Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Jima on April 16, 2010, 06:26:54 PM
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I am very satisfied with my current (old) version of avast!
With the daily list of snafus and travails, I am still a little hesitant to take the chance on changing to 5.0.
Maybe this post will generate the confidence I need.
Thanks.
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The thing is, sooner or later you'll have to switch (or switch AV's)... You might as well go ahead and dive in feet first. By and large, most users don't have any problems with the new version. I think maybe you are intimidated by some of the negative threads on this forum, but remember that most people will not stop by to say "things are running great". ;D
Bottom line: Switch to V5 ;)
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hello Jima,
In full agreement with what Artemis said.
Your gonna have to switch sooner or later ;D
and if by chance something does go agoof, these boards will help sort it out.
I was like you, and was hestitant on making the switch, because of what was being said here, two weeks ago i upgraded from 4.8 free to 5.0 free, on two different vista laptops, with no problems!
5.0 is awesome, much diffferent that 4.8.
I think you'd be glad you made the switch and will be wishing you did it sooner
Saty
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I am very satisfied with my current (old) version of avast!
With the daily list of snafus and travails, I am still a little hesitant to take the chance on changing to 5.0.
Maybe this post will generate the confidence I need.
Thanks.
Don't lose sight of the fact that this is a 'support forum' so all you are likely to see are "snafus and travails" as you say, not the huge majority of users that don't have a problem.
You can't go on in life thinking the worst might happen, like stepping out of the front door and getting run over by a truck just because you heard about it in the papers, or you aren't going to go out.
Should you be in the very small minority that experience a problem, then you already know where to come.
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... I am still a little hesitant to take the chance on changing to 5.0. ...
In addition to the above posts, take in consideration number of post here by users having issues to the number of avast! users (100 million (http://www.avast.com/news) -- quite a small percentage. Could you imagine what the board would be like if all the users not having issues posted? ;D
FWIW have avast! 5 on three Win XP systems, and have not had any issues.
You did not note which avast! you're using, Home or Pro. Even if using Home 4.8, check the upgrade options and see discounted price for Pro, and AIS which is good for 3 PCs.
I had 4.8 Pro on one system, and Home on the other two systems. Used the Home upgrade to get AIS for three years for $84.97. You can do a custom install of AIS if you do not want to install the Spam Filter and/or Firewall.
Good Luck!
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Jima, go for version 5... better protection, interface, scanning speed, etc.
Besides, version 4 won't be supported for that much time (maybe by the end of 2010).
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Bottom line: Switch to V5 ;)
and get stuck in nightmare... ::)
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Bottom line: Switch to V5 ;)
and get stuck in nightmare... ::)
For the greatest majority there is no problem so it is a dream rather than a nightmare and you can't base your decisions on a minority with a problem.
If they experience a problem they can easily get back to 4.8 as you apparently have, but to never try is crazy.
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I had been using Avira 9 on a vista laptop and XP Pro desktop then switched to Avast 5 when Avira 10 popped up and it runs superbly, can't speak for 4.8 mind, but regarding Avast 5 can't praise it highly enough really...just my two pennies worth :)
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If they experience a problem they can easily get back to 4.8 as you apparently have, but to never try is crazy.
This is an old engineer proverb : If something works why should you change it ?
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Following the same proverb you would be driving round in a model T Ford or the first French production car or perhaps still riding a horse.
Hell you wouldn't even be using the internet as you wouldn't have a telephone as there is nothing wrong with writing a letter. In which case you wouldn't require an anti-virus.
Its called progress and it has to start somewhere.
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Following the same proverb you would be driving round in a model T Ford or the first French production car or perhaps still riding a horse.
Hell you wouldn't even be using the internet as you wouldn't have a telephone as there is nothing wrong with writing a letter. In which case you wouldn't require an anti-virus.
Its called progress and it has to start somewhere.
Now that did make me laugh, so true... then I thought about Avira 10...and felt slightly confused.
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I thought I might jump in... I recall uninstalling Avast about a year ago from a friend's computer due to the slowdown and resource hogging it's been causing. Well, what a change w/ v5.0. Simply amazing. Well, Avira's gone from there and Avast is back. Also the GUI finally is nice and easy to navigate and configure. Great job, guys. :)
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Bottom line: Switch to V5 ;)
and get stuck in nightmare... ::)
That is not true! "Switch to V5, and ride in to the future with this great software" :)
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It might be sensible to be hesitant if you have a realistic reason to think you might have a problem. If that's the case it might be a good idea to look at that and try to resolve it first. But if you're worried simply because some other people have had problems that's a little irrational.
There will always be a risk factor regardless how small. With the current build the risk has dropped tremendously since it first came out. If your system and configuration are fairly typical you shouldn't have any problems. :)
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Thanks for all your answers and input.
I decided to go for it and opened the avast! webpage only to find the download is 40 MB!
That size download could take 5 or 6 hours or even more on my dialup, leaving many chances for interuption or other failure, let alone not having telephone service for that period.
Two questions: Was the one I got 5 years ago that big?
I got Windows upgrades (about the same size) on a disc. Is avast! 5 available to purchase that way?
Thanks again from this Luddite fuddy-duddy.
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I'm on dial-up and it took around two and a half hours for 40 MB (aprox 4 minutes a MB), so there is something seriously wrong with your dial-up connection.
The program has grown over the last 6 years that I have had it but I think it was about 30MB then, one of the things you have to consider is that a lot has been added in the interim years not to mention the virus database continues to grow at a pace. If you download that on its own it is around 29MB. So the program itself is relatively well compressed.
Can you not get a friend with broadband or use a local library, etc. to download this and save to CD or USB and transfer to your system.
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Thanks, DavidR
I just now began a download. My connection speed was around 25 kpbs, but occasionally dropped, with estimated time of download varying between 6 and 13 hours.
I just can't do that.
So if avast! does not offer a version on a hard disc, I'll try the second hand idea or just forget it.
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Its called progress and it has to start somewhere.
To my understanding, Avast 5.0 is not providing better antivirus protection than Avast 4.8 but there is a "beautiful" new interface and clear flaw in update system which render it unoperant for some users.
When in such situation, the user having changed from 4.8 to 5.0 may have a lower protection level than previousy.
Maybe you should explain me where is the progress ? ::)
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Sorry but your understanding is incorrect.
avast 5.0 has signatures and processes that aren't in 4.8 as they wouldn't work on older OSes which 4.8 still supports, e.g. win9.x, winME.
I'm not going to try and convince you of anything, that has to be your choice, there is more than enough in this topic alone to make your mind up, 5.0.507 has had further enhancements to the installation process especially in relation to installation over 4.8.
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I'm not going to try and convince you of anything, that has to be your choice, there is more than enough in this topic alone to make your mind up, 5.0.507 has had further enhancements to the installation process especially in relation to installation over 4.8.
There is a basic problem with people like you is that you trust so much in your "cause" that you assume every other person of a different opinion is a moron.
The issue IS NOT about installing over previous version. There are plenty of software that request un-install prior to installation of new version. Let forget about poor quality of such setup, this is not optimal but acceptable.
From what I lived and what I red from other persons on this forum, the real issue is that any manual and erratic change in system date for any reason damage completely the update process of version 5 in such a way that there is absolutely no way to make it works again.
Most probably, Avast is hiding an information in a very unusual place for safety reason and this information is kept again and again even after having use every possible trick or removal tool.
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I believe that any member here can start a new topic without taking over an existing one.
The argument going on here does not help answer my concerns.
Having decided to advance to 5.0, I discovered that the download time, for whatever reason, is simply not feasible for me.
So again my three choices seem to be
1. Have someone download it for me, burn a CD and hope it works.
2. Buy a CD from avast!. I'd be happy to do so.
3. Forget 5.0
Any other possibilities?
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hi Jima,
it looks like your in a bit of pickle...
I didnt see where if you said you have 4.8 free or paid, not that it really matters, except if your looking for free products they are usually only had by download. And im not sure what size other AV's are compared to Avast, so you might be in the same predictement.
I think Avast is download only, I dont believe its available to buy on cd, but I could be wrong.
Id say if you want to stay with avast, the only option is as DavidR suggested, having a friend download it to a cd or flashdrive etc, and transfering it over, or doing it yourself at a public library or such, and transfering it over.
people here can give advice on the transfer directions or troubleshooting problems if any are had.
I hope this helps
Saty
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Hello Jima!
I am one of those folks experiencing update issues. I also was hesitant to switching to v5. I hope that an uninstall/reinstall will fix
my issue. If not I will try a reformat. If that still doesn't work, I will go back to v4.8 for a while. I have not lost my faith in avast!,
nor have I lost my faith in v5. I think that trying v5 is still worth it. I was surprisingly content with the changes made in v5, even
tho I actually prefer the look & sound of the old interface. The new interface is well thought out, even for a computer-clod, like
me. I especially like the paid for package that comes with its own firewall & other protections, thus eliminating software conflicts.
Seriously, if you can DL it with a friend/public-use computer & transfer it by disk/flash, give it a try. Chances are, it'll work for you.
On another note, I miss hearing the Hawking-like voice following successful updates. I wouldn't mind reverting to 4.8 for that alone,
LOL. Too bad there isn't an option to insert that sound file into v5. Or is there? Best wishes in updating! Back things up just in case.
(After my last Trojan, followed by a reformat/install of everything, I have been backing things up often & with every system change.)
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I'm not going to read the whole thread. Sorry, but I think the original question is silly. Do you really need advice on this? Backup your system with any of the myriad imaging utilities (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/) available, then try v5 without concern, knowing you can totally revert if you need to. (Just avoid making other changes to your system that you won't want to have to redo in the meantime.)
I hated version 4.8. It worked poorly on my system. I find that v5 works well, and I've switched from another vendor's product as a result.
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My daughter-in-law downloaded 5.0.507 for me and put it on a CD. It took her about three and a half minutes (see above for the 6 to 13 hour estimate I had for my dial-up).
The installation seems to have gone well and quickly, but the new rollerskates are going to take a while to get used to.
I was going to say that things seemed a little slow, but then the sultry voice of avast! (a new thing for me) informed me that things had just been updated, so that may have been taking up speed.
So thanks for the help. Rest assured I'll be back at the first sign of trouble. :)
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Glad that you have managed to get avast 5 without having 6 hours on dial-up.
I'm sure you will quickly get used to the new roller skates, without too many blisters ;D
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Any other possibilities?
Maybe yes, maybe no, depending on how ALWIL has set up their servers.
Try a freeware download manager which has both multithreading and resume-partial-downloads. I am pleased with http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/ and DLExpert, though I think that the latter is now shareware.
By the way, just in case any third party here wants to send you a CD, in what country do you live?
Another idea: What zip/unzip software or other archiving software do you use?
Good luck.
C.