The problem will be corrected in the next avast! update.
It would be great that you do not wait that longer to make it...
Especially now that its been publicized.
I wouldn't panic.
If you are a home user, and run as a regular user (I do), a peice of malware would have to specifically target Avast. As it is 98% of Windows users run as admin anyway, and malware assumes these permissions when it runs. The chances of this issue being exploited are very small IMO.
One place where I would be a little concerned is in business or educational settings (If this issue affects the pro version), where computers are locked down. For example, at a school that uses Avast on it's lab computers an enterprising student could gain admin rights to a lab machine, or even a server depending on how things are set up.
To fix this issue:
If you are running Windows XP Pro:1) Make sure simple file sharing is turned off.
To turn simple file sharing off, open up an Explorer window (My Computer will do), click on "folder options", click on the "view" tab and uncheck the box that says "Use Simple File Sharing". This will allow you to view file permissions for files and folder2) Browse to your avast program directory (e.g. c:\program files\Alwil Software)
3) Right-click on the folder, select "properties" from the menu and then click on the "Security" tab
4) Click on the "Advanced" button
5) Click on the checkbox that says "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects"
6) Click "Apply" and then "Yes" to the prompt
You may want to turn simple file sharing back on after you are done.
If you are running Windows XP Home:1) Restart your computer and start Windows in "Safe Mode", by pressing F8 before Windows loads.
2) Log in as "Administrator" (You must log in as the
built in administrator account to view file permissions in XP Home)
3) Browse to your avast program directory (e.g. c:\program files\Alwil Software)
4) Right-click on the folder, select "properties" from the menu and then click on the "Security" tab
5) Click on the "Advanced" button
6) Click on the checkbox that says "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects"
7) Click "Apply" and then "Yes" to the prompt
For XP Home users, instead of starting in safe mode, you can also install the program "
ACLView". It allows you to modify file/folder permissions without having to start up in safe mode. I can't tell you how to reset the permission with ACLView though, because I've havn't actually used it.
