Just a quick question about automatic updates in Avast.
I’m getting rid of Norton IS (thank god) and am switching to Avast. The one thing about Norton’s ALU was that everytime it
went out and did a download, it did so without:
A) Notifying me
B) totally monopolized my computer for the next 5 to 15 minutes while it did its thing.
Does Avast tie up the computer during this process ?
The web page says it checks every 4 hours. Can I change this to say 8AM every morning or 10PM every night ?
It depends on what version of avast you are considering, the Home version doesn’t have the schedule updates but I believe it is in the Pro version. Though I don’t think you need worry about the avast updates.
The virus signature updates are incremental so you won’t be tied up for very long at all, this is set to auto update and the priority of the update is Normal, there is also a CPU limiting so that it doesn’t get in the way of what you are doing.
The Program updates which are obviously going to be longer and because of that they aren’t set to auto update, but ‘Ask.’ This means that if there is an avast program update you will be notified and asked if you want to update then. If not just ignore it and when you are read, initiate a manual program update.
So as you can see if it checks when you first connect and every 4 hours if you remain connected, the only thing that would be downloaded automatically is the incremental virus signature update.
Secondly avast isn’t a suite and doesn’t have a firewall, so if getting rid of NIS you will need a firewall. The avast Network Shield does monitor certain common ports used for worm/virus attack but it isn’t a full firewall.
Yes, I thought I try the free home version and see how it works.
Thanks mucho for the NRT links. When I reset my computer to the original factory settings (I think Norton hosed my MS Installer)
It’ll revert to whatever Norton came with it. I got mine Dec 2006 so it might be a 2005 product. I don’t recall.
So even with home/free version it still goes out and downloads virus defs ?
I use the home version and have all updates set to ‘manual’. After I boot the PC, the first thing I do is check to see if there’s an update for virus definitions (VPS). I just like to be in control and know when things are happening. I check for VPS updates probably 3 to 4 times during the day… but I do it when I want to.
As David posted, be sure to run Norton’s Removal Tool. It really necessary.
Here’s another way to do it, I have mine set to “ask” then whenever there is an update a little box pops up on the right hand side down by my clock and notifies me to install the newest virus definition. ;D
can’t get any better than that
Liz
Yes even for the home/free version it will get the updates automatically. But, you have control over what way this is done, avast is very configurable and the updates are just one part of that configurability.
Norton just goes out and does it and my PC slows down to a crawl and of course right in the middle of me using it.
I had devised a way to run the AUpdate.exe via a script each AM before I got going on my computer, then shut off
their Live Update Service (which runs automatically). Once a day is fine.
The only trouble with that was that even though I downloaded updates daily, Norton’s menu doesn’t reconcile the
dates, it only knows when it’s run via the auto-downloader, so every week I get VIRUS DEFS OUT OF DATE MUST
FIX and then I get prompts and confirms, and so on. Once a week isn’t bad but still annoying.
