Hi Mike,
I have always had 'Internet Explorer' listed in my 'Event Viewer' too, at least as long as I have been running IE8. And, for what it's worth ... there is nothing listed in my 'Internet Explorer' heading either.
I always liked the way I could go to 'Event Viewer' and check to see how many updates Avast had in a certain time period. I for one will miss that, but time marches on and nothing stays the same.
Regards,
2harts4ever