Author Topic: How do you close avast?  (Read 105991 times)

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Offline Vlk

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #15 on: September 03, 2010, 12:25:52 PM »
First a little bit background information. The reason why it's somewhat difficult to close avast (and pretty much any other AV, for that matter) is that we want to make it difficult for the bad guys as well. I mean, if there was a simple way to kill the AV processes, it would be way too easy for a virus to do the same.

Now, to return to the original question, it's not a big deal to do it (if you actually know how ;)).

So, what's the trick?

First disable the avast self-defense module (avast -> Settings -> Troubleshooting).
Confirm the consent message with Yes, and that's basically it.

Now you can e.g. kill the avast processes from the Task Manager.

Thanks
Vlk
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving's not for you.

bghjkl

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2010, 09:35:49 PM »
thanks vlk

exactly what i wanted

fixed my issues as well...

bradhayashi

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2012, 06:09:54 PM »
I know that this is an old post, but just in case any of you still receive notifications, I just want to say thank you, Vlk, for finally answering bghjkl's original question as it answered mine, too.

This thread is an excellent example of how frustrating it can be to try to get help online as there are so many know-it-alls who put words into your mouth and proceed to answer the question that THEY think you should be asking and offering all sorts of information, both sincere and condescending, that does not in the least give the answer for which you are seeking. Come on, people--just answer the question! Like Vlk did.

Anonymousblogger

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2012, 10:33:13 AM »
OK, so I wanted to close avast today...not as simple as I first thought.
Right click, close - Fail
Open user interface, close - Fail
Ctrl-Alt-Del, TM, close - Fail
Msconfig - Fail
CCleaner - Fail
Time to check the forums...
...A post asking the same question in the Avast forum - this should be the one - Fail
Does anybody other than the guy who first asked the question actually know what "Close Avast" actually means?
The only responses that were even remotely useful were the ones suggesting a complete uninstall - Fail
Is Avast trying to become Adobe? Software on my computer answers to me, not the other way around!
My God! this forum has been read 6750 times, guess I'm not the only who likes to be able to close software at will
Anyway, short of uninstalling Avast, 15 minutes later I eventually figured it out
...time to tell the world how to "close" Avast, damn, I have to register to post...10 minutes later....
Here we go, turn off the self defence module in settings, troubleshooting, blah blah blah
Oh, I wish I had seen the link to page 2 of the forum. Nice Work VLK

Arnold72

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2012, 03:11:43 PM »
I don't want avast to be running. At all. There's no option to "quit" or "shut down" or "exit" on the task panel or the gui. When I try to end the process with task manager it says "access denied"

I've read a few similar topics on here, and the responses were very surprising. things like

"why would you want to close avast?"
"it doesn't take any memory"
"you'll be prone to attacks HURR DURR"

I just want to be able to stop it from running. This shouldn't require joining a forum and posting a support topic.
What a strange question?You have an AV installed and dont want it running!! :o
Why on earth did you install it and if your having problems with it then simply uninstall it or have i missed something here.? >:(

You could stop it running via the services section but why do that is beyond me. :o

Offline CraigB

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2012, 03:16:45 PM »
You could stop it running via the services section but why do that is beyond me. :o
Not unless you first disable avasts self protection as vlk had already explained.

Offline igor

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2012, 03:18:03 PM »
Yes, you can (the service only, not the UI) - you'll get a similar notification.

Circlestrafe

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #22 on: December 26, 2012, 07:56:12 PM »
Wow, a lot of hostility in this thread.

I was just scanning the forum looking for any repetitive negative issues that users are experiencing using Avast (hard to believe, as some give the impression Avast is perfect right here in this very thread!), when I stumbled upon this relatively outdated yet purposeful thread.  One reason why you'd want to CLOSE an AV is when installing drivers.  Disabling is probably good enough, but I go the extra mile and prevent it from running during video driver installation.  I regularly update video drivers that may benefit my system to some degree, as I'm an avid gamer (have been since the late 80s) and it's definitely worth the extra minute or two after downloading the driver to disable ALL extra programs that run on startup, especially the 'unnecessary' ones, for the duration of the simple driver installation process. Programs such as Steam or Xfire, (there are built-in options in those to prevent running at startup, uncheck those boxes), and yes, your ANTIVIRUS program.  Horrifying isn't it? I know, I'm a moron to do so, what possible reason would I have to do so?  It's pure insanity!  It's actually common sense. Also, disable the internet connection, (you can't get a virus if you're isolated...I'm not sure if those terrified at the mere thought  of closing their AV know this, so I thought I'd play Captain Obvious for a second here, quite a bit of sarcasm here, more than usual anyway)...in my case, unplug the cable, if you're wireless, obviously you'd disable your adapter before rebooting.  Shouldn't need to mention this, but I'll do it anyway; you will have already scanned the downloaded driver files, automatically I hope, (but hell, I manually scan them even though I've set my AV to do so automatically)  before doing this, so having it running during installation is unnecessary.

Now, you may think this is extreme, or overkill, even unnecessary, and it probably is, but as I've had practically zero issues running any game on any of my systems, past and present, using these quick and simple precautions; (sans general debilitating issues that developers claim responsibility for and with any luck release a patch fixing such issues).  But we're talking user error here, as in incorrect installations and/or settings or even poor hardware...piss poor power supplies, anyone?)  I can simply skip the few aforementioned steps, install the drivers with AV simply disabled, then troubleshoot for hours in the event something may go wrong. Yes, I'll admit, it's a big IF, but I'll just do it 'right' the first time and avoid chancing that remotely possible 'IF'.  Especially since driver updates are relatively infrequent, and it's just a few minutes of one's time to  install them properly.  So, yes, I'll continue using this procedure which includes having the AV CLOSED during installation.

I also admit I play too many games, I have ~700 on Steam alone and that's just one of many sources I purchase games from.  If you've read any gaming forum, you'd see thousands, if not millions from over the years,  of users with various game related isssues, many of which are video related, subsequently due to a driver issue. Whether it be because of an incorrect version, improper installation, inappropriately adjusted settings via utility program, or simply inadequate hardware.  Correct installation is the first step to narrowing the troubleshooting procedure.  Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, so just download and install, it'll work just fine, Windows knows what it's doing, if there's a problem afterward, it HAS to be the company that made the program that's now not working as it should, or your hardware vendor, they haven't a clue what they're doing, do they?  I mean, it couldn't possibly be user error.  Many of those problems in the forums  can be attributed to improper driver installation.   I love the 'don't buy this game because it won't run on my particular system' threads.  My money's on incorrect installation and/or improper settings (whether it be bios, utility programs, overclocking, etc), or simply inadequate hardware specs (e.g laptops with very cheap video). 

The point being, his question was legitimate, the crass remarks were unnecessary, ignorant even.  Sure, having the AV disabled or even just leaving it running probably won't ever corrupt a driver installation for most people, especially non-gamers, as they're less likely to update critical hardware drivers, namely the video, but why take the chance?  It takes less than half the time to do it right than it took me to explain one of only two, maybe three reasons you'd actually want to terminate an AV program, if ever.  Basic third grade material. 

Yeah, I registered just to state the obvious.  Perhaps if people did stuff right, we wouldn't have to fix what shouldn't have been broken in the first place.  Judging from this thread, that's not going to happen anytime soon.

quakeworld

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #23 on: December 27, 2012, 01:01:29 PM »
^

I just logged in to say FRAT. you probably play RPGs or MMORPGs  a lot don't you? MMORPGs players say a lot of things that can be said in a few words.

ismgr

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2013, 11:33:03 PM »
What a strange question?You have an AV installed and dont want it running!! :o
Why on earth did you install it and if your having problems with it then simply uninstall it or have i missed something here.? >:(

You could stop it running via the services section but why do that is beyond me. :o
He just wanted to stop the process to do some tests. Why is that so hard for some to understand. There are some programs that will not install with an AV process running. Adobe Flash is one that immediately comes to mind. If the AvastUI process is running it will not install or update, it does not matter if you stop the service, it will not install unless you kill the process. We have several proprietary programs that will not update with an AV process running.

Avast needs to take a lesson from Trend Micro. When you install the program you create an administrative password. You use this password to kill the processes when you need to install a program or update. Only the person with the password can stop the AV. Much simpler than the convoluted procedure to kill the Avast process.


Offline igor

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #25 on: March 26, 2013, 11:59:55 PM »
That's the first time I hear about Adobe Flash not installing with avast! running... since avast! v7 (and 5 & 6) used Flash for some UI components and had a link to install Flash in case it was missing, I'm rather sure quite a few people installed Flash with avast! without any problems.

If there's a tool that doesn't install or update with the antivirus running, then it sounds like a bug in the antivirus (or the program itself, but that would be a very specific bug) and should be fixed properly, not by terminating the antivirus. Stopping the antivirus every time you want to update something creates an unprotected window where the machine may get infected. Installing and updating programs is exactly the moment when the antivirus should be running the most - you don't know whether you are installing the real package, whether the vendors servers got compromised, whether the developer, or some 3rd party libraries, got infected and included in the product - and you get infected during the update.

Besides, the whole killing processes is "half a solution" anyway - there are still loaded DLLs in other processes that do something, there are loaded drivers that do something, and it's technically impossible to unload them, no matter if you enter a password or do some other magic. So if you really want to disable an antivirus for real, you need to uninstall it and reboot the computer - which you probably don't want to do before every of these "updates".

iroc9555

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #26 on: March 27, 2013, 12:16:04 AM »
...There are some programs that will not install with an AV process running. Adobe Flash is one that immediately comes to mind. If the AvastUI process is running it will not install or update, it does not matter if you stop the service, it will not install unless you kill the process...

This might be the case with Trend Micro, but not with Avast!. You obviously not running Avast! otherwise you will know it. I have been installing Adobe Flash Player with Avast! running for years without any problems whatsoever.

REDACTED

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #27 on: March 04, 2015, 03:22:57 AM »
I agree with the guy who posted this.

For people with low-end computers, turning off Avast for better cpu performance for let's say video games... having no other option than to uninstall/re-install it everytime you want better computer performance during other things is RIDICULOUS.

why are so many people expressing negative opinions toward him having an issue with this? he should be able to close this application, and re-open it at his convenience.

Then Avast members really saying, well... you shouldn't turn off our product, but instead let us talk you through your problem.

No. In my line of business, you make your customer happy with your product. Your not shoving your product down peoples throats, expecting them to deal with your crappy controls, then expect to be proud of a function that should have initially been on your product. Wtf is wrong with you people?

I'm glad I have a nice computer now, because with it being in "sleep" mode or not, I'd want to turn it off to game. And should have every option to be able to.

Just uninstall it? lol really? you people have some serious issues.

REDACTED

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #28 on: March 15, 2015, 01:23:20 AM »
OK. I HAVE a reason to disable this! I have a quad monitor setup. when going into nvidia control panel, where I can adjust the screen positions and also turn 3 24" monitors into one 5750x1080, I must disable certain processes first. Avast is blocking me from being able to do it and needs to be momentarily shut down to enable the process. I HAVE to delete the entire thing>>???!!!

REDACTED

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Re: How do you close avast?
« Reply #29 on: March 15, 2015, 01:40:33 AM »
First disable the avast self-defense module (avast -> Settings -> Troubleshooting).
Confirm the consent message with Yes. You have to turn off the self-defense module to be able to turn it off in Task Manager. Depending on your OS you might have to reboot. I just learned this myself, and it does work.