Problems with several user accounts

[Ralf]

Hi, I have successfully installed Avast 4.7 Home Edition on my Windows XP laptop. I have also done a free registration and entered the license key without any problems. So far so good, but when I log out from my account and log on to my wife's account (on the same machine and my wife is also an administrator of the computer) then I am again asked for the license key. I enter the same license key but then it says 'invalid license number'. What is wrong
/Ralf

[Lisandro]

Ralf, sorry to say but avast does not work well with two accounts with admin rights.

Maybe you can try this:

1. Install avast! under administrative account
2. Reboot
3. Insert key into avast! under administrative account
4. Reboot
5. Login as the other user

Merry Christmas.

[Ralf]

Thanks for your quick response!
I surf around a bit more on this excellent user forum and found some more tips that led me in the right direction. It seems as the problem was that the other account did not have the proper authority to the Avast software... Or at least that is how I interpret it.
What I did to solve the problem was the following:
1. I opened Run... under the Start menu
2. I entered Regedit in the input field
3. I opened the item HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/ALWIL Software (or maybe it was HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/ALWIL Software/Avast)
4. On this item I right clicked and opened Authority... (I hope this is correct since I am translating from swedish!)
5. I clicked Add... (again translation from swedish)
6. I typed the name of my wife's acccount
7. I gave her Complete authorities
8. Then I closed the reg editor and logged into my wife's account and it worked!!!

/Ralf

[Lisandro]

Thanks Ralf, you've find the right answer: registry key access rights 

[martosurf]

Hi 2 all

what a pretty way to disable antivirus with a simple script thanx!!!

Best!

[Lisandro]

what a pretty way to disable antivirus with a simple script thanx!!!

Yes... you can't bypass avast just changing registry keys.
Anyway, the virus would need to detect which antivirus is running and disable it this way.
I hope they improve this protection on version 5.
Anyway, being an administrator, you will be able to get ownership of the registry keys and I'm not sure you would be able to forbid this action in anyway...