Windows shutdown and avast! protection

[Lisandro]

Here we can read a lot of posts about startup and login... speed and protection at that time.
We learn that the firewall is more important at this time than the antivirus.
We learn that some firewall, like Kerio, could protect actions at these times (startup and shutdown) at low level (see picture).
We want avast! release the desktop to user as fast as it's possible at login... avast! seems to be one of the 'first' services running but:

At shutdown time, what happens?
I see avast is one of the first of being shutdown, the red cross appears in the 'a' blue icon very quickly.
Well, browser, P2P, email client... everything is opened and avast! has gone away?

Can the programmers say anything about protection at shutdown? Am I becoming paranoid?

[Lisandro]

Bump 

[MrRAlan]

I was wondering about this recently also.  Can anyone from the avast team comment?

[polonus]

Hi Tech,

I would not worry. Start your shut down procedure and leave a diskette in your A: drive. Avast will not let you shut down, before you remove the diskette. That means Avast is still working.
Check with TDI mon, and you see what happens.

greets,

polonus

[Lisandro]

I would not worry. Start your shut down procedure and leave a diskette in your A: drive. Avast will not let you shut down, before you remove the diskette. That means Avast is still working.

But at this time the 'a' blue icon is still there, without the red cross.
Some moments after avast seems disabled.
The entire computer could take almost one minute to shutdown. I'm saying that apparently, avast is the first one to shutdown...

[Lisandro]

Vlk answered here: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=17821.msg151661#msg151661

The "Network Shield" provider of avast is active even when Windows is booting (and before the main avast service starts).
Avast stays running, only the connection to the GUI component (the tray icon) gets broken.