avast.setup & Sygate firewall revisited

[kpfuser]

davincim,

Don't take anything I have said in this thread as a recommendation to switch to a different antivirus solution. I am also impressed by the volume of good press that avast gets and, after switching from Norton, I do intend to give avast a long and thorough try. Whatever my gripes may be about how avast interacts with Sygate, let us not forget that this is a secondary issue compared to the basic ones, i.e., the extent and quality of antivirus protection, the frequency and ease of updates, the range and scope of available scans, the demand on system resources, etc. So, just like yourself, I consider avast my antivirus product of choice. However, if we don't gripe, what are forums good for? Maybe for exchanging slaps OK but not on the back.

Now, regarding

So...Technical? Do you have any tricks in your magic bag that might make this problem go away?

I am all eyes. I love miracles too but, in case one is not forthcoming, I suggest that you consider the following:

1. Give up on the idea of handling the problem through an advanced rule, as I have done already myself. After all, if you are using the free version of Sygate, the number of advanced rules you can write is limited (see a comparison of Sygate free and paid for versions). So save the rule for a case that can be handled neatly without having to open your pc to the world.

2. Operate your pc in 'ask' mode and click 'yes' (but not 'remember my choice.....') any time avast wants to connect somewhere  or be contacted by an avast server. You will have to click 'yes' twice early on and  in quick succession each time you connect to the internet and every 4 hrs thereafter, if you stay connected that long.

3. If the above shoe doesn't fit, try turning off the automatic update feature altogether and do a manual update each time you connect to the internet. It only takes a few clicks and the longest time to complete I have seen so far is 7s.

4. Continue hoping for magic.

[davincim]

But that's just it, I can't even get it to manually update.  :'(

I try from the system tray icon and from the application itself, and nothing is initiated when I select either the iAVS update or program udpate. It used to last month when I first installed it, but now it just ignores me.

And even more frustrating is when I'm in the program trying to update it and quit out of the application, it just hangs there for a while (avast interface doesn't go away). Eventually it does (under 60 sec. I'm guessing), and sometimes Windows pops up its annoying offer to report a problem.

My life gets more complicated. 

[lee16]

davincim,

Does a repair of avast help your problem? (Control panel>Avast>Change>Repair)

--lee

[davincim]

It's possible the first time I did it was the reason I was successful in getting a more recent update. I'll give it another try. Unfortunately, I can't post feedback until much later today...got to go to work. 

[kpfuser]

davincim,

Why don't you give the second option of my last post, i.e.

2. Operate your pc in 'ask' mode and click 'yes' (but not 'remember my choice.....') any time avast wants to connect somewhere  or be contacted by an avast server. You will have to click 'yes' twice early on and  in quick succession each time you connect to the internet and every 4 hrs thereafter, if you stay connected that long.

a try? You should untick your advanced rule first. If anything goes wrong now, it should be a more complex problem than how to configure Sygate to handle avast. In any case, you seem to have gotten yourself into a rather sophisticated mess the resolution of which should teach us all a thing or two. So good luck to you and let us turn it over to the 5-star generals of this forum.

[davincim]

hi kpfuser,

I'd rather sygate remember my choice because neither myself nor the rest of my family would want to be bothered by the regular pop-ups. And because it's avast that I trust, I don't mind giving permission to connect to the "mothership"  on a regular basis. I reserve the "what about this one?" for programs I don't use very often, or when I think they need to make a connection.

Your input is very much appreciated though! 

[kpfuser]

devincim,

OK my friend. Have it your way.

[davincim]

Okay, I tried the repair utility and it seems to have made a slight change, but only temporarily.

First, the version of database is dated 1/28 -- the date I performed the repair. Do they happen daily?

Second, when I manually try to update I don't get the window showing the process of updating. In short, nothing visible happens and the date stays the same.

And lastly, when I did the repair it hung up on the services screen. I had to hit "cancel" to close down the window. I've done two repairs since I've had avast and both times this has happened. So on the plus side it manages to update the database, but on the down side it doesn't completely repair or at least know when to quit the repair utility.

Avast support team: any ideas? 

[Lisandro]

First, the version of database is dated 1/28 -- the date I performed the repair. Do they happen daily?

Version is 504-4 released on 1/28/2005. Ok, you're updated.
The updates could be (generally) twice a week but if a virus is spreding in Internet you can have daily updates or even more than one by day.

Second, when I manually try to update I don't get the window showing the process of updating. In short, nothing visible happens and the date stays the same.

On the Update (Basic) settings, choose 'Details' and check the option to see the progress of the update.
The date won't change as you're updated...

And lastly, when I did the repair it hung up on the services screen. I had to hit "cancel" to close down the window. I've done two repairs since I've had avast and both times this has happened. So on the plus side it manages to update the database, but on the down side it doesn't completely repair or at least know when to quit the repair utility. Avast support team: any ideas? 

This is strange... you should be able to finish the repair option.
Did you have any other antivirus installed in your system? Which one?

[davincim]

Technical,

No, I'm not using any other virus app. I'll do as you suggest about turning on the "details". Thanks!

[davincim]

Okay, having the details show isn't what I was looking for. When I bring up the context menu from the system tray I select the option to update the database and the program. When I do that not even the details showed anything. I was expecting the small window to pop-up to show its progress.

Upon reviewing the avast web site it appears that another update has been made (31.1.2005), but my program only shows 28.1.2005.

Let me make sure I'm covering all the bases to make sure somebody doesn't see something:

• I'm running Windows XP Home edition
• I have a Linksys router
• I use Sygate's personal firewall
• I use ContentProtect (a parental control software; I can't see how it might affect avast)
• I've allowed anything avast-related to pass through Sygate's monitoring
• Manually updating avast does nothing
• So far, when I use the repair utility in avast, it freezes on the "services" screen"

That's all I can think of.

[davincim]

Bump...

[christianha]

I use a Sygate Personal Firewall and have given avast.setup all rights for accessing and downloading from Internet.
I have startet my Laptop 4 hours ago. From this moment on avast.setup needs 99% of CPU Usage.
All other Programs are permanently slowed down very much.
Word doesn't work anymore and Photoshop hang up at startup.
If I switch to manual Update, nothing changes.
after windows startup avast.setup again does something and blocks my cpu up to 99%....

This happens since the last update I made on 4.4.2005.
From this moment on something happens on my Laptop.....
My Profile from Mozilla Firefox got lost, all Favorites were lost and things like this.
After a complete Systemscan for Viruses and Worms from an other machine via Network, no Virus was found. Avast shot my complete system.

Now I need help....

[Lisandro]

I use a Sygate Personal Firewall and have given avast.setup all rights for accessing and downloading from Internet.
I have startet my Laptop 4 hours ago. From this moment on avast.setup needs 99% of CPU Usage.

Did you allow avast.setup to connect the Internet into Sygate seetings?
This is the application to update avast!
Can you manually update avast? Did you set it to automatically update? How do you connect (dial-up or permanent connection)?