I installed Avast earlier today, getting 2 ( blue ) balls in my
System Tray. Knowing the need to “update”, I clicked the
“a” ball, then clicked Updating. I thought this would update
VRDB; however, after going to the “main” screen, it said
something like “VRDB generating not done (paraphrasing)”
so eventually I clicked the “i” ball, then clicked “Generate
VRDB Now” and that ball spun for a while & eventually the
dates for both are the same. I am not sure what was
“updated” through the “a” ball !? At this point in time, the
updates are “automatic”; does that mean I do NOT have
to concern myself with manually updating/generating
VRDB ? Would clicking the “Merge with main avast icon”
setting under the “i” ball resolve anything ?
P.S. From the little I have read in this forum, I assume
the current “default” Logging Level" of “Notice” is changed
only upon request from someone helping someone in
this forum ?
With the ‘a’ icon you can update the program and the virus database (signatures to find viruses).
With the ‘i’ icon you can generate the VRDB database for infection recovery. More details of VRDB you could found if you click ‘FAQ’ in my signature 
Please, do not ‘update’ VRDB very often or you could lose its features as just ‘corrupted’ versions of executables will be found and the program won’t be able to repair the system.
Merging the icons is just visual, nothing more.
The logging level must be manually changed. The bottom (Debug) will store all above events on logs.