Yes, it seems that avast is not being correctly installed.
A damaged repository came in to my mind after reading zfactor post : avast says it is on and updated and everything is green lit the firewall and av are in fact working as i have tested them both against threats and to block programs etc..just for some reason win7 is not talking right with avast or visa versa..
But then again, the problem was still there after a new fresh install