Go to Standard Shield provider settings (left click the ‘a’ blue icon).
Choose Customize and go to the Advanced tab.
Check ‘Show detailed information on action performed’ 
You can customize all this notification: color, size, number, font, etc… Click ‘Settings’ in my signature and browse the avast4.ini file thread 8)
Thank you. I’ll work on it.
Bump - any more suggestions or solutions?
I had a look at the logs, but unfortunately, I’m unable to pinpoint a single cause. A number of programs is starting (Outpost, ProcessGuard, SnagIt etc…) and all of them generate some file system activity…
I bet on ProcessGuard… Brings a lot of trouble, more than solution and protection.
Disabling the firewall and boot could tell us if the problem is the interaction between Outpost and avast.
OK, I have done a number of further tests, disabling startup programs, rebooting and checking the Standard Shield scanned total after boot.
Disabled ProcessGuard Free Reboot Scanned Total: 803
Disabled SnagIt7 Reboot Scanned Total: 829
Disabled Outpost Pro Reboot Scanned Total: 833
No changes to maintain a stable registry and reboot Scanned Total: 783
So even after disabling the three programs (startup entries) mentioned there is no noticeable difference, certainly not one that would account for the excessive scanned total after boot.
Disabled SpywareGuard Reboot Scanned Total: 777 again no negligible difference.
Checked Windows Services and found ProcessGuard and Outpost still had services enabled on Automatic. Ended the processes, changed to Disabled and rebooted - Scanned Total 303.
Enabled Outpost Services on Auto and enabled Outpost Startup item and reboot - Scanned Total 803, bingo it looks like I have found the culprit Outpost.exe. I have no idea what or why Outpost should access a large number of files on the HDD. I have looked into the various settings in Outpost but can find nothing that may cause this.
Now what to do about it as I think it essential to have Outpost run on boot, otherwise I would have to manually start the outpost service and the startup entry. With Outpost completely disabled the scan in the low 300s reduces the time the avast icon spins. If I start Outpost the scan count jumps by 450-500, but this only takes a few seconds, the additional files that are being scanned after boot take considerably longer.
I had filemon enabled as a startup item so I have filtered occurance of outpost.exe, but that doesn’t tell me much but it keeps accessing op_data.mdb. It may be possible that the contents of this file are accessing the files to check for changed content? I don’t know I have no way of opening the .mdb file other than with a text editor and that returns little useful (to me) information.
Do any of the Alwil test systems run Outpost Pro and do they suffer this increased scan activity?
Any further information/suggestions, perhaps excluding outpost.exe and or op_data.mdb in avast4.ini (but where)?
I’m failry certain that ZA acts the same way and if it does, can provisions for those of us that use ZA also be made if
you find an answer for by-passing the Outpost startup scanning problem? Thanks
Hi DavidR 
The op_data.mdb is outposts log file (if enable logging is ticked)
U can safely exclude the file in Avast, i do along with the op_data.ldb with no ill effects & a slight boost in boot & loadin time
If U always have snagit runnin at boot then that will slow things down (not sure if U have it runnin constant or just for testin)
I also exclude processguard’s logfiles as they can be written to many times during boot.
HTH
BaNzI ;D
Sorry if I’m a little off-topic but, does anybody know how to configure Windows to start like Linux: the command lines, what is happening, etc. and not the logo? I want to know what is happening behind the logo and the progress bar but I can’t… Maybe we can know by this way what is loading, into the logon screen could be the same :-\
@BanziBaby
OK I have added op_data.?db to the program settings, exclusions, the wildcard ‘?’ does catch both files (I tested it using an on-demand folder scan); let’s see if it has any effect on boot.
As you can see from my above post disabling SnagIt at start-up had no real effect on the scanned totals. I use it extensively, but I suppose I could start it after boot; I will have to check that out.
I have decided to uninstall ProcessGuard free, as it only protects one process and I think that it was Vlk who said it didn’t provide the protection we think if the infection was able to disable processes it could do much more and saving 1 process would be ineffectual.
Further update, after excluding op_data.mdb and op_data.ldb, disabled SnagIt again and rebooted the Scanned Total was 761 so no major difference.
Manually started SnagIt and the scanned total only went up by 3.
So we are still in the same position of not knowing what and why outpost pro accesses on boot.
this might help you?
If nothing else you’ll see that Avast! isn’t alone (neither are you )
http://www.agnitum.com/support/kb/article.php?id=1000030&lang=en
Thanks Toadbee, I have been doing some searching on the Outpost forum but found very little and was just about to post a new thread. So I will check out the KB article first.
Checked the KB article, outpost’s solution useless, basically it is just recommending what I had already tried, exclude the .mdb file.
Update.
Well after a good number of useful responses to my query on the Outpost forum, I have received no direct reply as to what files outpost accesses on boot or why - What files does outpost access/check at startup and why?
I have an open support ticket about it awaiting a detailed (rather than automated reply) response.
I tried a number of things which had a limited or no effect at all.
Exclusions didn’t work at all.
Disabling a number of other startup entries (SnagIt, etc.) very limited effect, confirming outpost was the cause of the excessive file activity and scans.
I also tried reducing the Standard Shield sensitivity to Normal from High (before disabling outpost), this had the desired effect reducing the scanned total from 800+ to 300. But I felt that this lowering of my AV defence wasn’t acceptable.
It was only when outpost startup entry was disabled and the outpost firewall service was set to manual that there was a real effect, the scanned total dropped from 800+ to around 300.
Warning - It is important to ensure you start your firewall before you connect to the internet, so this may not be an option for those with a direct always on connection, for me on dial-up there is less of a problem.
Starting both the outpost firewall service and the outpost GUI manually was a bit of a pain and you have to do it in firewall service, GUI order. Fortunately someone on the outpost forum told me the run command to start the service net start “outpost firewall service” (with the quotes because of the spaces). So I created a small batch file ‘OupostStart.bat’ located in C:\ with a shortcut in the quick launch tool bar (to give one click outpost start).
The batch file had the line to start the service and the path to execute outpost.exe, which started the GUI:
Net Start “outpost firewall service”
“C:\Program Files\Agnitum\Outpost Firewall\outpost.exe”
I haven’t see a whole lot of interaction from the Alwil team on this thread either.
The large amount of scans performed at boot up aren’t only related to folks that use Outpost.
It also happens with ZA and probably many other Firewall programs.
I do know that my system takes a long time to boot. I usually start it and then just forget about
it for a while and do something else. (Yes I know I have a lot of programs that start when the computer starts.)
It shouldn’t be that way. This was one of my main gripes about NAV. The big difference is that eventually-
avast! does stop it’s morning ritual. NAV hogged my computer all day long. Guess what, I slaughtered that hog. ;D
Startup Delayer does a very good job in this case.
Other one is NetRun that controls ‘when’ you get on-line and start (or delay) the startup of programs. Here you can add all applications that you run only when connected.
Technical
I’m already using a program called Startup Faster 2004. That’s not where the problem lies…
I found a great utility that might help you out,
If you read the complete thread (reply #15, #17, #18) you will see I have used filemon and it doesn’t turn up any easily interpreted information, rather the opposite it gives too much information. when set to run on boot (it still starts late to catch early boot activity) until activity stabilises after about 2 minutes the file generated is 1.5MB and 13000+ lines, murder to read.