Avast 5 now being offered on auto upgrade... PLEASE STOP!

[Vladimyr]

Frustrating thing for me (and maybe Alwil too) is that I have 3 XP Pro SP3 (2xPro, 1xHome) PCs running avast! 5 IS with no problems. I also know of 7 PCs (some Vista but mostly XP) with avast! 5 Free. I've asked them to tell me if they notice anything strange. Yesterday one reported an X in the tray icon. avast! service was stopped, "Repair" in "Add/Remove Programs" fixed it.

[georgermct]

Avast 5 has way too many issues at this point. I beg Alwil to stop pushing this out until more problems have been addressed in the next few builds. It is not ready for the non-experts!!!!

I agree!
I've been using Avast for years and never even knew this forum existed until now (reading on other sites that 5 was released) and trying to use it with failure, only now did I join this forum trying to gain knowledge if anyone else is having problems...and a lot of people/computers are.  There's no denying it.

I think, if they start the push the update as 5 is now, then there are going to be tons of people with busted computers.
5 is just not ready for mass release.
I've NEVER had a problem with Avast until 5 (using older version for years and years)...something is just not right and until they find and fix what the problems are...they should hold back the roll out.

P.S. This is exactly why I left every other anit-virus program (Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, ) to name a few...they were just too much trouble to use/deal with.

[Mikos]

I am using Avast 5.0 on 2 computers.

The first PC:

Intel Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, Windows XP SP3. Avast 5.0.377 was installed, an upgrade from 4.8, with Online Armor as the Firewall. On demand scanners: Malwarebytes Anti Malware, Super Anti Spyware, and ESET Online Scan.

The second PC is in my signature.

Thank God, I have not encountered any problems with Avast 5.0. My sister even reports that it scans faster than Avast 4.8. And it does use lesser resources compared to Avast 4.8.

By the way, both PCs are well maintained as I do the maintenance on a weekly basis. I guess it all boils down to how we use our computers. There is no software without bugs so I don't dream about having a software that is literally bug free. Installation and removal of software have something to do with the way we use and maintain our PCs. I am very particular about installing and removing programs in my PCs as they affect the OS directly. In fact I keep those things to bare minimum. And so far, it seems to work well since I am not experiencing problems with Avast 5 or other programs that I regularly update or upgrade to. I am not saying though that other people will not have problems. Just sharing what I think could possibly cause additional problems to other people, other than bugs in the Avast 5.0 software.

[Mikos]

Its a big shock to see this poor decision of upgrade by what was the best AV in the world.  :'(

Two computers, both well within the requirements, and very well running, and clean, now with a good deal of corruption, nothing I can't handle, but all my friends, and all the people I do repairs for, and teach how to do things, I have had to start notifying them of an unacceptable level of error and failed install rates with avast 5....

I also want to add..... Avast 5's new interface looks incredibly identical to the old Norton Corruption interface.... And the new Macafee Crashinvention, you can quote my alteration of those names which I see fitting for the programs they represent, I just hope we aren't seeing the same path of greed and deception in avast, like all other software's that gain a moderately high level of users then turns on their users, exploiting them and their once secure systems into a secret open door to malicious adwares and spywares while all the while claiming to be a defender against them.

NOW SOME DETAILS::::

Vista 64, SP1, all current,
Asus m2a vm hdmi
500 gig seagate 7200 at 3gb - 40% used
nvidia 8600 gts superclocked
8 gb supertalent 800

Install failed and TOTALLY CRASHED after hitting one of the BACK BUTTONS to get a second look at the space required when I noticed it first said 45 megs then it said 53 megs, and trying to forward again with the NEXT button it went down, not my computer but AVAST'S INSTALLER FAILED BIG TIME. Windows Security cried out INCOMPATIBLE AVAST ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM, so I figured no problem, just a feature of the failed install.

Second try, I got NO OPTIONS, my thought was it's already got that info from the failed attempt. Going on it seemed to install ok, BUT still no acceptance by Windows security system....

Rebooted after verifying updates of data bases and engine, I rebooted once, but no change, entered Win Security sys and it claims to be running and ok... BUT the avast Icon still has the yellow warning sign....

I will deal with that computer later....

XP computer....

XP Pro SP3
Asus P4s8x-mx
Intel Celeron 2.53 gig
Kingston 2 gb 800 runnning at 667
Geforce FX 5200

Installed via the upgrade tool within 4.8 seemingly seamless... Updated fine, I think...
Next day back to shuffle a couple files from another computer to my storage drive, and I noticed a bunch of flagrant activity in the now unstable windows explorer, acting like the early beta versions of Vista and win7, where you click a folder and it either right away or a few seconds later jumps some where, anywhere, and you have to find that folder again, and scroll it back into place......

Other issues.....

This new light colored tray icon sucks, it's a rotating ball, that's some consolation, but the image in it sucks, you can't tell what it is to describe it, I cant tell some one over the phone what they hell their looking for....

And as I said the G.U.I. and only yuppies call it gooey, thinking their cool. It is G.U.I. Graphical User Interface, and this one is so spread out over the screen, it sucks, too damn many sub menu garbage, that SUCKS,,, we want a simple GUI that is so perfect it saves time.... It's got to be all right there, easy to see, easy to read, easy to lead some less knowledgeable person over the phone through the settings.



Such AS 4.8 has.. The perfect Program Settings Interface.


That GUI is UNBEATABLE... the settings window straight down list on the left, is ideal to walk people through over the phone, but this new one SUCKS!!!!!!~

What happened Avast,, who the hell do you have making decisions now?

Get rid of the punk fad ideas, and get back to the good system, dependable working, reliable installs, and EFFICIENT GUI...... To hell with this new Norton Corruption GUI....



OTHER FACTS, there are more people who do not know enough to follow this new layout and will quickly DUMP IT.

I work with a groups of people, and I CANNOT recommend this.

Most of the people I help get set up with Avast 4.8 went on to purchase it, now I feel bad....I hope you take this version down immediately and rework it, so the people who trust my recommendations won't come back to me asking whats going on!!!

I will hang on to avast 4.8 until it is no longer updated, and then if 5 has not been fixed, I'm down the road...

I have cancer, medically retired, I help others as much as I can, I am sharing my vast knowledge of 30 years intense computer work. I have many friends, and am very well known around the country....

Get back Avast..... You were once too good to loose.

Sorry to make this remark. But for someone who is well known in the country, you sure have a very nice disposition, specially with the choice of words. At least my friends in high places are not this too vulgar with their words. Finesse is what they call it or etiquette as some would say.

I think the points here (while some are good) can be put across in a better tone, that way some people reading it won't have their sensibilities crossed.

[Hermite15]

I have cancer, medically retired, I help others as much as I can, I am sharing my vast knowledge of 30 years intense computer work. I have many friends, and am very well known around the country....

LOL I missed that one 

[DavidR]

While beta-testing, I've gotten an impression that Alwil team don't have many XP machines, which might make the claim plausible to some extent.

I somehow doubt that as XP has still got the lions share of the OS market, not to mention as far as Corporate markets go they tend to be very slow to change and a large quantity of those are likely to be on XP. So I doubt that Alwil would ignore that statistic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows

[DavidR]

I am surprised that version 5 is being offered THIS FAST.  I would have waited 3-4 months before beginning an auto update rollout.

Jack

Why are you surprised, the beta trial started in October last year and the final release was in January 19th and just before that point many beta testers were baying for it to be released as they weren't experiencing problems.

As has been said there comes a point of diminishing returns in holding a beta longer and longer. For me the only real area of weakness in the beta testing would appear to be installation over an existing 4.8 installation. As when the very early beta builds it was recommended they do a clean install of the beta, so once most had installed the beta future beta update were either through the beta UI or again clean install.

Whilst some did install the beta over 4.8 in the mid range beta builds (I did) and that went without serious flaw, but I did have some minor issues (this not being a later beta build). However, because that beta wasn't feature complete and I had a live system not a test system I returned to 4.8 using my last Drive Image back-up.

Not everyone is having this problem and of those that are it seems those with XP are in the majority, but again it isn't all XP installations (not mine) if it were there may be some common issue at fault, but the intermittent nature of this is pretty hard to pinpoint.

[Sesame]

While beta-testing, I've gotten an impression that Alwil team don't have many XP machines, which might make the claim plausible to some extent.

I somehow doubt that as XP has still got the lions share of the OS market, not to mention as far as Corporate markets go they tend to be very slow to change and a large quantity of those are likely to be on XP. So I doubt that Alwil would ignore that statistic.

Good point as usual, Sir DavidR (I guess I'm pretending to be Indian here.  I think you are yet to be knighted unlike Mick Jagger or Patrick Stewart...).  I completely agree with you.  In fact, while beta-testing, when I came across posts by Vlk and pk saying that their machines are not XP and having difficulties in recreating the problems, I was surprised.  I thought they must have some XP machines available.  Also, I read a post by Vlk declaring that the age of 64 bit is already here.  That said, of course, it's still just an impression as a humble user and Alwil team must have correct answers.  Well, you can take it that I'm not trying to spread false information but subtly waiting for any person in the team to kindly give a better picture for us.  

[DavidR]

That's the problem in the absence of an official response, speculation, etc. creeps in