[avast 9] avastium.log is getting large day by day

[ank91]

avast 9.0.2008 x86 on Windows XP
------------------------------------------------------------
avast 9 store all logs here->
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AVAST Software\Avast\log  (Win xp)
C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast\log          (Win 7/8)

and there is a file called " avastium.log " 
this file is getting larger day by day. (it is 5 MB large now)
this log file is filled with these kind of lines--

Code: [Select]

[1215/112113:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112118:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112123:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112128:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112133:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112138:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112143:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112148:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112153:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.
[1215/112158:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.

Actually avast append a new line in "avastium.log"  in every 5 seconds. (it happens only when system is disconnected to net)
The only way to stop this behavior is to connect to internet .
and who is always connected to internet actually.
My home desktop PC is always offline and i use to do offline update on my desktop.


Please someone explain about this log file?

EDIT: avast 9.0.2011 still have the same issue 

[mchain]

hi ank91,

Logs are saying/reporting that the DNS server responsible for your connectivity (avast! server?) is not available, likely because you're not connected to the local network/modem/router or internet.  It's looking for that server, and can't find it.  2.3 MB size is not a significant size, especially if these errors stop when you are connected.

If so, then avast! is simply reporting no connection but still looking for it; but is using a specific language a programmer would readily understand.  Nothing underhanded going on here at all.

Hope this helps.  Exploring things is OK, but ask about what you do not understand is OK, too.

Would help if the specific version in use was mentioned here.

[olddog]

.. there is a file called " avastium.log " 
this file is getting larger day by day. (it is 2.3 MB large now)

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think avastium.log may be limited by the "maximum size of each log file" setting found in Settings->General->Maintenance->Logs.  The default appears to be 4096KB which is not a lot.

[mchain]

Translate:  4 MB if that is true.

[ank91]

thanks both of you!!!

why i have posted this issue?
because i have set max  log file size= 500 KB  (see posted image)
but log files are getting larger than 500 KB. WHY??

another thing is that these file should be auto deleted by avast
becoz i have set them to auto delete after 1 DAY (see image),
but they are not.


How did this  file notify me??
I was using "Defraggler" , i click Analyze button and saw that this file has maximum file fragments (see image3)

[olddog]

...i have set max  log file size= 500 KB
but log files are getting larger than 500 KB.

As I said before, I'm not 100% sure which log files the Max size applies to, also whether it can be retrospectively applied when the log file is already larger than the amount you set it to. I'm also not sure when or how the limit is applied. It may have some sort of time period involved.

You can delete the file. Avast will then build a new one from scratch and you would then be able to see whether the Max size was subsequently exceeded.
Note that to delete it, you need to be in safe mode.

another thing is that these file should be auto deleted by avast
becoz i have set them to auto delete after 1 DAY but they are not

That setting says it applies to SCAN logs. The file you are talking about is not a scan log, so I wouldn't expect the deletion period to apply to it.

You could of course put in a support ticket and ask for specific details from the people who should know exactly what should be expected.

[ank91]

@olddog

thanks for the info!

[DavidR]

Unfortunately not all logs are covered by these settings and worse still there is no direct list of what logs are covered.

But for me a general rule of thumb is logs/reports that have some form of debugging information, such as the setup.log and probably this avastuim.log wouldn't as it helps the developers debug problems. With this new UI I think that this provides anonymous information on how you navigate the UI or have any problems to eventually fine tune/debug the UI.

[ank91]

With this new UI I think that this provides anonymous information on how you navigate the UI or have any problems to eventually fine tune/debug the UI.

but it does not mean that the logs will fill up my hard disk one day, because this file is being written in every 5 seconds.
i know i can delete this file in safe mode (when self protection disabled), but what about other users.

i found other user reporting same issue-->
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=137255.0

[DavidR]

I rather doubt that it will fill up your hard drive (but I'm an avast user not employee), that would be hard for a pure text file.

Though for the life of me I can't see why DNS failures - "Failed to read DnsConfig" would be listed in the avastuim.log file as it seems totally unrelated to the UI.

There appears to be something else that may be blocking the dns_config_service_win.cc - DnsConfig. I have just checked my avastuim.log and it is only 14KB.

The avastuim.log was created on 15/10/2013, but it does have a large quantity of the same warning.
[1111/215042:WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc(622)] Failed to read DnsConfig.

Unfortunately I, can't decipher this into a date time group to see when it occurred. Or why it would be occurring at all much less why on some systems it would be more prolific resulting in a much larger avastuim.log file. That said, a search for WARNING:dns_config_service_win.cc returns many hits, so it isn't uncommon and appears more system related.

However, when you include the (622) on the end of that search string it only returns three hits, two of those are in this forum

[ank91]

i can dicipher your log file.
1111 means 11 november,
21 means hour,
50 means minute,
42 means seconds.

[DavidR]

OK, I was expecting the year to be in there as well. But mine doesn't seem to be generating anywhere near as many as you.

This is something that needs some developer input.

[ank91]

hmm, right. Thanks for your time .

[winndb]

Avastium.log

This log file can grow extremely large. Mine was up to 34 MB.  I don't know the purpose of it but you can easily clear the file without going to safe-mode (Windows XP)

The file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AVAST Software\Avast\log

Simply open the file in notepad , highlight (select all) the content and delete the content. Save the resulting zero content file. It will begin to grow again but you can clear it like this any time you wish.

[ank91]

thanks for heads up winndb

as far as i know this bug has been solved in avast 9.0.2018.

do a clean install of latest version of avast and get rid of this bug.