I have been a mostly-happy Avast user for many years, until today.
This morning I updated the virus definitions on my XP Pro x64 machine. I got a dialog saying that Avast needs to restart my computer. I opted to defer this reboot until later. I did my business and shut down the machine.
Later in the day, I restarted the machine and got a dialog saying that Avast.exe had been modified, and that this was dangerous. Bad omen. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. The update broke itself.
I clicked OK to indicate that Avast.exe should run. Then my machine would not start. I got a black screen with a cursor, but no login.
I rebooted several times, but only got the black screen.
I was forced to boot into Safe Mode and remove Avast. This was not easy. I have the gall to set my DPI setting to higher than normal, because this is a home theater PC. The Avast installation dialog would not fit on the screen and I was not able to click "Continue" until I set my DPI back to normal size. Bad interface layout, but I was able to work around it.
Rebooted the machine after uninstall. No problem booting into ordinary XP mode.
Downloaded the latest version of Avast 2014. Installed it. Was not given the ability to opt out of Google Chrome, it was installed without my permission. So that's a big "f**k you" to your users. Thanks for that. Also got a condescending audio message welcoming me to Avast. Thanks, I'm not a six year old, and I don't need encouragement. But I got the latest version of Avast installed, turned off all bogus features and figured I was done and done.
Rebooted machine. Got the black screen with no logon again. Great. So the new version of Avast is actively blocking my computer from functioning. Now I have no choice now but to boot back to safe mode, uninstall Avast, and wait for a couple of weeks until a new version is released. Maybe then Avast will allow my computer to function. If not, I will have to find another antivirus provider.
Important note: my experience with Avast has never incentivized me to pay for the software. The interface has become progressively more deceptive and sinister over the years. Basically, I trust you to find and kill viruses, but I do not trust you with my credit card number or my personal information. It was bad enough giving you my email address to post this message. But I thought it was important to report this issue, so that perhaps it might get fixed.
