Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Scott274 on December 17, 2011, 10:30:42 AM
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In Avast free antivirus preferences, can auto updating of engine & virus definitions be set to once a week like Saturday or Sunday, as an alternative for those who want to turn off automatic update in settings. If not please add this adjustment in future program update.
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I dont know if the updates limit will work at this time set but you can try to add 10080 to settings/updates/details.
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I'd say the question is - why would you want to turn off automatic updates, and stop being protected against the latest threats?
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In Avast free antivirus preferences, can auto updating of engine & virus definitions be set to once a week like Saturday or Sunday, as an alternative for those who want to turn off automatic update in settings. If not please add this adjustment in future program update.
I too can't understand why you would want to do this. If we knew then perhaps we could understand and possibly find an alternative work around.
The updates are incremental, so very small in size and duration.
I dont know if the updates limit will work at this time set but you can try to add 10080 to settings/updates/details.
Even if this setting did work, as far as I'm aware if you reboot the system, you would get an update check and then the duration countdown would start.
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Since the updates are cumulative, once avast detects several days (don't know how many) with no updates, when you actually let avast attempt an update (once a week) it will be forced to download the whole database, instead of just the little chunks.
Maybe once a week is not enough to trigger this behaviour (as mentioned, I don't know). My point is that updating at least once a day (change the setting from 240 minutes to 1440 minutes), it would be less than 4MB in 1 week. Against that, updating the complete database is 44MB.
I certainly would like much more flexibility in updates for the future avast 7, but updating once a week is so simple (tray icon, update), that seems a little "too lazy" :). Of course, the goal is not to forget about it, but then update every 1440 minutes (once a day) and really forget about it.
[OT, but not much]
@igor,
BTW, for avast 7, it would be nice if there would be some "schedule" and "rules" so to allow/block updates' attempts. For example, "don't attempt to update if the connection is not one specifically already selected"; or "allow updates' attempts between 8:00 - 12:00 only"; or "do not let updates' attempts between 15:00 - 18:00 and between 5:00 - 10:00".
An example of "schedule" allow/block could be something similar to the schedule rules of utorrent, just to give an example.
The utility of rules for specific connections is useful when using notebooks (and alike), so to allow updates under certain specific (high bandwidth, low cost) connections only, but block the attempt (as if it were set to "manual") if currently connected using a different (expensive) connection.
Just to be clear, "schedule" and "connection rules" mentioned above are not the same thing, but complement each other.
[/OT, but not much]
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it will be forced to download the whole database
It's always incremental (not whole database download), regardless the days you haven't updated.
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it will be forced to download the whole database
It's always incremental (not whole database download), regardless the days you haven't updated.
@Tech, are you 100% sure? I have read more than one post about cleaning up the old database (or as David call it, housekeeping) and about a "much" bigger download being performed after several days with no updates. I don't check it (nor track down), and I usually update automatically every day, so I can't confirm it with certainty.
Of course a bigger download is performed also when all updates are cumulative only, but it was always my understanding that once in awhile the database is "renewed", together with the clean up (probably not the whole 44MB of database in one only shot).
Unfortunately, I have not found any specific document or KB article with more specific descriptions or explanations.
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There is some logic implemented - and in case when the sum of the incremental updates were actually bigger than the whole database, the whole database is downloaded instead. But such a difference certainly shouldn't happen within a few days, but more like a month (of not updating) or so.
And no, there are no periodic "renewals" of the database, except for the extreme case mentioned above, the updates are always incremental.
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ady4um, Igor said much better than I.
It is always good to have a staff member round :)
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ady4um, Igor said much better than I.
It is always good to have a staff member round :)
Indeed :), we certainly receive more and clear info when Avast Team is active in the forum. What igor said puts some "order of magnitude". As I said, I didn't know what exactly triggers the threshold. Now we know. Thank you all.
Now, if the published size of the full VPS would be updated also (not 31MB, but more like 41MB+), that would be great :).
And if the "schedule" and "connection rules" would be implemented in avast 7, even better :).
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I have a low-end PC & every time I connect to the internet Avast starts seeking updates consuming resources than when the auto update is set off. Not much it's a bit of an annoyance, but then it took me only half a minute to make this thread. There is a "turn auto updates off" button in Avast settings, just thought why not make it little better, should be a minor adjustment for you guys !?
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Try setting avast main GUI -> settings -> updates -> update parameters -> "i only connect using dial up".
In the same tab, change the time from 240 minutes to 1440 minutes (as already mentioned before) for updates attempts once a day.
Other than that, you could set it to manual only, and simply connect once a week, click the tray icon and update the definitions for avast, whenever you want / need / feel convenient.
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Try setting avast main GUI -> settings -> updates -> update parameters -> "i only connect using dial up".
In the same tab, change the time from 240 minutes to 1440 minutes (as already mentioned before) for updates attempts once a day.
How does that work exactly ? Is 1440 the max value that can be set effectively ?
I tried setting 10080 mins, but Avast still updates daily every time I connect to the internet lan. It would be easier if they had a simple "update once a week" option in settings. Weekly updates is alright for me. I usually manually update avast & comodo every saturday or sunday at the moment..
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Weekly updates is alright for me. I usually manually update avast & comodo every saturday or sunday at the moment..
Set avast! to manual update then. And click it once a week. ;)
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Weekly updates is alright for me. I usually manually update avast & comodo every saturday or sunday at the moment..
Set avast! to manual update then. And click it once a week. ;)
Maybe with a low-end PC running Comodo is too much for it. ???
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How does that work exactly ? Is 1440 the max value that can be set effectively ?
I tried setting 10080 mins, but Avast still updates daily every time I connect to the internet lan. It would be easier if they had a simple "update once a week" option in settings. Weekly updates is alright for me. I usually manually update avast & comodo every saturday or sunday at the moment..
I don't know which value is the maximum. Avast attempts to update after the reboot (and after connecting), and then every 240 minutes. That's the default.
I would expect that the traffic would be even less when those update parameters are both selected.
If you want more control than that, then set the updates to manual, as already suggested several times.
There is no other method to change the updates' attempts frequency that we (simple users as you are) know about.
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Same question here really.
Using XP SP3, with a computer that until recently had no issues with Avast updates.
But at some point perhaps a month ago, the auto update process began to take longer and is now occasionally precluding other processes from running at their normal pace until it completes.
I boot up at 7am, and the updates are still bogging down the machine at 7:30.
I don't use this machine for web browsing or emails, just two streaming brokerage services. Period.
So, I've shifted to manual, but would prefer to set a specific time (not interval) for the updates to be sure I don't forget.
From what I gather, there's nothing else I can do but wait for you guys to consider implementing that option.
Thx
Pedro
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Same question here really.
Using XP SP3, with a computer that until recently had no issues with Avast updates.
But at some point perhaps a month ago, the auto update process began to take longer and is now occasionally precluding other processes from running at their normal pace until it completes.
I boot up at 7am, and the updates are still bogging down the machine at 7:30.
I don't use this machine for web browsing or emails, just two streaming brokerage services. Period.
So, I've shifted to manual, but would prefer to set a specific time (not interval) for the updates to be sure I don't forget.
From what I gather, there's nothing else I can do but wait for you guys to consider implementing that option.
Thx
Pedro
Updates are only in the kb's so they should be very quick, do you have and other security software running in the background that maybe slowing down the process ? you could also try a repair of avast via remove programs and see if that helps.
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Nonsense. Updating once a week or once a month makes no sense at all. We got 1 update a week 10 years ago, these days not even real-time cloud lookup isn't quite enough so why would you want to update once per week only? Saying its for performance reasons is also nonsense because those few kilobytes in total downloaded by avast! every day is nothing.
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To Craig
No. No Norton or Symantec or any other active program.
Trying to confirm the source of the problem has been a challenge. This problem is sporadic, and the very process that's causing it is also preventing me from promptly viewing Task Mgr.
I've spotted some issues with a setup.exe process and teatimer in the past, but the most recent instance was undoubtably avast.
I simply can't afford to permit it to update first thing, when my priority is to get other services up and running.
I'm posting here with the hope that someone will consider introducing alternatives in the auto update settings ... to either specific times during the day, or after startup but on a xx minute delay.
I've switched to manual in the meantime, and we'll see if I have this problem again ... which would obviously implicate something else. I'll report back if that happens.
P
PS - these verification panes are a royal pain in the ass. First time half the text was out of the window, so I failed the test.
Second time, system concluded that I'd already posted this reply, so it rejected it as a repeat even though it was rejected.
Who knows if this gets through.