Avast! won't stay running

[REDACTED]

Every once in a while (several times during any given evening of use) Avast stops running and I sometimes get a small window that warns "avast! Service stopped working and was closed."  It goes on to say, "A problem caused the application to stop working correctly.  Windows will notify you if a solution is available."
This problem can occur even when I am not surfing the web and I am concerned because often I never see the warning window, only discovering a little red X over the icon in my tray.  No matter how good avast may be, if I encounter a virus whie it has shut itself off, I would be in trouble.
Anybody else have this problem?
Yes, I bought the software -- its not the free version.  I have a relatively new HP PC with Windows 7 Home Edition and am hooked up with wirelees at the speed of sound.  Help!

[SafeSurf]

Hello sovereignslave at juno.com and welcome to the forum. 

Often times when someone is having difficulty with an AV it is due to other things.  So let's trouble shoot to see what is going on.  First I need to know the following 3 questions:

OS: Win7 Home

1.   What version of Avast did you install?  5.0.677? 
2.   What product of Avast did you install?  Free, Pro, AIS?
3.   What other security software do you currently have or did you have in the past (even trial versions) on this machine including antivirus (AV), firewall (FW), and other security programs?  If they were in the past, how did you remove them (the vendor's uninstaller's tool or another way)?

Suggestions:

1. In the meantime, please turn on Windows Defender (found in your Action Center), update the definitions, and enable it as Resident.  It will not conflict with Avast.

2. Also, please download Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (MBAM) to check for malware.
·   Download free http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for an on-demand scanner.
·   Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
·   After install, click update so you have latest database before scanning.
·   Under Settings:
o   General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o   Scanner Settings:  Check all boxes
o   Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
·   Once the program has loaded, select "Perform FULL Scan", then click Scan.
·   The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
·   When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
·   Click the “remove selected” button to quarantine anything found.  You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
·   The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
·   Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply.

MBAM is also a good tool to keep as an on-demand scanner and will not conflict with Avast.

3. Please try a Repair of Avast:
- Go to Control Panel > Add/Remove programs > Avast Antivirus > Remove.
- Then choose Repair function in the pop-up window (Repair).  Reboot.

After reviewing your MBAM log and your reply, I will give you further instructions.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Thank you.

FYI -- I strongly suggest you "Hide" your email address from your Profile, and change your user name in the forum from your email address so spammers do not harvest it.