Cannat connect error, what's up?

[lakrsrool]

I got a (red) message popup that said that I cannot connect.  I clicked on the link to get more info and found the following explanation (which didn't really help much):

Information about current update:
Last encountered error: Cannot connect to download40.avast.com (unknown:80).

Total time: 2:23

I have the current version of Avast and use dial-up.  When this occured I was only sending email and had the connection to "hang up" when done.  So what happens in this case the dial-up protocal is launched to connect to the internet and send the mail after which the connection is ended.

I presumed that possibly while the email was being sent (connected a very short time) that Avast had dectected the connection and was preparing to send a database update.

So I dialed in to connect back to the internet expecting that I would find Avast updating the virus database, but this did not happen.  I am currently on the 0610-2 version of the virus database.  I have Avast set to update automatically, with that said I have some of questions:

If this IS NOT the current database then why isn't Avast updating when I connected again?
Is there possibly a delay before updates are processed again when errors occur? 
If this IS the current database then presumably no connection was necessary thus what was Avast trying to do when trying to connect that resulted in the error?
If the error was not due to the short connection to email then why the error?

Thanks for the help.

[Lisandro]

If this IS NOT the current database then why isn't Avast updating when I connected again?

It is the last 0610-2.

Is there possibly a delay before updates are processed again when errors occur?
If this IS the current database then presumably no connection was necessary thus what was Avast trying to do when trying to connect that resulted in the error?

avast checks if there is an available connection each 40 seconds.
If there isn't, wait more 40 seconds to check. Checking does not take more than one second and, of course, does not use the Internet band.
If there is a connection, check for an update. If there is not any new file to download, wait 4 hours to start checking again. If there is an available update, start it and install it. Again, wait 4 hours to check the next time.
Some of this settings could be configurated different, I posted the default values of the avast4.ini file.
I hope this answer your questions...

If the error was not due to the short connection to email then why the error?

Your firewall, the server, your ISP, the short time connection through dial-up... who knows.

[lakrsrool]

Thanks Tech for the reply. 

Then it was most likely just Avast not being able to check because the email took around 5-6 seconds before disconnecting and Avast was maybe in the middle of trying to connect during this time.

When I connected again to see if Avast would update Avast probably did connect succesfully since Avast tries every 40 seconds and the reason no update occured was because I am current on the Virus Database (0610-2) as you stated.

Thanks again for the help all is well (as usual) with Avast.