I downloaded the free Avast earlier today. Now my protection has been turned off and I can’t get it back on from the Avast prompts or by windows.
What AV did you use before installing avast?
Did you uninstall it before installing avast?
Did you remove it according to that vendor instructions using removal tool?
AVG. The AVG had become quirky. After I installed Avast I went to the control panel and uninstalled AVG that way.
Run AVG removal tool and reboot https://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/