kamaina,
Technical's reply was translated properly, but I will guide you through the instructions.
As for why it changed now....not really sure. If the "fix" works, then I would not worry about it. Sometimes, programs "adapt" and change without warning.
1. Rigth click on My Computer from the desktop or Start menu.
2. Then click on Explore
3. In the left panel, find your hard drive and click the + sign to open the drop down.
4. Find Programs and click the + sign next to it to open its' drop down.
5. Locate the Alwil folder and again click the + sign next to Alwil, and then the + next to Avast.
6. Highlight the Data Folder. In the right panel you will now see a listing of the folders within Data.
7. Locate Avast.ini and open it by double left click.
8. Look down the lines until you find [Common]. Under this heading, change the entry ODBC to XML.
Exit the Mr Computer dialog box.
Your done. Try Avast again and let me know what happens.
Good luck.