I am looking for a way to either:
A) Prevent Avast from running at startup
OR
B) Totally disable Avast (meaning to stop ALL Avast services and processes, without uninstalling it)
I have Avast Free version 2014.9.0.2011 that is running on Win7 Ultimate with SP1.
Thus far I have managed to disable all but AvastUI.exe in the processes, and it won’t allow me to stop Avast from running at startup even using ccleaner or Glary Utils.
Thank you for any assistance you may provide to me!!!
~gm66
OK…I’ll bite…why ? ???
Just a delay you are wanting or permanently off ?..which means no protection so begs the question…why not uninstall ?
This particular PC is only used online once a month, if that, for less than 30 minutes. Thus the ONLY reason I use any antivirus software at all on this machine.
I suppose I could uninstall and reinstall every time this PC was put online, although that would be a pain. When Avast first came out you could easily do this, but over the years it seems they have prevented this from being possible.
I was just hoping to find an easy way to do this…
~gm66
I have no idea why anyone would want to disable their protection.
This is not good since you open and move files and folders around.
avast protects your machine whether you are surfing the web or not surfing the web.
To disable the shields…right click on the avast tray icon>click on “avast shields control”>click your selection.
This is not a good idea. A lot of infections may have a time delay and with any of the shields disabled leaves you vulnerable to infections.
I strongly urge you to leave well enough alone. 
Why not leave it installed and thus it keeps all it’s updates, etc current…and when you do go Online you are protected.
Plus, while you think “online” is the only way to get viruses it is not…eg, emails, file sharing, etc.
I think I get the “why” but think there is much less effort to just let it be there all the time than the hoops you’d have to go thru…just IMHO.
As a PC repair tech since the early 90’s, I really do appreciate your concerns here guys but that’s all irrelevant to my question.
I am simply looking for a “yes” you can do that and here’s how, or “no” that isn’t possible at all.
Simply disabling the scanners doesn’t shut down all the services and processes, which is what I am trying to do if I cannot prevent Avast from running at startup…
~gm66
You can only disable avast! shields through its icon in task bar or its UI. That is what avast! can do. Other processes and services have to be disabled manually through Services and I am not pretty sure avast! will let you do it.
I have no idea if Avast…by the nature of what it is…will let you do this but…
ID all the services and write a script using DOS command taskkill using PID for each service.
It is possible to prevent it… (worked in v7)
Start > Run (Windows + R) > [type] “services.msc” > avast! antivirus > Change Startup type to “Manual”.
This would mean that when your PC boots up, it will start without protection.
Thanks Alikhan. I have never tried to stop avast! through Services so I was not sure if it would work.
What happens to Avast if you go to Control Panel > Security Centre and turn off AV protection there? Does Avast play ball and allow you to stop it starting up?
Presumably MSE can be turned off using this simple method or why would the facility exist? So maybe if it can it would be a better choice than Avast for the OP.
If it does work all that he really has to do is to remember to switch it on before he switches on the internet connection and switch it off again before shutdown.
+1 I never tried this method either. I’m not a big fan of “no” protection. I’d much rather have the right balance than no protection.
Having avast run in the background doesn’t really use that much CPU any way.
I have 6 GB RAM and right now using only 2.3 GB RAM and less than 25% CPU most of the time dipping to less than 5% CPU.
@ Alikhan - That’s the problem, it won’t allow you to do that in version 9. there are no options highlighted to allow you to stop the service anymore.
@ Cluster-Lizard - Windows already says it’s “off” in the security center. I have never tried MSE before but I suppose it’s worth a shot.
For almost 20 years now all I have EVER recommended to my customers is Avast! There certainly have been some major changes in their software since then!
I have noticed they offer less protection today in the free edition and it has become such a memory hog as well, one of my biggest problems with it, and now they lock you out of any option to even shut down their services.
You wouldn’t believe how many complaints from MY customers I have recently gotten after they installed Avast on their own! The constant pop-ups, sounds and default setting are horrible for the average user and most of them are afraid to go in and start changing the settings!
Avast is still a great product but maybe it’s time to start looking for something else to recommend.
It’s problems like this, and the major security issues, viruses, malware, trojans, etc that prevents me from using a windows product online! I’ve used various Linux distributions for many years on my own PCs and have never once used any antivirus software and have never had one single problem. But then again, I have made quite a bit of money off of fixing windows problems over the years!!!
Thanks to you both!!!
~gm66
I’m still on Avast8…which has in services.msc in Windows the “Avast Service”…not in Avast9 ?
There has never been protection removed from the Free version.
Regarding the memory usage, I don’t think the new versions use any more memory than the older ones (even though it might seem to if you look at the Task Manager, but the numbers mean something else than generally expected).
The self-defense has been there since… I don’t know, avast! 4.x. It’s an important layer of defense against malware. But you can disable it in the Troubleshooting options, if you feel you don’t need it.
Similarly, the sounds have also always been there (and enabled by default), i.e. no change here either.
Turns off for me.
Control Panel> Administrative Tools > Services > Avast >Properties > set to manual.
( Self defence needs to be off to make the change).
Restart and no AV …