2 questions from a newbie...

[Duney]

Hello, everyone!  I'm new to Avast and have a couple of problems.

1)  I downloaded 4.0 Home in December, and then upgraded to 4.6 and registered on 2/8.  When I checked in my Add/Remove programs tonight, it said the last time it was used was 12/17.  Huh?  I've been running it every few days, even today.  Anyone know why it would show an old date?  Are my recent scans not valid?

2)  After a scan, I get a page showing all the things it couldn't scan, and it gives me no reason why.  Many have sbRecovery.ini in them.  Many are Lavasoft and Javasoft.  I don't know what to do with this list, or how to find out why it wouldn't scan them.  It won't let me copy and past them so I can put them here, either.

I'm uncomfortable that these can't be scanned, and sure could use some advice.

Thank you!

[bob3160]

Dunney
Welcome to the Forums

When I checked in my Add/Remove programs tonight, it said the last time it was used was 12/17

12/17 is the date you installed avast! The add/remove section has no information on the last time the program was used.

After a scan, I get a page showing all the things it couldn't scan,

There are many reasons a file can't be scanned. Password protected files are just one example.
This isn't anything to worry about an is normal.

[DavidR]

1. The details given on windows add remove should not be taken as gospel, they frequently bear little resemblance to the truth.

An example of my details for avast, used rarely what a joke.

[Duney]

Thanks, guys!  So I can assume (lol) that there are no hidden viruses in the files that Avast can't scan?  The reason I'm asking is because last Tuesday my speed came to a screeching slowdown (I'm still on dialup), and I've run AdAwareSE, Spybot, SpySweeper, SpywareDoctor, CWShredder and Avast.  Even the ISP techies don't have any idea what it is.  sigh.  Reading email is fast, it's just a snail's-pace for anymail or website with graphics in it.

[bob3160]

snail's-pace for anymail or website with graphics in it

That's to be expected with dial-up. As long as that's the only time it really crawls,
it's normal.

[MikeBCda]

I've always wondered about that "last used" and rarely/frequently/etc. in Add-Remove.  I have a sneaking suspicion it's only updated if you manually start a program from the Start Menu, rather than using a desktop icon or have the registry start it when you boot, and of course that could make a huge difference.  How often do you manually start avast (the interface, that is, not the providers) from the start menu?

[bob3160]

Mike

How often do you manually start avast (the interface, that is, not the providers) from the start menu?

I can't remember ever having used it from either the start menue or the add/remove section except right in the beginning to
remove some of the services I don't use.
Everything else is accessible from the system tray.

[MikeBCda]

Same here, Bob -- I hardly ever run anything from the Start menu, nearly always from the toolbar or from desktop shortcuts (plus, of course, the things that are set to start up at boot). 

That's why I'm wondering if our rare use of the Start menu (and we're probably typical users) somehow ties into the weird things Add-remove shows for program usage.