Windows 10 is not a virus!

system · 2017-06-07T01:00:30.000Z

I used free Avast for several years and decided to pay for a Avast Pro to show my appreciation.

Big mistake! During a routine scan 4 month ago it found that legitimate files of Windows are “viruses” and started deleting those. Finally the computer froze. It took a couple of days to restart it, but Windows was seriously damaged:

Sound is lost (cannot be turned on)
Cannot go to a restore point and fix Windows
Cannot update any programs, etc.

About 20 emails to Support department resulted that they admitted “false detection” and their best recommendation was to go to a computer repair shop. Brilliant! I am good to pay money but if something happens - it is my problem.

Form now on I highly recommend this Avast Pro - exclusively to my enemies!

system · 2017-06-07T01:27:53.000Z

Something similar happened to me today, avast deleted a similsaying it was acting suspect but I searched about the file name and people said it was from samsung settings, don’t know if it really was tho

Eddy · 2017-06-07T05:15:45.000Z

vponomarev22,

the installation and use of software is always at your own risk.
A couple of days?
Sjees, a smart person has a recent drive image and a backup.
Depending on the speed of the system and the amount of data, it will take 20-60 minutes to have the system up and running again.

system · 2017-06-12T02:23:20.000Z

Thank you for hinting that I am not a “smart user”. Now I will be smarted and forget about this company.
Avast ruined my operating system and nobody cares. Support does not care for sure. I wasted four (4) months sending e-mails to them and they just stretch time in hope that I will disappear.
Not only the quality of the product is questionable, but also the style of their “support”.
I wanted to send a letter of appreciation to their CEO but they do not dare to give the name and address. Maybe somebody can help me with this?

Pondus · 2017-06-12T04:53:31.000Z

Form now on I highly recommend this Avast Pro - exclusively to my enemies!

False positives happens, and it is not only avast

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/07/kaspersky_update_borks_nhsnet/

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/webroot-bricks-windows-pcs-after-flagging-system-files-as-malware-459511

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2010/03/22/bitdefender_dodgy_update/

It has happend do evry AV vendor and will happen again

RejZoR · 2017-06-12T05:33:49.000Z

Files are in Virus Chest. Telling us what got allegedly deleted wouldn’t hurt…

Eddy · 2017-06-12T07:18:42.000Z

Why asking for help with the names of the CEO’s and addresses ?
You can read them yourself on the avast website.

system · 2017-06-12T09:24:15.000Z

Pondus post:5:

Form now on I highly recommend this Avast Pro - exclusively to my enemies!
False positives happens, and it is not only avast
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/07/kaspersky_update_borks_nhsnet/

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/webroot-bricks-windows-pcs-after-flagging-system-files-as-malware-459511

https://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2010/03/22/bitdefender_dodgy_update/

It has happend do evry AV vendor and will happen again

Except MSE, which had a performance rate of 99.3% on latest AV Comparatives (Avast! 99.6%)

Eddy · 2017-06-12T09:27:27.000Z

MSE also had its share of FP’s.

Pondus · 2017-06-12T11:55:04.000Z

Except MSE, which had a performance rate of 99.3% on latest AV Comparatives (Avast! 99.6%)

What does performance have to do with FP

Anyway if you where to look in the lab to any AV vendor you would see that they all work with minor FP fixing evry day, the one i mentioned above is the one that affected system files and bricked the computer, these dont happen often but all AV vendors have had it

TrueIndian · 2017-06-12T14:50:27.000Z

At the end of the day no program or av program can be 100% every program has its share of mistakes.At the end,its all made by humans but avast work very hard to protect its users so mistakes happen.

Its best to use the forums for help in any case not the support.The forum has been the best support for years.

system · 2017-06-16T08:17:16.000Z

Eddy post:9:

MSE also had its share of FP’s.

Not FP’s which will brick your PC!

bob3160 · 2017-06-16T22:02:00.000Z

John712 post:12:

Eddy post:9:

MSE also had its share of FP’s.

Not FP’s which will brick your PC!

That may be true. It simply doesn’t catch infections which brick your PC.
None of this will solve the users problem however.

system · 2017-06-17T01:29:57.000Z

bob3160 post:13:

John712 post:12:

Eddy post:9:

MSE also had its share of FP’s.

Not FP’s which will brick your PC!

That may be true. It simply doesn’t catch infections which brick your PC.
None of this will solve the users problem however.

On the contrary, the OP already has a solution:

“Form now on I highly recommend this Avast Pro - exclusively to my enemies!”

“It simply doesn’t catch infections which brick your PC.” MSE has a detection rate of 99.3% which should more than enough for any ordinary user, without being afraid that your antivirus may brick your PC.

Eddy · 2017-06-17T06:10:03.000Z

MSE/Defender sure isn’t enough for the ordinary user.
https://www.howtogeek.com/173291/goodbye-microsoft-security-essentials-microsoft-now-recommends-you-use-a-third-party-antivirus/

Hence why Microsoft themselves has said
1] The detection rate is only tested with a small amount of samples.
2] It doesn’t have e.g. IDP detection
3] It doesn’t have smart/live analyzing to detect and block new threads.
4] It doesn’t have a “sandbox”
5] etc.

Take other samples and the detection rate for a av at av comparatives will drop for MSE and go up for others.

The OP doesn’t have a solution.
He only runs away from a problem but that doesn’t make the (potential) problem go away.

I rather have a FP then a infection that is not detected.

Just make sure that you have a recent image of the drive and a recent backup of data.
If there is a problem the system can be up and running in 20-60 minutes again if there is a problem.

Don’t forget that e.g. a power spike/drop, malfunctioning hardware etc. can also cause a system to malfunction.
And with millions of lines of code in Windows and all applications, a conflict/problem can (and likely will happen) sooner or later.

Patrick2 · 2017-06-17T13:13:01.000Z

Plus regarding MSE/and Microsoft Windows Defender in Windows 10, theres also known vulnerabilities in the scanning engine itself, Personally I suggest staying with Avast, and solving any issues that come up if there is any that need solving.

False positives are gonna happen with any antivirus at one time or another, nothing is really truly 100 percent in protection or preventing false postivies, key to being safe is having an image backup to revert to if needed should something happen that requires starting fresh, but most of the time system should run perfectly and without any issues for the most part

Not to say bad definition update won’t ever come out, but Avast I’ve learned over the years of using it the last 10-11 years, that Avast is quick to solve any false positive issues that arise once reported

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