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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Georges7 on January 15, 2012, 02:17:44 PM

Title: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 15, 2012, 02:17:44 PM
I am using the French version of Avast 6.0.1327 free.
Frequently, when starting my computer  with Xp, everything seems correct.
The tray icon showing normal but when I pass the mouse over the Avast Icon, I see : (In FRENCH) Avast antivirus: AVERTISSEMENT, votre système n'est PAS PROTÉGÉ. ( Not protected).
I opened AVAST and its says that my computer is secured and a big green tick.

Is it a false alarm or something wrong????

Meanwhile, found a temporary solution: 
command prompt - services.msc  and restart the AVAST services,
then the text for the avast icon tray say: your system is protected.

PS. I also saw the same problem win a win7 portable computer last week
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Pondus on January 15, 2012, 03:02:29 PM
try avast repair and reboot

For a repair of avast. Windows, Add Remove programs, select 'avast! Anti-Virus,' click the Change/Remove button from the pop-up window, scroll down to Repair, click next and follow.



Did You uninstall your previous used AV before installing avast ?
Did You run a removal tool to clear any leftover files?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: norel on January 16, 2012, 06:20:38 AM
Something else you might try: Settings>Troubleshooting>Enable "Start Avast service after all other services have loaded."
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: SafeSurf on January 16, 2012, 09:49:37 AM
@ Georges7,

No offense norel, but please follow Pondus's suggestion and do an Avast Repair first, and answer his questions.  We have seen this problem before but need to know more information from you about your previous AV to fix your problem.  Thank you.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 16, 2012, 12:52:38 PM
@ Georges7,

No offense norel, but please follow Pondus's suggestion and do an Avast Repair first, and answer his questions.  We have seen this problem before but need to know more information from you about your previous AV to fix your problem.  Thank you.

Bonjour
I did the repair before coming the the forum ...  
I have unistall using windows, pass the uninstall tool provided by avast;
re-install, reput the key
and still the same thing as described.
Its doesnt appears at all time but intermittently,that is about once every 2 to 4 days .
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Pondus on January 16, 2012, 01:04:21 PM
what antivirus did you use before installing avast ?
was your computer delivered with a preinstalled AV when new ?
did you remove it before installing avast ?
have you run a removal tool to clear any leftover files ?



run and reboot - Uninstallers – Security Software
http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: norel on January 16, 2012, 06:04:21 PM
SafeSurf, I had no intention of dismissing Pondus's idea, I offered my suggestion as an alternative. No offense, but if you'd read more carefully you'd understand that.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 16, 2012, 10:20:48 PM
what antivirus did you use before installing avast ?
was your computer delivered with a preinstalled AV when new ?
did you remove it before installing avast ?
have you run a removal tool to clear any leftover files ?



run and reboot - Uninstallers – Security Software
http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/

Bonjour again Mr Ponus

Before if I remember well was AVG  ... many many years ago
 and yes I uninstall with add/remove window then the avg removal kit
then install v4.8 avast  then 5 then 6  and every time I add)remove with windows and used the removal kit
That computer is an old 1466 mh z with 512M RAM , Xp  32 bits

My knowledge of computer is above average, and help a lot of people with the joys of viruses... remove them without re-formating that is.

Tks for the Uninstallers – Security Software URL  ... realy nice to have

for NOREL
I prefer to have the antivirus at the beginning of the services otherwise It could be too late for some virus...
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 16, 2012, 10:46:42 PM
Maybe I missed it, but anyway...

What exact version of avast program are you using?

What exact version of avast engine and definitions are you using?

In addition, when you open
 avast main GUI -> summary -> current status -> "show details" (if necessary)

do you see any of the lines in RED (color)?

I mean for example "Real-time shields:", is there a line with "OFF" in RED? Or any other line in RED on that page of avast GUI?

Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 17, 2012, 01:37:07 AM
Maybe I missed it, but anyway...

What exact version of avast program are you using?

What exact version of avast engine and definitions are you using?

In addition, when you open
 avast main GUI -> summary -> current status -> "show details" (if necessary)

do you see any of the lines in RED (color)?

I mean for example "Real-time shields:", is there a line with "OFF" in RED? Or any other line in RED on that page of avast GUI?


answer:

version 6.0.1367
vps 120116-1
expiration in dec 2012
the tick is green  all 5 items ;
the big tick in green
the only glick is in the navigation bar  ( beside the clock)  the icon is showing normal BUT
when I pass the mouse over  the message text is  -- not protected--  In French... I am using the French version.
As I said before , the way to get back the correct message text for the icon in the navigation bar is to restart the avast service manually.
With that contracdicting messages , Am I protected or not? That is the question.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: SafeSurf on January 17, 2012, 11:26:32 AM
Before if I remember well was AVG  ... many many years ago
and yes I uninstall with add/remove window then the avg removal kit
then install v4.8 avast  then 5 then 6  and every time I add)remove with windows and used the removal kit.
It is possible you have remnants from the older AV's causing conflicts. 

1. I would suggest running the AVG uninstaller again: http://www.avg.com/ww-en/tutorials.num-1996#num-2211 (http://www.avg.com/ww-en/tutorials.num-1996#num-2211), the reboot. 

2. Then I would run the Avast Uninstaller tool http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear6.exe (http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear6.exe) and uninstall each version you had on this machine (4.8, 5, 6) separately in Safe Mode with a reboot in between each one. 

3. Make sure you have the Avast download file on your HDD prior to uninstalling so you can reinstall later.

4. Run a cleaner, like CCleaner Slim version http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds) (scroll down to bottom of page), to clean your machine before reinstalling Avast.

5. You may want to defrag your system since you are low on RAM.  Defraggler is a tool many use: http://www.piriform.com/defraggler/download/standard (http://www.piriform.com/defraggler/download/standard); untick any toolbars if they come up.  Reboot your machine.

6. Reinstall Avast and let us know how this goes.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 17, 2012, 11:55:02 AM
Bonjour SafeSurf
your items
1 done
2 redone redone redone again
3 done  ... for me its basic
4 been using ccleaner for quite a while
5 Defraggler is for the hard disk not RAM , anyway I do it about once a month
6 re-installing just hide the problem

ALSO
this problem appears in december  (2011)  before its was ok
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 17, 2012, 05:25:09 PM
According to your report, it seems avast GUI sees as it is "all" working correctly, but...

Please open Task Manager -> Services TAB -> "Services" (the button). You should see a list of all the services. Look at the Avast antivirus service (please do not confuse it with the driver and not with the user interface process). Avast Antivirus Service -> properties -> Startup type. Set it to "Automatic", save, close all and reboot. After the reboot, go back to the same service and review if the "Automatic" setting is still there, or was changed.

In addition, open Windows Security (Action) Center. Is the "Malware protection" of the Windows Security Center displaying "Avast" in GREEN? Is there any other "problem" (not GREEN) in the Security Center?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 17, 2012, 06:31:00 PM
According to your report, it seems avast GUI sees as it is "all" working correctly, but...

Please open Task Manager -> Services TAB -> "Services" (the button). You should see a list of all the services. Look at the Avast antivirus service (please do not confuse it with the driver and not with the user interface process). Avast Antivirus Service -> properties -> Startup type. Set it to "Automatic", save, close all and reboot. After the reboot, go back to the same service and review if the "Automatic" setting is still there, or was changed.

In addition, open Windows Security (Action) Center. Is the "Malware protection" of the Windows Security Center displaying "Avast" in GREEN? Is there any other "problem" (not GREEN) in the Security Center?


Bonjour
in command prompt (CMD.EXE) type services.msc  ... its faster to open the services ;
the avast! Antivirus is set to  (État démarré  automatique)  (type de démarrage  automatique)
using windows XP French with avast French.
Yes I have rebooted several times since a couple of days
as I said before when the info on the icon near the clock is showing not protected, , I disconnect internet, restart de service, reconnect internet
and then the info on the icon near the clock said --Votre système est protégé--
for the Windows Security Center all three choice are green and in the box, each one said  (activé)  green
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 17, 2012, 07:39:04 PM
Well, my question about the Security Action Center is relevant when you just booted the system and you have not manually restarted Avast service.

What I'm trying to help you identify is whether the problem is avast itself, or is Windows Security Center that has some problem recognizing the real status of Avast.

When you say "restart the service", what exact status the service had before? Do you mean that you stop it and start it again? Or it was already stopped without your intervention, so you started it manually (as opposed to REstarted)?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 18, 2012, 07:04:53 PM
Well, my question about the Security Action Center is relevant when you just booted the system and you have not manually restarted Avast service.

What I'm trying to help you identify is whether the problem is avast itself, or is Windows Security Center that has some problem recognizing the real status of Avast.

When you say "restart the service", what exact status the service had before? Do you mean that you stop it and start it again? Or it was already stopped without your intervention, so you started it manually (as opposed to REstarted)?

Bonjour
everything is looking fine before except for the message stating that not protected , all the rest is green .
the main panel is green wall to wall, the Windows Security Center is green
When opening the services, the avast service is on automatic and working normally,
I simply restart the service  and the icon text message on the notification bar change from not protected to your system is protected..  That why , I ask myself , am I protected or not.... that is the question?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Dch48 on January 18, 2012, 07:14:37 PM
XP has always been notorious for system tray icon problems. It tries to load too many at once and sometimes some will not show up at all or not be fully functional when they do. One solution might be what Norel suggested. To make avast load after other services. The tray icon is really just a shortcut to the GUI anyway so delaying that at start won't affect your protection at all. Another solution is to get a utility called StartupDelayer. With that, you can set the order in which things load and put delays in for each one you want. I have tried it before on an XP system and it works very well. I was having problems with the Comodo icon never showing up after they changed versions past 3.14. The only solution was to use the delayer utility.

Whether or not the tray icon shows up or reports status correctly really has nothing to do with your protection if everything else says it's working as it should.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: CraigB on January 18, 2012, 07:16:01 PM
Are there any startups you might be able to shut down through CCleaner that aren't neccessary whenever you boot the system, how many processes do you have running in task manager ? just thinking it might be related to limited ram  ???
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 18, 2012, 07:22:55 PM
I wonder, instead of delaying anything, or changing startup items, if the user simply waits a couple of minutes without re-starting the service again maybe the tray icon will appear correctly ("Your system is secured")?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Dch48 on January 18, 2012, 07:27:39 PM
I wonder, instead of delaying anything, or changing startup items, if the user simply waits a couple of minutes without re-starting the service again maybe the tray icon will appear correctly ("Your system is secured")?
It probably won't change but opening the GUI through the desktop icon will probably fix the tray icon. That was one way I could make the Comodo icon show up when I was having that problem. Another way was to make the startup not be "silent". In other words letting the splash screen show at boot time. That takes an edit of the startup item in the registry to remove the silent load modifier.

It is strictly an XP problem, not an Avast one.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 18, 2012, 07:45:19 PM
@Dch48,

I don't discard that your suggestion may work for this case, but let's be clear: One thing is a tray icon not being displayed; another one is the tray icon saying that the system is "unsecured" while all the components in the GUI are reported as correct / OK / updated and the Security Center is all OK (green).

I think we should leave this case for Avast Team.
 
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Dch48 on January 18, 2012, 07:52:22 PM
The icon not displaying the status correctly may mean that it's being loaded too fast and not reporting all of the shields correctly because they haven't fully loaded yet. If this is the case then it's just another XP tray icon glitch. The fact that manually reloading the item fixes things would seem to confirm that. The StartupDelayer utility would very likely remove the problem once it was configured correctly.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: CraigB on January 18, 2012, 08:01:17 PM

I think we should leave this case for Avast Team.
 

I think we should wait for the OP to at least try the last few suggestion's before going the next step.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Dch48 on January 18, 2012, 08:06:16 PM

I think we should leave this case for Avast Team.
 

I think we should wait for the OP to at least try the last few suggestion's before going the next step.
Yes, they can't hurt anything if they are tried.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: ady4um on January 18, 2012, 10:31:41 PM
Sure, but I would thought that the other change I already suggested (avast > settings > troubleshooting > "load avast service only after other system services") and waiting a couple of minutes instead of restarting the service manually, would be enough (I mean with no need to use additional tools for the delay nor manual "tricks").

If I understood correctly (but maybe I didn't) the setting was already tried by the OP, while "just waiting" was not reported yet.

In any case, feedback from the OP would be a good thing now.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: CraigB on January 19, 2012, 07:56:12 AM
Sure, but I would thought that the other change I already suggested (avast > settings > troubleshooting > "load avast service only after other system services") and waiting a couple of minutes instead of restarting the service manually, would be enough (I mean with no need to use additional tools for the delay nor manual "tricks").

If I understood correctly (but maybe I didn't) the setting was already tried by the OP, while "just waiting" was not reported yet.

In any case, feedback from the OP would be a good thing now.
I think stopping unneccessary startup's would be the benificial thing to try imo as it not only affects avast but the whole system functionality, loading avast after everything else should be a last resort.
The OP already has CCleaner so the additional tools are already there for there benifit so why not use it  ??? and where talking about stopping unneccessary startups to improve performance not delaying them and these so called tricks as you call them is no more a trick than what you suggested by delaying avast.

Now if you can just refrain from a response untill the OP has replied about the suggested solutions then everything might be fixed hopfully without continuing to have to get the last post comments in which is just confusing and clogging up the thread.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Dvakat on January 19, 2012, 12:29:45 PM
I am having the problem. Tray icon says not secured but everything else says it is. This just started in the last week. Avast has been updated,reinstalled,repaired to no avail. I ran the eicor test and it worked just as it should. I am a basic user with only a little computer knowledge. Can anyone help? Using Windows XP(fully updated), latest version Avast, english and in United states.
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: CraigB on January 19, 2012, 12:54:11 PM
I am having the problem. Tray icon says not secured but everything else says it is. This just started in the last week. Avast has been updated,reinstalled,repaired to no avail. I ran the eicor test and it worked just as it should. I am a basic user with only a little computer knowledge. Can anyone help? Using Windows XP(fully updated), latest version Avast, english and in United states.
Have you tried going through the options discussed in this thread ?
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: Georges7 on January 20, 2012, 09:23:42 PM
Bonjour

ah I not alone anymore....  Its look like  an update is doing something since a couple of weeks.

Also, when restarting the computer pressing  start then  restart  or something like that in English, (I am using the French version) the not protected text for the icon appears once every 2 to 4 times.
I plan to add more RAM, presently using a 1466MHZ 512M RAM on XP.
My computer knowledge is above average , started with an TI-99 if your old enough to known what I am talking about beginning last century lolo
Title: Re: Avast Free ---Protected or not protected... That is the question?
Post by: YoKenny on January 21, 2012, 04:15:02 PM
I plan to add more RAM, presently using a 1466MHZ 512M RAM on XP.
I upgraded my XP Pro system to 1.5GB and XP now loads a lot faster and avast! works a lot better.