Author Topic: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!  (Read 46731 times)

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Tipton

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #45 on: December 04, 2009, 02:56:12 AM »


I spent a good part of the day helping the elderly parents of two friends get their system back to normal.    They use it for nothing more then emailing relatives and playing a few card games online.  I had recommended Avast to my friends and to them and it was installed on their system some time ago.   Suddenly they get all these trojan alerts.  You can guess how much it scared them.     I also received calls from 4 other friends whom I recommended Avast to asking what they needed to do.   They were ready to pay to have it fixed as well.  


You are right, and for that large percentage of computer users, I feel bad. I guess it's like owning a car....if you can afford to pay someone to work on it because you don't know how, then by all means own one.

But, for people to register on these forums only to start a poo poo on Avast thread, I have no tolerance for them. Especially when they have had trouble free performance for years from an AV that is free to use.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2009, 02:59:42 AM by Tipton »

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #46 on: December 04, 2009, 02:58:28 AM »
It is very unfortunate that this happened. Avast flagged our Point of Sale System as infected, we reinstalled the program and have dealt with it. Mistakes happen, no matter what software you use. This is not a reason to leave avast if you have been satisfied with it up until now. We still support avast and will continue to in the future.
"People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware." - Alan Kay

Cassy

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #47 on: December 04, 2009, 02:59:08 AM »
The one lesson I would like ALWIL to take out of this is that if they choose to provide antivirus software to the global community, there have to be sufficient servers, bandwidth, whatever to deal with huge spikes in traffic to the forum when a "crisis" like this occurs.  OK, I'll stop there.
I have been having intermittent logon problems for about two days, since before the crisis.  I assumed that the problem was in some way connected with a surge in interest in the new betas.

Thanks.
C.

Sesame

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #48 on: December 04, 2009, 03:09:23 AM »
Quote
I just don't feel there is any need for blame right now - in either direction.  That solves nothing.  Help people get their problems fixed.

Very well said, although the "Sorry is not good enough" type posts aren't necessary. I can understand their desperation and anger. All we can offer these people are help if the situation isn't too bad on their PC, and... "Sorry".

We can't magically make their data reappear, it was a mistake by Avast! and everyone makes mistakes including AV makers.

I really don't know what else to say...  :-\
Definitely, this is not the first time or will not be the last time for people to come to the boards and unleash their frustration and leave with a few to several posts.  At this time, according to the number of affected users as the denominator, the numerator of the users who complain, increased.  I'd rather say that "let them say what they had to say."  At least, their frustrations are understandable.  Also, there is a slight possibility that it might let them calm down.  However, in either case, I think it would be more constructive to reply to less frustrated people.

The one lesson I would like ALWIL to take out of this is that if they choose to provide antivirus software to the global community, there have to be sufficient servers, bandwidth, whatever to deal with huge spikes in traffic to the forum when a "crisis" like this occurs.  OK, I'll stop there.
I have been having intermittent logon problems for about two days, since before the crisis.  I assumed that the problem was in some way connected with a surge in interest in the new betas.
I'd say, it more likely happened by people who rushed to the boards, having begun to notice the odd activity of Avast!  At that time, the number of the online users were around two thousands, which is approximately ten times as many as usual online users...so, I gave up with browsing the forum.  Prague was midnight at that time and it took them for a several hours to extend the capacity of the boards.  It was probably the first time I saw two administrators were working...
« Last Edit: December 04, 2009, 03:15:02 AM by Rumpel »

Hopismum

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #49 on: December 04, 2009, 03:15:41 AM »
But, for people to register on these forums only to start a poo poo on Avast thread, I have no tolerance for them. Especially when they have had trouble free performance for years from an AV that is free to use.

I agree about that.. expected though......   mostly my remarks were about not poo-pooing those who need some real help right now.

It got me as well and lemme tell ya I was not that happy last nite.   I did catch on quickly that it was an FP and came here to see what was up.   Had several programs get trashed before the fix came out.   Luckily I do have backups of them (and a disk image)  After the fix restoring from chest did me no good.  Files got corrupted.   But again I was able via my backups to get them up and going again.     Ranting here on my part would have been a waste of time and energy.  Instead I set upon first stopping the warnings, then getting things back to normal...  then helping distraught friends who phoned me after 11pm  lol   One was pretty ticked -  I got her calmed down - that or the bottle of kahula I ran over to her while I fixed it for her did that  (laugh)

dursin

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #50 on: December 04, 2009, 03:25:27 AM »
Tough call as I've used Avast for years without issue, but this mornings 'event' was more than just a simple case of 'false positives'. It totally messed up my laptop.  It would load to the wallpaper and not display any icons.  I tried for nearly 3 hours to recover it or figure out what was wrong.  Tried two system restores, ran windows system file checkers, booted in and out of safe mode, tried editing the registry based on advice I found via google searches and nothing gave me my system back.  Bringing up task manager and killing explorer.exe and re-running it would give me my icons and an extremely crippled system.  Clicking on many applications would just lock me up.  I did remember seeing a single virus warning the evening before against my Beyond Compare program which I dismissed. I decided to look at the Avast logfile to see if I could maybe search on that virus/trojan for a removal tool and that's when I came across a bunch of hits on the Avast problem.  I booted into safe mode, uninstalled avast, rebooted and to my relief, everything seemed back to normal.  Scary thing is, I was about 5 minutes from reformatting and re-installing from a 6 month old backup. 

I cannot accept that the anti-virus program which was supposed to protect my computer is now responsible for the biggest problem I've had with a PC in the past 10 years.  What bothers me more is that like many others, I have recommended Avast to family members and friends. I may return to Avast as the price is certainly right, but for now I have decided to try alternatives like Avira or AVG.

lee5768

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #51 on: December 04, 2009, 03:37:41 AM »

This topic only reinforces the need for people to have and maintain an up to date disc image to revert back to. Little, if anything to
reconfigure. :)

Exactly! I find it extremely immature that people start blame threads and threaten to dump Avast when the problem was ignorance on their part, and their lack of a total system image to restore from. If you own and use a PC, expect the unexpected. Problems are bound to happen. In my opinion, you shouldn't even be able to use a PC until you understand and use imaging software.

then its a good you your opinions don't count for much with the rest of the world then isn't it.

Avast made a huge mistake and peoples systems suffered due to this with or without image backups data could be lost.


your post is a classic reaction of a fanboy the problem was due to avast mistakes, not due the the OP not using backup or recovery methods
regardless of what you say


sded

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #52 on: December 04, 2009, 03:39:08 AM »
I'll repeat my own post from Wilders rather than referencing it here, in response to those who want severe punishment like termination for the lowest level AlWil guy who made a mistake.  Comodo solved their massive database problem by apparently terminating the guy-this is often referred to as the "fire the janitor" approach, since obviously you had to protect management from blame.  :)
"I certainly think revenge is a silly idea-even excellent employees sometimes make mistakes, especially in the press of other activities. This is a management issue, not a "fire the janitor because he is the lowest guy" issue. But still waiting to see what Avast! plans to do to make their system more bulletproof. A few that come to mind (along with a bit more formal QA/signoff of updates with final test before release):
1. Provide a 7/24 watch for issues like this that come up. An official response immediately from someone at Alwil, including pulling the update with a message to users, could have cut out a lot of the damage. Or in this case, even providing a regression database to install.
2. Provide a way to ignore FPs conveniently in the program, including changing the program defaults, so that at least more experienced users can deal with FPs.
3. Provide some aids to the users in the case of anomalous behavior like this (remember expert systems in v5) to give some hints at what to try-like turning off standard shield and file system shield, with the warning that this also turns off protection and what can be done about that.
I tend to trust someone who has gone through trial by fire and provided an acceptable answer more than someone who says it will never happen to them. In any case, my 4 computers are all still running Avast!"  
So I advise all of the concerned parties to take a hard look at what Alwil proposes to do to bulletproof their system.  If you are satisfied, you have no reason for a change.  If not, talk further to them about what it might take to alleviate more of your concerns.  If that still doesn't work, try MSE or Prevx or another of your favorites for a while and see if they make you feel safer-or until those products have their next major gaff.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2009, 03:57:54 AM by sded »

Offline Cahya Legawa

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #53 on: December 04, 2009, 03:53:29 AM »
I did have bad time yesterday. The alarm was so frustrating.

But lucky I do join the forum for years now, knowing what to do when we suspect a false positive happens.

And I did pass the many false positive incidence yesterday safely. And nothing much harmful affect my system, it was back normal as soon as a read the forum about this false positive incidence and the new VPS update, and give a work on it.

Well, I prefer to said that yesterday incidence was a nice lessons for me in using avast to protect my system. I think I would keep avast to stay on my system :)
Avast Security Premium - Windows 10, Android, iPadOS. | Avast One Free - Windows 11

chachazero-tan

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #54 on: December 04, 2009, 04:47:56 AM »
Tsk, tsk...

I had to join this forum as well just to point something very obvious, but at the same time very sad...

Many of today's computers' users are somewhat illiterate when it comes to the actual functions of files within a computer Operating System, so if they "got hit hard" by the false positives, 'tis quite understandable...

But the first person who posted here claimed to be a computer tech... And for that person or anyone with medium experience with malware/viruses/trojans to blame the crippling of the computers due to the false positives is in a word: RIDICULOUS... Would any "computer tech" or previously experienced person be foolish enough to put vital windows files into the chest/deleting them without investigating first? Or to regard proven and true anti-malware/known free software/shareware software like Spybot, PrimoPDF or Trojan Remover as trojans? OF COURSE NOT...

Why would everybody flame Avast for the "crippling" of systems? In MY PARTICULAR CASE, I simply left the computer run without restarting and ignored (not by clicking the ignore button on pop-up alerts, but disregarded them completely) the alerts until they stopped by the new update. If some users performed a scan at boot time or put things in the chest indiscriminately or due to fear/ignorance BEFORE taking some time to look for an answer or seeking for evidence to have been "infected", then unfortunately it is THEIR PROBLEM and responsibility. (I'm in no way a tech, but I like to read & research beforehand).

Has ANYONE actually read the disclaimer on each software you run? THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES and any loss of info is not Microsoft's, Avast's, Symantec's, etc's fault.

Offline Yanto.Chiang

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #55 on: December 04, 2009, 04:50:55 AM »
Anyone,

Please realize again "Nobody is perfect in this world"

So we should understand what is something happened in this world as a process of learning for all of us.

Once again "Don't ask what is your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country" - John.F.kennedy


So i would like to take all of you back to learning again, if sometimes we should give more than received.

If all of you which disappointed with avast just because yesterday bad history, so go ahead!!!
But if anybody keep trust in avast, that is good too.

Remember time will proof everything, just only don't ever ask to much thant giving something to improvement.

Yanto Chiang | IT Security Consultants | AVAST Premium Security | GarudaSinatriya

Tipton

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #56 on: December 04, 2009, 05:44:52 AM »
Tsk, tsk...

I had to join this forum as well just to point something very obvious, but at the same time very sad...

Many of today's computers' users are somewhat illiterate when it comes to the actual functions of files within a computer Operating System, so if they "got hit hard" by the false positives, 'tis quite understandable...

But the first person who posted here claimed to be a computer tech... And for that person or anyone with medium experience with malware/viruses/trojans to blame the crippling of the computers due to the false positives is in a word: RIDICULOUS... Would any "computer tech" or previously experienced person be foolish enough to put vital windows files into the chest/deleting them without investigating first? Or to regard proven and true anti-malware/known free software/shareware software like Spybot, PrimoPDF or Trojan Remover as trojans? OF COURSE NOT...

Why would everybody flame Avast for the "crippling" of systems? In MY PARTICULAR CASE, I simply left the computer run without restarting and ignored (not by clicking the ignore button on pop-up alerts, but disregarded them completely) the alerts until they stopped by the new update. If some users performed a scan at boot time or put things in the chest indiscriminately or due to fear/ignorance BEFORE taking some time to look for an answer or seeking for evidence to have been "infected", then unfortunately it is THEIR PROBLEM and responsibility. (I'm in no way a tech, but I like to read & research beforehand).

Has ANYONE actually read the disclaimer on each software you run? THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES and any loss of info is not Microsoft's, Avast's, Symantec's, etc's fault.

I agree with you, but you better watch out, certain noobs might play the fan boy card on you!  ;D

Deputy276

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #57 on: December 04, 2009, 05:45:46 AM »
People seem to assume that because you use a certain software like Avast, you suddenly have a pressing urge to join a forum that discusses anti-virus issues. I had NO IDEA this forum existed until this morning, and if I did know it existed, I certainly WOULDN'T have joined it. I couldn't care less about discussing the latest malware of virus floating around. I downloaded and installed Avast a few years ago because of the rave reviews from those who knew about such things. What I DIDN'T realize was that Avast was NOT finding bad stuff on my comp that it SHOULD have been finding. I found this out after this recent incident when I installed Kaspersky and Avira on my comps and they nailed some really nasty stuff. So I suppose this was a blessing in disguise. I don't think it's reasonable for people to assume that because people use a piece of software, they suddenly join a forum that discusses the intricacies and techno info that the forum discusses. I use Nero and Spyware Terminator and have no idea if they have forums that discuss their software. And quite honestly, I really don't care. But on something as critical as anti-virus software, I DO expect some kind of information to be posted in a public place. Not just a forum run by the company that HAD the problem. I know WHY they didn't post it. It would hurt sales. But that sure isn't fair to the regular users that depend on the software and have been severely afftcted by it.

mrgigabyte

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #58 on: December 04, 2009, 05:47:06 AM »
Quote
But why do you rely on automatic actions ? I know it is the default option, but it is entirely your choice to leave it that way.

Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have the default changed in the next release.

I use: Ask <if not then> Move to Virus Chest <if not then> Log Only.


where is the settings for this that your talking about is it in confirmations and if it is , is it deletion of files with dangerous extension or is the default some where else thanks

nightingaleron

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Re: Removing AVAST! and Moving on!
« Reply #59 on: December 04, 2009, 06:22:09 AM »
I also was caught with this false positive and sat clicking 5 (move to chest )until my finger  Was getting numb.Then it automatically started moving to chest until it reached a point where it said ~cannot take action as the disc is full.I rebooted my computer but avast came up with the caution box straight after startup so i again said move to chest and got the same box saying that the disc was full ???? what disc ?and if it means the virus chest is full then whats going to happen next time a real virus comes in.?
After contacting support and updating to version 091203-1 i ran another scan and all was clean and so far i havent been able to find any malfunctions other than DVDfreestudio which was where the false positive was last found and couldnt move to chest.I chose to move and rename but dont know what that has done but i cant launch DVDVieo soft free studio from the desktop icon or the program file itself.This is what messages i get.~~(pasted from a message to dvd videosoft)~
 i seem to be having a new problem now since the false positive. I can not launch free studio from my desktop icon or from the program itself in all programs. I get a box that says~ problem with shortcut. The item freestudioManager.exe that this shortcut refers to has been changed or moved, so this shortcut will no longer work properly. Do you want to delete this shortcut. By right clicking the desktop shortcut and choosing properties the target location is C:\ProgramFiles\CommonFiles\DVDVideosoft\FreeStudioManager.exe"
I went to -start-mycomputer-C drive-programfiles-commonfiles-dvdvideosoft- but theres no path after that to freestudiomanager.exe.
the path from dvdvideosoft  has a Dll folder-a translate sib file-uninsoooDat file and an uninstal/setup icon. I suppose this might be an easy fix if i can figure it out.
Either way i am not ditching Avast after 5 years of good service. Avast hasnt missed a virus for me and i now use the pro edition and i have had heaps of other programs that have failed to detect a virus.
I am wondering if a system restore might clean up any mess.?