Thanks for the link to the breaking news on the Safezone Browser (yes, using the correct name is always best!). That answers that question. As for this being an issue with the refund request, I tend to think that's not it. Mainly because it was doing this BEFORE I asked for the refund. And it was this issue that made me decide to ask for the refund to begin with.
BUT, to be clear, my refund request was conditional. Refund ONLY if this couldn't be resolved.
So, I think I may have a clearer picture of what is happening here. Once again, I disconnected and uninstalled (using clear uninstall). I then re-installed using the offline pro installer. Same results when I tried to install the license file.
However, I noticed one thing. I DO have an activation code listed on the UI. Two of them in fact. One is for AVAST free for one year and the other is for AVAST pro (trial) for 28 days. Is it possible that I have to wait for the trial activation to expire? Only THEN will the UI accept the License file I paid for? In the end (assuming that is the case), it makes no difference (I would still end up with a year's worth of Pro). OR, is there some way to force the year long activation code/license file to override the trial activation code?
Again...at this point everything is working correctly (seemingly) in terms of protection. I just have this 1 year Pro activation code/license file available for use that I can't apply to the UI (at least at the moment). Puzzled.