...every time that Avast updates! Whether I want it to, or not (and I usually don't). Can this be stopped? Any help appreciated.
xntryk1,
Welcome to the forum.
Avast doesn't control or cause Windows live to do anything.
Your settings as to when Windows live checks for mail however do.
It they are set to check for mail at system start, then WL mail will check for
mail each time the system is started or, rebooted.
You can change that setting to never check for mail and you'll have to do it manually
when ever you open the program to read your mail.