User Guide

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Hi there,

I will be installing Avast Home Edition on one of my computers in the near future. Before I install any program I get as much info as possible about it. Most have a users guide that walks you through all features of the program with screen shots etc. I can’t seem to find one for Avast. I checked the home page and searched this forum. Is there a user guide other than the one that comes with the installed program? If so can some one provide a link to it? Thank You

2

No there isn’t but, there is a better solution: this forum.
You can ask whatever you need/want to configure avast. Believe me, it’s the most configurable antivirus round, you can set it to match (almost) all your needs 8)
Welcome to forums.

3

Thanks for the response but this forum is not better than a step by step user guide. How do I even begin to know what I need to ask on this forum without knowing all the features that the Avast Home Edition has in it. I am sure this forum is an excellent source of info after the program is installed and experience some problems. What I need know though is a overview of the user interface and a guide to all the options. I do not like installing blindly than have to figure out how to use the program once it’s installed. I have lost count how many times I have downloaded a program over the years and some option or selection comes up during install that I am not prepared for because there was no user guide to prepare me.

I have heard excellent thing about Avast and currently use AVG on one of the computers. I would like to install Avast on another. How difficult would it be to include on line the help section that come with the program?

Here are a few examples of hows it’s done. :slight_smile:

http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/doc/avg_fre_ref_en_71_5.pdf

http://www.free-av.com/antivirclassic/docs/man_avira_antivir-peclassic_en.pdf

Thank You

4

:slight_smile: Hi Anthony :

  Before I downloaded Avast around 14 months ago, I 
  made sure I printed out ALL the info in the "FAQ"s, to
  have them available to consult in case I ran into a 
  problem and as a "Guide" after installation. I still keep
  them near my computer . Most likely anything not
  covered in the "FAQ"s could be found by using this 
  forum's "search" feature.
5

I know that anything I need AFTER install can be found in the forum. I want to read about all the options and features before I install. Than if I don’t understand something or have pronblems I come here to ask.

What does I’m a llama! mean? It’s under my name in the posts.

6
How do I even begin to know what I need to ask on this forum without knowing all the features that the Avast Home Edition has in it.
You can find them at avast's website. Look for the comparison between the home and the pro version.
7

:slight_smile: Hi Anthony :

  Other than the FAQ's that I already recommended, you
  can go, on the main Avast webpage, to "products >
  Desktop Protection > avast 4 Home edition ".

  As far as the "I'm a llama", it is the "default" "label" and
  means you have NOT changed it through your "profile".
8

OK, well I feel like I’m going in circles here. Bottom line is there is a lack of online info for Avast. A user guide is needed.

I found this http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial104.html
How up to date is this with the current program?

How many processes are running in Task Manager from Avast? How much ram does it use?

9

The updates are automatic and incremental.

avast checks if there is an available connection each 40 seconds. If there isn’t, wait more 40 seconds to check. Checking does not take more than one second and, of course, does not use the Internet band. If there is a connection, check for an update. If there is not any new file to download, wait 4 hours to start checking again. If there is an available update, start it and install it. Again, wait 4 hours to check the next time.

The program updates are released but to avoid excessive load on the servers the auto update check happens randomically every 7 days and it’s not checking every time you connect to the Internet as with the iAVS checks. Every avast installation has a unique, randomly generated GUID (“general unique identifier”) associated with it (it is generated during installation). This ID is random, but fixed. They use this value to determine when the updater pops up on YOUR machine, i.e., the program already knows that the update is there, but it won’t tell you until it’s your turn.

You can however, as you have found perform a manual update.

10

How many processes, Not many, how much memory, not much, sorry couldn’t resist (see image) this is my typical startup avast processes and memory usage…

avast isn’t that complex and the default install gives you a good balance between performance and protection out of the box. From there the avast help file should be able to give you more than enough information about the different providers and settings. Add to that

I’m afraid the bleeping computers tutorial is well out of date “by Yanowhiz on 14th of Jul 2005” but if you only concentrate on the installation It will/should be adequate. I wouldn’t follow the recommendation "
I recommend changing the default slide from Normal to High, depending on how fast your system is." But, I would recommend you click the Details button so you can see a list of the different providers rather than this amalgamation of them all.