Offline v Online installer

[Dinobot2]

I came across this five-year-old thread where someone asked about the difference between the offline and online installers. One reply included this bit of info:

if you already have an AV (other than avast) you don't want to use the on-line installer as this would be trying to install avast on a system that already has an AV. Potential for conflict.

So I want to ask: does "AV other than Avast" include Microsoft Defender? I've never used the offline installer and anytime I've had to install Avast I used the online installer (since that's the one that it gives you from their website), and It doesn't appear to conflict with Defender - it just turns off Defender (or at least the real-time functions) and Windows Security will recognize Avast as the computer's main AV.

I know the initial post is from 2017 which is when a lot of people were still using Windows 7 and therefore Third-party antivirus like Norton and McAfee were a lot more widely used than now, so I wanted to make sure. I haven't noticed any issues with using the Online installer while Defender was still active, but perhaps for future use it's good to know.

[DavidR]

Typically any other AV means one that 'you personally' have installed.

Microsoft Windows typically comes with a Firewall and an AV Windows Defender - this differs from AVs that you installed yourself - In this instance, when you install another AV, ordinarily windows detects this and Disables the the Windows Defender AV to prevent conflict with the AV you install.

Personally I won't use the on-line installer as that does the whole shebang (install all components) and it doesn't check for other Installed AVs - nor does it disable any other AV you might have installed (as far as I'm aware).  So the point about conflict as I mentioned in the old topic is likely to still be present.

What I don't know (as I have never tried it) would MS disable Windows Defender if using the on-line stub installer.

So for me the off-line installation file - as big as it is would be the better option - and crucially I save previous off-line installation files - should ever be a need to install that old version. There have been instances where a bug is found after installation, that way you can uninstall the current version (there may be a necessity to also run the uninstall utility).  Reboot and Install the old version using the off-line installation file.  Much of this, if not all, was already given in that old topic, perhaps differently worded.

[Dinobot2]

Personally I won't use the on-line installer as that does the whole shebang (install all components) and it doesn't check for other Installed AVs

You can do this with the online file as well, when it brings up the installation screen after running the .exe, you just click "Custom" or "Customize" (forget what it specifically says) and select/unselect the components you want/don't want.

What I don't know (as I have never tried it) would MS disable Windows Defender if using the on-line stub installer.

If you're referring to the antivirus, it does. Windows Security will recognize Avast as your default AV protection and shut off Defender. You can still turn Defender on for periodic scanning and do manual full and custom scans, but Defender's real-time protection is always turned off. Screenshots are from my laptop and I have only ever used the online install file on this device.

If you're referring to the firewall, that I don't know, at least with regards to Avast as I don't use Avast's firewall. The last time I used a third party firewall was Zone Alarm for a brief bit on Windows Vista in 2011, and the Windows Firewall automatically shut off when I installed ZA, and turned itself back on when I uninstalled.

[DavidR]

If you're referring to the antivirus, it does. Windows Security will recognize Avast as your default AV protection and shut off Defender. You can still turn Defender on for periodic scanning and do manual full and custom scans, but Defender's real-time protection is always turned off. Screenshots are from my laptop and I have only ever used the online install file on this device.

As I mentioned the old topic a very long time ago, and much will have changed, not only in Avast, but also in Windows and when it started disabling Windows Defender if you installed another AV.

If you're referring to the firewall, that I don't know, at least with regards to Avast as I don't use Avast's firewall. The last time I used a third party firewall was Zone Alarm for a brief bit on Windows Vista in 2011, and the Windows Firewall automatically shut off when I installed ZA, and turned itself back on when I uninstalled.

I don't use the Avast Firewall either, so I can't comment on that, but I would think it is possible, given what you have mentioned above in Quote 1 about disabling the Defender AV element.

Even with all of that I still prefer using the off-line installation file (so I can retain a copy if the need ever arose to revert to old version) or using the Manual Program update from the Avast UI.

[Dinobot2]

As I mentioned the old topic a very long time ago, and much will have changed, not only in Avast, but also in Windows and when it started disabling Windows Defender if you installed another AV.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this line here. Are you saying that it does turn off Defender or that it doesn't? The line I quoted from you was asking if Windows Defender would turn off after using the Avast Online install file.

Even with all of that I still prefer using the off-line installation file (so I can retain a copy if the need ever arose to revert to old version) or using the Manual Program update from the Avast UI.

That's fair, and I might consider using the Offline version for that reason. I just wanted to make sure that using the online installer wasn't messing up with Windows Defender which in turn could mess with Avast.

[DavidR]

Hopefully you now have enough information to decide how to proceed.

Sometimes I download the off-line installation file to retain - and do a manual program update from the Avast UI.

[Dinobot2]

I mean with regards to the conflicting antivirus. Maybe I have just poor reading comprehension but your responses on that with regards to Defender and the online installers are kind of both-sidesy.

[DavidR]

This is one of the reasons why bob3160, suggested creating a new topic as much has changed on both sides, Avast and Microsoft.

If you have installed a non Microsoft Windows AV (Windows Defender) as it is part of Windows, you should uninstall it before installing any other AV (not just Avast) to avoid possible conflict.  So you would need to first download the off-line installation file, uninstall the current AV, restart and then use the Avast off-line installation file. 

This avoids any possible conflict with an existing AV other than the Windows Defender AV when installing Avast.

[Dinobot2]

I understand that portion, but I don't have another non-Microsoft Antivirus on my system. I was only referring to Microsoft Defender, and whether that was included in "other antivirus"

Again, if you're saying that Microsoft Defender isn't included in that, and that I don't have to worry about interactions with that since Windows, as we've documented, will turn Defender's real-time protection off when you install another AV, then that's great. I just couldn't make heads or tails from some of your responses.

[DavidR]

You have already answered your own question in a previous comment.

If you're referring to the antivirus, it does. Windows Security will recognize Avast as your default AV protection and shut off Defender.

Now I don't know where you got that from.   If you were referring to the on-line installer or if you captured the images after using the off-line or on-line installation.

[rocksteady]

When Windows sees a 3rd party AV like Avast, it will stop Windows Defender, although manual Windows Defender scans are available if not disabled.
The important thing is not to have more than one 3rd party AV installed.
Also if you had a different 3rd party AV before, make sure you use that vendors proprietary Uninstaller app to completely remove it, (leaving just Windows Defender) before installing Avast.

I have never had a problem with the online stub installer, but I do download the offline installer file and save it in case I need to fall back to a previous version for some reason.

Once Avast is installed, I use the Manual Updater (via UI) rather than automatic update, after first checking the forum for any reported issues following a new version release.

[Dinobot2]

Thank you both (David R and rocksteady) for your responses.

Sorry for being pushy about stuff. Been kind of curious/concerned about Avast and its processes lately and just wanting to make sure everything is working as intended.

You have already answered your own question in a previous comment.

If you're referring to the antivirus, it does. Windows Security will recognize Avast as your default AV protection and shut off Defender.

Now I don't know where you got that from.   If you were referring to the on-line installer or if you captured the images after using the off-line or on-line installation.

It was the online installer I used. I guess I just wanted to make absolute sure things were ok when I was questioning you, as my paranoid brain was thinking about a possibility that things looked ok but that perhaps there's some small thing i'm not seeing or that even though using the online version is fine for this aspect, using the offline version would be better as it may cause less problems down the road, or something. I don't know.