Excluding Microsoft, I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in a software upgrade than I am with Avast 5.
I'm a computer technician whose been raving about Avast for several years. I've regularly installed and recommended Avast for home and business users and have purchased numerous licenses for home, business & server installations. While the old version had a poor design and could be a pain for novices to get registered, it worked well and wasn't a resource hog like Norton or McAfee. However, Avast 5 and your updated website are a complete disaster and I'm searching for alternative antivirus software to recommend to clients. Frankly, I didn't believe some of the issues clients were having with Avast until I saw them myself. For the last week I've had to do no-charge service calls to uninstall this debacle or straighten out the mess it left behind.
The new website layout is hideous. I always thought the first rule of web design was to make your content easy to find and navigate for the average user. Should I really have to spend a half hour digging through it to find out which version I need for a client's platform? Is it too much to ask you to list which operating systems are supported without having to click 10 different combinations of tabs for each version? You can't just list your business product's pricing on the web page? Do I really have to click *Buy Now* for each product and get a calculator to figure out a client's cost for AV software? Also, your prices have always been reasonable, but $400 to protect a Windows 2K Server for a small business owner prices you out of the market.
Here's a short list of errors I've run across in the last month - and this is just during installation!! These errors have been encountered on multiple computers, the majority of which are running Windows XP and are virus free.
-Accurately entered license keys for Avast 4.8 would prompt *invalid license*
-system lockups during download and/or running of installaiton file. Yes, just downloading the file would crash a system.
-installations that were missing any interface to scan a system: NO buttons, NO way to initiate a scan while under the *Scan Now* tab.
-Impossible to register!! I have yet to be able to register Avast 5 on ANY system. Once all info is completed in the registration tab, clicking *register for free license* does absolutely nothing!
-Clicking the *Offline Registration form* brings me to a web page (
http://www.avast.com/program/home-registration.php) that has nothing on it other than:
F8BF98F0-8F80-4C2D-8B9A-3B40064CDE10
1265765758
1297301758
Sorry to sound so harsh, but I've gone from a big Avast fan and salesman to someone who will never recommend it again, all in one easy upgrade.