So if I don’t clcik the update now it doesn’t happen.

Update (connections), I only connect to the internet using Dial-up modem.

This should ensure that you don’t want to update at that time it won’t happen.

  1. Avast only waits for a connection to be established to check if an update is available, if one is it will inform you and ask if you want to download it now (if your settings say Ask.

  2. If you click to download it, first a small program runs to establish, your OS, Type and Version of avast! and which elements are required to be updated. This does take a little time. Then the update is downloaded and then installed, the updates are incremental and usually small so it shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.

Your problem is if there is a slow connection to the update server (for any reason), your connection is disconected during this check it will try to reconnect.

As you say lengthening the disconnect delay will help or you can continue to check for updates manually, so long as you do it frequently.

  1. Avast with dial-up I think checks for updates each time you connect, but wilh cable/adsl, etc. there is probably a period built in.

HTH David