A v a s t . . . F r e e . . . A n t i v i r u s . . . O d d i t i e s . . .

[1984Q]

Why does Avast not publish the version number and release date of its latest antivirus definition on its website?
Why is the Avast Passwords component marked as 'old' in the Avast Free Antivirus 21.9.6698 installer?
Is the Avast Passwords component now a paid service for Avast Free Antivirus for Windows?
Why does the program claim 'the online content is unavailable' when you click on the menu, and yet you can still download updates?
Why can you not sign into your Avast account through the program? It claims it cannot connect to the internet, but how then can it still download updates?
Why is the Avast Service component 'c:\program files\avast software\avast\avastsvc.exe' always flagged as malware by only one VirusTotal engine in every version tested?

[Asyn]

1. Why does Avast not publish the version number and release date of its latest antivirus definition on its website?
2. Why is the Avast Passwords component marked as 'old' in the Avast Free Antivirus 21.9.6698 installer?

1. New versions usually get announced on the forum, e.g. https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=306968.0
2. See: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=236960.0

[chris..]

Why does Avast not publish the version number and release date of its latest antivirus definition on its website?

It is true that for the definitions (VPS), there used to be quite complete release notes (I don't know if this is what you were referring to)
https://www.avast.com/virus-update-history
Now, nothing happens if I click on "Get Virus History".

[1984Q]

It is over six weeks later and none of the queries described above have been resolved.

Now Avast Free Antivirus 21.9.6698 locks all passwords stored in the Passwords component after upgrading from version 19.8.2393 without warning and demands payment to release them.

It is unlikely a company that does that would stay in business. The forum would be flooded with complaints, and yet it is not. This suggests I am being specifically targeted with a fake version of the program by hackers.

Perhaps Asyn knows something about that too.

[Asyn]

It is over six weeks later and none of the queries described above have been resolved.

Update to the latest version (21.11): https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=310650.0