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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: daisy519 on August 11, 2010, 04:15:00 AM

Title: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: daisy519 on August 11, 2010, 04:15:00 AM
Please help, I need to activate my Internet Security new program. The email I received has an attachment called license.dat and I saved it to Desktop, but when I click on it it just says there's no program available to open it. I then asked for it to be "resent" and I got an email back saying no such license had been purchased. I also called the help number and it is out of service.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: scythe944 on August 11, 2010, 05:50:26 AM
1. Where did you purchase the program? (an actual link or phone number).

2. Can you just rename the file to *.avastlic and see if it works?

If you sent an email to support and they said that a license hadn't been purchased, it leads me to believe that you may have purchased from a scam site.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: og_77 on August 11, 2010, 06:53:01 AM
i am having the exact same problem.  it has taken forever, multiple installs and scouring the web site.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 11, 2010, 02:16:33 PM
Inserting the license key into: avast! Free Antivirus (http://support.avast.com/index.php?languageid=1&group=eng&_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=459), avast! Pro Antivirus (http://support.avast.com/index.php?languageid=1&group=eng&_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=475) and avast! Internet Security (http://support.avast.com/index.php?languageid=1&group=eng&_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=476).
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: DavidR on August 11, 2010, 03:22:54 PM
Instructions about inserting the license key won't help if the license file is incorrect, that is what has to be resolved.

@ daisy519 and og_77
Did you not get an email with a link to download the license file (license.avastlic) ?

Try the suggested renaming the license.dat file as scythe944 suggested.

If you didn't have a link to download the license.avastlic file and the rename suggestion doesn't work - contact sales (at) avast (dot) come. Give them details of the Date of purchase, Where purchased and the email address used for the transaction. If you have any invoice information, order number, etc. that may help them track it down.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: og_77 on August 11, 2010, 03:44:53 PM
tried renaming the file.  even the download in the profile is a .dat not .avastic

have uninstalled and reinstalled twice

the response this morning from the support team was links to download and links to documentation!  already burned 4 hours on that. was hoping for more.

i have turned of the windows 7 firewall and tried to activate the installed version but although it will connect to avast when updating (although tells me not activated) it won't connect when trying to activate.  says please make sure I am connected to the internet.  SO part of the app recognizes that I am connect but not the activation.

starting to regret buying the license. ANY HELP would be greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: og_77 on August 11, 2010, 03:52:40 PM
new email with proper file sent this morning.  .avastlic  clicked and worked in seconds.

a little pissed off with the wasted time considering I did all they asked with the wrong file they sent initially. 
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 11, 2010, 03:55:09 PM
tried renaming the file.  even the download in the profile is a .dat not .avastic
Any manipulation of the file will broke it.
Can you access your email through webmail and check if the file is correct there (and by any chance, corrupted into your email program)?

Anyway, glad you've sorted it out  :)
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: scythe944 on August 11, 2010, 08:43:44 PM
tried renaming the file.  even the download in the profile is a .dat not .avastic
Any manipulation of the file will broke it.

I've found that renaming the file doesn't break the license at all.  Now, opening the file and making a change surely will.

In fact, I just got a new license for 3 years on monday and it came it the new format (license.avastlic) and I had to install it into my AMS server which uses the old format (license.dat).  Renaming the file did no harm and the AMS took it gladly.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: YoKenny on August 11, 2010, 08:59:05 PM
@  og_77
 I find that patience is a virtue and your questions will be answered  ;)
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: daisy519 on August 11, 2010, 09:23:09 PM
Tried renaming, didn't work. Will contact sales for a new file...
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 11, 2010, 09:27:47 PM
I've found that renaming the file doesn't break the license at all.  Now, opening the file and making a change surely will.
If you transmit the file with a different extension, won't it corrupt it? I'm not sure. Just I've guessed with the same behavior while uploading a file to forum with a different extension. But, probably, I'm wrong.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: daisy519 on August 11, 2010, 09:29:12 PM
Correct email to contact them is support at support.avast.com.  They sent a proper license file and it worked. thanks everyone.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 11, 2010, 09:33:14 PM
Correct email to contact them is support at support.avast.com.  They sent a proper license file and it worked. thanks everyone.
You're welcome. Feel free to come back any time you need help or just to change experiences 8)
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: scythe944 on August 12, 2010, 09:04:26 PM
I've found that renaming the file doesn't break the license at all.  Now, opening the file and making a change surely will.
If you transmit the file with a different extension, won't it corrupt it? I'm not sure. Just I've guessed with the same behavior while uploading a file to forum with a different extension. But, probably, I'm wrong.

Well, just do this simple test.  Take an image file, such as a jpg.  rename it to .dat.  Then, rename it back to .jpg and try to open it.

It should work just fine.

The problem is when you try to rename a file, open it up and change something.  Once saved, it's screwed.  If you don't touch anything but the extension, it shouldn't do any harm.

I've done this with exe's as well, since Outlook and most internet providers will prevent exe's and other files from being sent in emails.  If I had to get a small exe over to someone quickly, I'd just rename it to ._xe or something like that and send it with instructions to the recipient to change it back to an .exe before trying to run it.  Always worked in the past...
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 12, 2010, 11:05:20 PM
It should work just fine.
If you do that with dump files and rename them to txt to upload the forum, the file get corrupted.
At least, this is what I've read more than once by the developers, saying that the user should use the ftp server to upload.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: scythe944 on August 15, 2010, 07:37:05 AM
I think the reason that happens is because of the way that the data is transmitted via ftp.  I guess depending on what type of file it is, the FTP client will automatically choose the (best) way to transfer the file and I think it guesses which method to use depending on the file extension.

You might need to transfer the file using Binary, but since you rename the file to .txt, it might use ASCII instead, thus corrupting the file.

So in a nutshell, it's not the actual renaming of the file that corrupts it, it's the transmission method used during transfer.

I could be way off, but that's how I see it so far.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: Lisandro on August 15, 2010, 08:47:46 PM
it's not the actual renaming of the file that corrupts it, it's the transmission method used during transfer.
I think you're fully right.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: igor on August 16, 2010, 12:41:53 PM
Actually, shouldn't happen... the license file should work even if the end-of-lines are changed by a text transfer.
Title: Re: License key is license.dat NOT .avastlic and I can't insert it into avast
Post by: scythe944 on August 17, 2010, 09:40:55 PM
Well, either way, I haven't had trouble renaming a license file extension so far.  So, it's all good!