DSl Crash

[tup]

Hi

I tried to install Verizon DSL yesterday. Crashed when it got to installing the drivers for the USB. "Explorer has caused unknown error" Also a box popped up saying Avast has a "bug" I thought I disabled Avast before starting.

Verizon was no help, told me to call Dell or Microsoft. Yeah, right. I'm back on dialup now, thanks to system restore.

I don't know if the problem was Avast or something else. I'm using Windows Millenium which might be the problem too??

How do you disable Avast? Maybe I didn't do it right. Any other ideas would be appreciated. Thanks

Tup

[ardvark]

Hi  tup...

From my own personal experience, running DSL from a USB port can be touch and go, at least with Windows 9x, I can't verify with NT/2000/XP.

My best suggestion to you would be to buy a network card and cable (or wireless setup) and run your DSL through that route. Much less hassle. Make sure your DSL modem supports wireless connections before buying any wireless equipment, if that is your preference in network connections.

In what manner did you turn off Avast's services?

Best Regards...

[tup]

Hi

I right clicked on that 'a' icon in the tray and clicked 'stop online access protection' and with the 'i' icon clicked 'disable VRDB generation'. Is that right?

[ardvark]

Hi tup...

Yes...or you can go through Ctrl+Alt+Delete and stop the services that route as well.

Best Regards...

[DavidR]

Stopping the services in this way (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) isn't recommended by the Alwil team as restarting is an issue, usually only resolved by a reboot. Unless of course the user is familiar with netstart.

@ tup
There shouldn't be any need to disable VRDB generation in the i icon. This only runs once every three weeks (default duration), so you may as well merge the two avast icons.

[tup]

Should I install a firewall with DSL? Verizon comes with one I think. Will it interfere with Avast?

Thanks

[ardvark]

Hi tup...

Having a firewall installed on your PC is a must, especially with DSL. From personal experience, a provider firewall doesn't always do the job. There are several firewalls and a few free ones to choose from. A list is available here....

http://www.firewallguide.com/software.htm

Most firewalls, depending on setup, should ask you initially if you want to permit Avast's access to the 'net.

Best Regards...

[DavidR]

Zone Alarm free http://www.zonelabs.com works fine with avast and has a reasonably friendly user interface. There are others, Comodo, Jetico, Sunbelt Kerio, etc.
See some firewall tests for comparison, some are freeware but many are paid for versions http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.php. Also see http://www.thefreecountry.com/security/firewalls.shtml

Any malware that manages to get past your defences will have free reign to connect to the internet to either download more of the same, pass your personal data (user names, passwords, keylogger retrieved data, etc.) or open a backdoor to your computer, so outbound protection is essential.