Avast GUI Discussion

[Dch48]

I have to renew my subscription in June but I haven't received any reminder's yet.

I think they start when you're down to 30 days left on the current sub.

[Yoshi2889]

Wanted to give my short opinion on the GUI, and used the questions in the first post.

1. I think the GUI is pretty clean as it is, it's well laid out
2. I think it's good as it is though the Market menu could be moved to a button in the top bar, imo. Some options under Maintenance could be put in other areas
3. I'm not a fan of side bars in general, but I think Avast has tackled this the right way. I do think a summary screen with boxes (Scan computer, etc) would be okay, and after clicking a button you jump to the appropriate element with the sidebar. But it's good as is
4. I think the Settings screen is confusing at times, it's that I don't get there often. Maybe some settings could be merged or sorted out in other areas of the interface.
5. It's clear and straight to the point - good job on this one
6. Also very clear, I like the flashing when a new item is scanned
7. IMO they're annoying, and I wish for an easy way to disable them. Disabling the sounds will do for now, though.
8. Not really, I think the GUI is okay as it is now

[RpD]

Re: other suggestions

I just got the pop-up that my virus database had been updated.... along with... a notice of 5 big things/gadgets presented at CES.

I have to say:  Ya know, I really don't want my antivirus to be a news service. 
                      I get enough marketing (ever-increasing. Ads on floors, etc)...
                      ...you wanna nag me to buy the retail version of Avast! ...well... ok, if you -must-, but...
I don't need Avast!'s pop-up telling me about CES or anything other than about the status of my virus definitions database.

I'm sure there's lots of fans of Avast! that will feel compelled to chime in, in opposition to this post.  Flame on.
And, yes, to answer my own question... I guess that pop-up commercial was part of being a newer 'ad-supported' freeware.
Continue to expand it, and it will be time to take another look at Microsoft's AV product.
I'm tech... I find exposure to my system once every perhaps 5 years. I recommend/install for others... suddenly Avast! feels the need to tell me about CES.  Pish tosh on CES.
I'd rather have the free version become donation-ware... than cheery "what's new"-ware.
What's next? My local Best Buy is having a 12-hour sale on mousepads?  The grocery store has potatoes for $1/piece?
'Phaw'... as Cadsuane Melaidhrin would say.

[RpD]

Other suggestion...

I'd rather the shields handling default could optionally be set 'en masse' (and perhaps during installation) to 'ask' rather than have them default to 'move to chest'... and then, for myself, have to manually reset them all, one at a time.  My preferred sequence:  Ask, Move to chest, Repair, Delete.

[CraigB]

Other suggestion...

I'd rather the shields handling default could optionally be set 'en masse' (and perhaps during installation) to 'ask' rather than have them default to 'move to chest'... and then, for myself, have to manually reset them all, one at a time.  My preferred sequence:  Ask, Move to chest, Repair, Delete.

Most novice users wouldn't know how to answer if set to ask which is why default is send to chest, it only takes a minute to change those settings if that's what you prefer.

[mchain]

Other suggestion...

I'd rather the shields handling default could optionally be set 'en masse' (and perhaps during installation) to 'ask' rather than have them default to 'move to chest'... and then, for myself, have to manually reset them all, one at a time.  My preferred sequence:  Ask, Move to chest, Repair, Delete.

Most novice users wouldn't know how to answer if set to ask which is why default is send to chest, it only takes a minute to change those settings if that's what you prefer.

When one sets Avast! to Ask first, the possibility of deleting a file will be chosen first by a novice user, and not the default action, "Move to chest", which is the correct one.

[GTX66]

I like it

[boom_243]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. I like the left side, but since im right handed it is just natural to look on the left first
4. Good
5. Well designed, easy to understand
6. Good
7. The updates are good but dont like the sounds, I sometimes hear in the middle of the night "Avast has updated" lol
8. Has there been any thought on allowing a user remote access to their computer via the MyAvast website?  It might be useful to login from a remote pc to your account and then be able to access your computer as if you were using a remote control program.  Just a thought, because that could allow you to trasfer files from your pc to where you are initiating the remote access, if needed.

[ehcelino]

I use a lot of the firewall functions of internet suite, and specially regarding programs activity permissions, so I'd like to suggest that a new way of accessing it be created, simpler than the lots of menus that we got to navigate to get there. Also, when you configure the firewall to ask for permissions, it always asks a lot for the same software. Like when I installed chrome, it asked me five or six times for permissions, and the only thing I needed was to allow it full web access.
Thats my contribution, thanks.

[avuser007]

Haven't read through the entire thread, but my main and most fervent suggestions would be:
1. Give us the option to turn off the constant update popups.
2. Put the ads/news INSIDE THE GUI. So we see ads when we use the GUI, not popping up in our face.

I know of no other antivirus package that has such huge popups, if any at all, when nothing important had happened - it's just a definition update, I don't need to know every time it happens. And I certainly don't need to know that Facebook has been hacked on top of that notification, so together they take up a third of the vertical screen space. I mean it's simply obnoxious.

I've used Avast for many years, but with those "ads" or "news" or whatever they are, popping up with the already mildly irritating definition updates, I'm at the point where I'm thinking about canning Avast and installing the free MS Security Essentials.

There are many free AV and firewall options out there that don't irritate with constant popups, and certainly not with irrelevant ads and news. If you keep showing people information they don't care about, they will want it to go away altogether. Your advertising is creating negative sentiment - which is the opposite of what advertising should do. In short, you're doing it wrong.

7. I have generally liked the toaster update notifications as they were relatively unobtrusive, but now they are obtrusive, since the introduction of the double height and wider combined auto update/upgrade toaster (which still looks bad). I have dialled the duration right down to 1 sec and I don't think I'm alone in doing that, so its marketing benefit is lost.

Oh no, you're certainly not alone in doing that.

Some people like the constant definition updates, even the sounds (god knows why) but we at least need the *option* to turn off definition update notifications. I'm a fan of Avast, but seriously, popup ads are not acceptable. That is how malware behaves in my book.

Ok, had my popup rant. Now to wait and see if either the popups or Avast itself disappears from my computer.

[DavidR]

There already is a means of disabling the auto update notifications:
You can disable the update notification from avastUI, Settings, Updates, Details, Update Options and uncheck the 'Show notification box after automatic update' option.

[avuser007]

You can disable the update notification from avastUI, Settings, Updates, Details, Update Options and uncheck the 'Show notification box after automatic update' option.

omg... thank you kindly, but if that's not a completely user-unfriendly location for that option, I don't know what is. I looked in all the obvious places and couldn't find such a thing.

Why not put it in a logical place, like on the Popups tab, or at least not needlessly hidden in a nondescript, collapsible(!) "Details" section. Seriously - why collapse/hide options that are only a few lines high when you have a scrollable GUI?? Talk about silly UI design.

But thank you, finally no popups.

[avvidro]

I don't know if that was already been asked and when I tried to search "avast 8 font", I received the "all words must be at least 3 chars long".

So I ask now: please review some fonts of the new interface. They look like google chrome fonts, without any sign of clear type. Besides this, I find the new interface awesome. Errrrrrr... well the color of the free one could be not sooo white.

Tanks.

[DavidR]

It would help if you state which fonts and where they are in the UI ?

There is already a topic about font in the avastUI Statistics graphic display if that is what you are on about ?
Here http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=115698.0.