WHY ARE YOU SO CRAZY TO WANT TO FORCE ME TO TURN ON AUTOMATIC UPDATES?? 
TURNING AUTOUPDATE IS NO SOLUTION!!! I WON'T DO THAT - OR I WILL RATHER INSTALL AVG OR ANY OTHER ANTIVIRUS-SOLUTION!!!!!!!
Writing all in capital letters?
Just trying to help. I'm not crazy about any particular setting. I am all for respecting the user's decisions. You are missing my point, that was only a continuation of what
DavidR explained.
You have your reasons for setting your Avast as you want, but then you have to deal with the consequences.
I still think that you are not using the adequate settings for your needs and for what you want to achieve. Setting the "apply-database-update" to "ask" would mean that it is "not-automatic", hence you need to somehow "answer" the the "ask". But, you don't want to be bothered. This "
seems" to be contradictory.
As you are seeing with the different settings being mentioned, it "must" be some group of settings better than those, don't you think?
Well, you need to decide. Either YOU control the database updates, or set it to "automatic".
I DON'T NEED THAT BIG WINDOW WHEN JUST UPDATING VIRUS DATABASE!!!!!!! IT JUST CONUMES UNNECESSARILY TIME TO ALWAYS GET RID OF IT - AND IT IS ALWAYS DISTURBING BY STEALING FOCUS!!! With AVAST4, that was much better solved!
Well there you go.
DavidR already answered that when you set the database updates to "ask", you need to act by yourself. Once Avast "checks" (not "applays") if there is an update available, Avast "asks".
Let's try some other settings. First, stop the monitoring of those things that are bothering you. You don't want database updates monitoring? Then stop it (uncheck it), under settings -> status bar.
Even if there is some pop up, it is bothering you too much but you don't want to completely stop it? Set the time to 1 second (not zero).
Now go to the settings -> updates. Set all you want/need to manual update (not ask, not automatic). Uncheck the "show notification ... automatic update" if you don't want it.
Now, you don't want to waste any KB for updates? Then in that same place (settings -> updates) change the "auto-update internval" to, say, 1440 (24 hours, once a day). So not only you won't be asked if you want to update, but also the "checking if there are updates available" won't be performed and you won't spend those KB either.
Now continue with settings -> silent/gaming mode. Set there the first checkbox, so Avast won't bother you at all.
Under settings -> sounds, disable them.
Under settings -> community, uncheck everything so no communication will use your bandwith.
I currently don't remember if there is a viewable setting to avoid checking for updates when you "first" connect to the Internet.
You can "play" with all those settings. The key is to understand the consequences of each, so to combine them as you really need/want, but still keep you safe.
If the real problem is the bandwith, then manually check once a day when you don't need to pay so much, but leave the monitoring of the database not being up-to-date, so you won't "forget" to manually update at least once a day (or whichever period you want).
Or, set it to automatically check and automatically update only once a day (instead every 4 hours), so you avoid the situation of "forgetting" to check for updates, and uncheck the up-to-date monitoring.
It seems to me that you don't want Avast even "checking for updates" so frequently, but you don't mind so much to "automatically apply database updates" (so it won't interrupt your work) when, once a day, it performs the "checking" (instead of answering once every 4 hours). I may be wrong, but it doesn't matter. Take this as an example.
As a whole the "alert system" does not really look as consequent as expected; in some points it really seems to lack logic; and that's not really inspiring confidence, sorry.
Well, I'm sorry to say that IMHO, your modified settings are not being consequent with what you are trying to achieve. Moreover, for someone that is saying that for years has been using Avast and has customers with it, it seems that "navigating" through the GUI and/or reading the help file should be recommended. But that's just an impression; maybe I'm wrong.
I remember AVAST4 - that was more consequent and much, much more logic in handling (not because of the less functions - but from it's inner logic and organisation of the user interface!). Notification methods of AVAST4 was really that what I would also expect from AVAST5 or AVAST6!!!
Are the possible settings perfect? Probably there is place for improvement (in fact, I KNOW there is). Is this free of bugs or strange symptoms? I KNOW they are there.
As I said, try to focus on the correct setting. Avast 4 "is gone". I am confident that the current Avast can "play by YOUR rules".
