Suggestion for a change in next version of Avast Free Antivirus

[beatdok]

Hi,
I am quite happy with Avast Free Antivirus and with this Forum. My computer OS is Windows 7 and I am aware of it being out of Windows support. Overall I have found that my computer works well and I am glad that Avast still includes support for Windows 7.

My suggestion is that in the next version the check for outdated drivers be an optional choice rather than an intrinsic part of the version. With my older computer it is very likely that some of my drivers are outdated. However, it is not always possible to update them, and I have read of people having problems returning to an earlier version once an outdated driver has been flagged.

Thanks for your consideration.
Best Regards,
Beatdok

[DavidR]

I'm not sure what you mean be outdated drivers check, in Avast Free as that is essentially a Paid product (Driver Updater).

If you are talking about the more serious 'Vulnerable Driver warning', DEP (Data Execution Protection) check/alert rather than a warning.  This is also part of the OS checking also (DEP), that said I don't know how an old version of win7 would do this.  Presumably it still phones home for checks/updates and there aren't any.

Many of these DEP warnings are related to old program drivers and not necessarily the OS.  There are several such topics in the forums, most of which are old program drivers related.

[Nom]

If you mean blocking vulnerable drivers, it is can be disabled in the settings in the troubleshooting tab.
And the other warnings about outdated drivers can be ignored.

[DavidR]

If you mean blocking vulnerable drivers, it is can be disabled in the settings in the troubleshooting tab.
And the other warnings about outdated drivers can be ignored.

If speaking to the OP, I feel this - And the other warnings about outdated drivers can be ignored - is not without risk and should still be investigated.

[Nom]

It is up to the user to update or not to update. There is always a risk. It is dangerous not to update because old bugs and vulnerabilities are fixed in the new ones. Updating is also dangerous because new bugs and vulnerabilities may appear in new ones. Someone cannot update the drivers because their operating system is not supported. In my opinion, in order to update the software and drivers, there should be a specific reason, and not a dogmatic statement that the new is always better than the old.

[DavidR]

I always give the warning (I certainly wouldn't say 'then they can be ignored'), then it is their decision and there is no excuse should that decision causes a problem.

[Nom]

In this particular case, a person cannot update the drivers and does not want to see warnings about this. And even more so, he does not want his drivers to be blocked. He has no choice but to ignore the warnings.

And if we talk about life, I have never met a computer infected through a driver. And there are problems with updating drivers and software at every step. Often, before removing some hardware from support, developers release the latest version that does not work properly. Any software update sometimes brings more problems than malware. Malware is much rarer. And if a good antivirus with up-to-date databases is installed, then the chances of malware tend to zero. Imposing updates brings problems. Therefore, for example, most Microsoft users prefer to disable it. And this process comes to war. I am for updates to be meaningful. Updating for the sake of updating is a policy for stupid disenfranchised slaves.

[DavidR]

I'm sorry, but we are just covering the same old points, they should always be warned of the risk.  So this is my last post in this topic.

And not only that he is suggesting Avast make it easier to the Outdated drivers check (DEP protection) be made an optional choice, when Windows also has that trigger point.