Hi!
I'm still in the dark ages with WIN 7. I have programs I rely on that an Avast Free Antivirus program update decimated, and I got them back through System Restore. (Currently, I'm on the Sept. 2022 version.) So I put a stop to updates for the program while maintaining updates for the virus definitions.
One of my outdated programs is Comodo Firewall, and it now is presenting nag screens about how "Instup.exe" is trying to access the internet. The message no longer allows to block, only to allow.
Does "instup.exe" only update the program, or does it also update virus definitions? This is important, because I obviously prefer to have my virus definitions to keep updating. All of this time, the definitions have been updating, and the program has not been updated, exactly as I desired. I don't know why this notice has suddenly begun to appear.
In other words, if I stop "instup.exe," will I also be stopping the virus definitions from getting updated?
Next question is, how do I stop "instup.exe"? (This is actually my main question.) Research says Task Manager can do this, by finding "instup.exe" in the "Details" tab. Unfortunately, WIN 7's Task Manager has no "Details" tab.
When this started to happen, I got around it (via Task Manager) by stopping the Comodo Firewall process that shows the message to allow or to block. I'd rather not resort to that, because Comodo allows for another program I find useful. Yet doing so may not be smart, if "instup.exe" also updates the virus definitions.
If I stop Comodo, then there will be nothing preventing "instup.exe" from accessing the internet. Maybe I should allow for "instup.exe" to access the internet, because I want my virus definitions to continue updating.
So the following question is very important:
Does "instup.exe" only update the program, or does it also update virus definitions?
Secondly, if it updates only the program, is there a way to deactivate "instup.exe" in WIN 7?
Since my Avast "Settings" are set on "I'll update it manually," if I allow "instup.exe" to get through, that setting should prevent instup.exe from updating the program. On the other hand, when this first started happening, I accidentally clicked on "Allow" in the Comodo message, and the next thing I knew, I needed to restart the computer because the program apparently updated..! (System Restore got me on track.)
Thank you very much.
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As an addendum, I ran a search for "instup.exe" on this forum to look into possible past wisdom, and read (
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=273792.msg1616421#msg1616421) how "Avast Clear Tool" saved the day. I don't know what that is, and don't know whether it would apply to my situation, but wished to mention it. An expert also informatively stated on another post (
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=204299.msg1402663#msg1402663) that "Ordinarily the instup.exe runs shortly after boot and periodically after that checking for updates, once it has done that it should close down and not be listed in the task manager screen."
As an "EDIT" I noticed my virus definitions were last updated today, so that tells us not clicking on Comodo's "Allow" has not prevented these all-important definitions from updating. Presumably, finding a way to stop "instup.exe" will solve the problem, at least until I check and see whether doing so will prevent the definitions from updating. Thanks again.
