Author Topic: lost password uninstall  (Read 5686 times)

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dcardillo

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lost password uninstall
« on: June 18, 2012, 03:42:42 PM »
I'm having issues with my avast! password, but that isn't my main question (see below). The results of my searching this forum for a solution have lead me to the answer that my only real solution is to uninstall avast! and reinstall (per the main FAQ). Fine.

The only problem is, every single uninstall instruction begins with, "launch the avast! application and enter your password." (emphasis added)

I installed the app as a device admin (non-rooted). And apparently the only way to turn this function off — thereby allowing the app to be removed — is from within the app itself. (someone please tell me if this is not the case.)

So, is there a way to remove the Anti-Theft and main apps without inputting a password that isn't functioning?

and I say, "isn't functioning," because the issue isn't with me (I'm not new to keeping track of passwords) but a combination of the avast! Mobile Security app and my phone.

I use a combination of LastPass and PasswordCard. My passwords are both written down and stored across multiple devices.

Two things:

I'm using an HTC Evo Shift 4G, the one with the slide-out keyboard. Upon installing and configuring avast! for the  first time, I'm using the hardware keyboard to enter a password — a password I've generated with PasswordCard (so it's written down) and stored in LastPass.

Then, upon downloading and installing the custom Anti-Theft app, I'm asked, again, for a password. Now, it wasn't clear (at least not to me) that this should be the same password as entered before. And even though I found it bothersome to generate and track yet another password, I create a completely new one.

This is where I notice an issue with entering digits with the hardware keypad. Holding down the [fn] key (to enter digits) while pressing they keys inputs completely different numbers that what they keys are labeled. As I said, this could be an issue with the phone itself, though I've not seen this behavior with any other app. Only when I press (and release) [fn] + the number, press [fn] again + next #, etc. do they enter correctly.

So, is it possible that my initial password was input incorrectly? Maybe — but read on...

(and if you're curious why I wasn't using the default numeric on-screen keypad, it's because I've selected LastPass as the input method — to generate, store, retrieve and input passwords into apps — and it doesn't have a numeric keypad like the default touch display.)

I've gone back into avast! and the Anti-Theft app to change settings, entering the password, because how else could I have gotten in?

Only now, after receiving an SMS or two, and being prompted to allow or block the messages, no password I enter works. None of the numerical sequences generated by PasswordCard, and not the numerical password stored in LastPass.

So, without wiping my phone (which I also understand avast! is built to withstand), how do I get in and turn it off?

Offline Werner

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Re: lost password uninstall
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2012, 03:59:59 PM »
Hello,

the device administrator setting is actually a phone setting. So - open your phone settings and look (or google) for it. It's not in the same menu entry in different Android versions. So I can't tell where it is on your phone. With the device admin removed, look for the app with the custom name in your app manager and uninstall it. Then uninstall avast! Mobile Security like any other app.

When you reinstall it, the password you set previously is gone and you can set a new one. The default password is 0000, by the way.

I have no experience with LastPass or PasswordCard, so I can hardly give a hint about these.

Werner

Offline Asyn

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Re: lost password uninstall
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2012, 04:03:24 PM »
I installed the app as a device admin (non-rooted). And apparently the only way to turn this function off — thereby allowing the app to be removed — is from within the app itself. (someone please tell me if this is not the case.)

-> https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=1034#idt_12
W8.1 [x64] - Avast Free AV 23.3.8047.BC [UI.757] - Firefox ESR 102.9 [NS/uBO/PB] - Thunderbird 102.9.1
Avast-Tools: Secure Browser 109.0 - Cleanup 23.1 - SecureLine 5.18 - DriverUpdater 23.1 - CCleaner 6.01
Avast Wissenswertes (Downloads, Anleitungen & Infos): https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=60523.0

dcardillo

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Re: lost password uninstall
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2012, 10:23:53 PM »
the device administrator setting is actually a phone setting. So - open your phone settings and look (or google) for it. It's not in the same menu entry in different Android versions. So I can't tell where it is on your phone.

I found it. For the record, HTC Evo Shift 4G running Froyo, it's in the Security settings > Device Administrators

If I have time I may try to find out why the hardware keyboard returns different numbers than pressed.