Author Topic: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list  (Read 4454 times)

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I am using avast! Internet Security for almost a year, and it recently detected malware in a file that I downloaded. I am pretty sure it is a false positive (the type of malware, "Win32-Dropper", has been reported as a false positive on this forum several times recently; the file was an installer for PyQt, a popular module for the Python programming language; and avast! detected something again when I tried to re-download it), so I reported it.

I also use Windows 8, so there is a folder in my app list named "Avast" containing a shortcut named "avast! Internet Security". It has been there ever since I installed avast!, which is what one would expect. But oddly, the same exact minute that avast! quarantined the file when I tried re-downloading it, a new shortcut was created in the app list (NOT in any subfolder) named "avast! antivirus". The shortcut points to the same EXE that the original one does, but it seems slightly suspicious to me that no icon shows up for it and that "antivirus" is not capitalized. Also, until I restarted my computer, the icons were blinking in the taskbar fairly frequently as if Windows was trying unsuccessfully to refresh the icon cache.

Do you think it is OK to assume avast! created the shortcut due to a weird bug and I can just delete it, or should I be concerned that I might have a virus on my computer? (I just ran a full scan in AIS, and it found nothing.) Has anyone else had a similar experience? Thank you.

-- Timothy

Offline Pondus

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Re: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list
« Reply #1 on: August 05, 2014, 07:25:35 PM »
follow instructions  https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0
attach Malwarebytes and Farbar recovery scan logs


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Re: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2014, 05:43:06 PM »
I downloaded and installed Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Free), ticked "Scan for rootkits" as mentioned in the post you linked to, and did a scan. The only thing it found was a PUP (OpenCandy) in the FreeFileSync installer I had downloaded, which I was already aware of and ignored. I also downloaded and ran the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool. I have attached all three of the log files that were generated by the programs.

Thank you for your assistance.

-- Timothy

P.S. avast! fixed the false positive I mentioned in my OP.

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Re: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2014, 06:22:37 PM »
Avast also creates an extra short cut on my windows 8, I just delete it :)

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Re: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2014, 06:34:05 PM »
Thank you.

I just did the same.

I thought it would be OK to just delete it, but wanted to make sure.

Online bob3160

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Re: "avast! antivirus" shortcut unexpectedly appeared on Windows 8 app list
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2014, 05:20:53 PM »
Any time you do a program update, repair or make major changes you can expect a new
shortcut to avast! appear on your desktop.
If you don't want it there, move it to where you want it or simply delete it as essexboy already mentioned.
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