Renewed Failure of Automatic Updates

[Green Giant]

I saw from the Ewido site that the number of threats protected against today (April 6, 2007) totalled 731,588. My paid-for copy of AVG AntiSpyware 7.5 still showed yesterday's number.

Neither manual update via the main page of AVG nor automatic update would work, so again I had to:

1) Close down AVG

2) Download the full database of signatures

3) Restart AVG

4) Click on 'Update Now' on the main page of AVG AntSpyware 7.5 for the latest signtures to be downloaded and the date on the main page change to April 6.

This is supposed to be a security program and was good whilst still German controlled.

Is this a deliberate plot to get those of us with 'permanent' licences to look elsewhere?

[lordpake]

They have already stated in previous threads here they need to release new build sometime in mid-April to address update issues due to server load. Why don't we all chill until they actually do that and let them show what they can do? :)

So far I, as a paid customer, have not noticed anything wrong in my AVG AS.

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> I saw from the Ewido site that the number of threats protected against today (April 6, 2007) totalled 731,588. My paid-for copy of AVG AntiSpyware 7.5 still showed yesterday's number.

Neither manual update via the main page of AVG nor automatic update would work, so again I had to:

1) Close down AVG

2) Download the full database of signatures

3) Restart AVG

4) Click on 'Update Now' on the main page of AVG AntSpyware 7.5 for the latest signtures to be downloaded and the date on the main page change to April 6.

This is supposed to be a security program and was good whilst still German controlled.

Is this a deliberate plot to get those of us with 'permanent' licences to look elsewhere? <-QUOTE}
Why would Grisoft want to lose customers? They may want Ewido users to buy AVG Anti-Malware/Internet Security, but looking elsewhere is probably not their focus. The update issues will be fixed in the next build, though I must wonder how AVG Anti-Malware and Internet Security do not face the same problem even though they use the same database and update mechanism. :-\

A hunch tells me that part of the reason could be that Grisoft's Akamai high-speed servers are seemingly not used for AVG Anti-Spyware, and hence results in such problems.

[Green Giant]

Thanks lordpake and Firecat for your postings.

All seemed normal again (that it AVG AntiSpyware 7.5 updating automatically) yesterday and the day before. Now I am back to having to watch their web site to see when new updates have been released or look for the helpful postings of roddy 32 on the Updates Form in Wilders. Hence my frustration, at what is now an unsatisfactory security program, whilst this situation persists.

[peter.ewido]

{QUOTE-> The update issues will be fixed in the next build, though I must wonder how AVG Anti-Malware and Internet Security do not face the same problem even though they use the same database and update mechanism. :-\

A hunch tells me that part of the reason could be that Grisoft's Akamai high-speed servers are seemingly not used for AVG Anti-Spyware, and hence results in such problems. <-QUOTE}

No, they do not use the same update mechanism, these are totally different programs. Also, AVG Anti-Spyware uses Akamai for serving the files but the update request is processed at different servers first. That's exactly where the bottleneck is.

@Green Giant: What error message do you get? Or is it simply stuck?

[Green Giant]

The program hangs at 'Downloading files. Receive data' with the Cancel Update button greyed out.

Hope this helps!

Green Giant

[peter.ewido]

{QUOTE-> The program hangs at 'Downloading files. Receive data' with the Cancel Update button greyed out.

Hope this helps!

Green Giant <-QUOTE}

Hmm, you could also try terminating the connection of avgas.exe by using the built-in connection viewer. After that you should be able to use the update again.

[Green Giant]

Thanks Peter.Ewido!

I have done as you suggested and tried to update. Now I have had the expected reply that no update was available, instead of nothing happening.

If I have any further concerns I will post them here.

Best Wishes

[Green Giant]

Automatic updates have failed again today (April 10, 2007). I saw, a few moments ago, from the www.ewido.net site that the total number of signatures now covered was 739,008. My paid for copy of AVG still showed the number for yesterday. So it was yet again:

1) Downloading complete database from http://www.ewido.net/en/download/updates/

2) Shut down AVG AntiSpyware 7.5

3) Install the download.

4) Restart AVG.

5) Click on 'Update Now' on the first page of AVg to download the latest signatures and for the program to show today's date.

A continuing shambles!

[peter.ewido]

To what is the check interval of the automatic updates set on your computer? Has enough time passed so it could check at least once?

[Green Giant]

The automatic update interval is set at 30 minutes and has never been changed from that since the software was installed.

[lu_chin]

Hmm, I wonder how often AVG will update the definition files on their update servers. Every 30 minutes, every hour, every few hours?

[gerardwil]

{QUOTE-> Every 30 minutes, every hour, every few hours? <-QUOTE}

All options you mentioned are possible.

Gerard

[obbop]

Ahhhhhh, so i am not the only humanoid having problems updating.

For the past three or four days, when ever I spanked the update button (I do manually activated updates) the program whispered to me that the server was unavailable.

Did the FAQ thing and tried reinstalling anti-spyware 7.5 but no change.

Hoping the problem is at their end, not mine.

Sent the folks an e-mail. Will wait for reply.

Program was working fine last 3 months or so since I grabbed the paid version.

Went with AVG based in part on the recommendations here and elsewhere.

Doo doo happens so will be patient.

Had Webroot Spy Sweeper before but it was sooooooo slooooooow and seemed to hang up while working that I had to try something else.

Years of Norton's increasing giddyness drove me away from them around 3 or 4 years ago.

Hope AVG can keep control of their beasts!!!!!

[Firecat]

I have a question not directly related to this issue. I use AVG Internet Security and the Anti-Spyware engine has not seen a single update since April 8, be it manual or automatic. Has any Ewido/AVG Anti-Spyware user also seen this behaviour? Why is this so? ???

[Green Giant]

I have just looked at www.ewido.net and have seen that so far there is no update today. The last was on April 10 giving a total signature database of 739,044.

I wanted to be sure that I had the latest download.

[lu_chin]

Sorry Gerard, I meant how frequent AVG (as a company) would update the definition files on the official update servers. I thought that would affect the update interval that users set within AVG products. If AVG only uploads new definition files twice a day, then setting an AVG program's update interval to 30 minutes would not seem very useful.

{QUOTE-> All options you mentioned are possible.

Gerard <-QUOTE}

[gerardwil]

{QUOTE-> Sorry Gerard, I meant how frequent AVG (as a company) would update the definition files on the official update servers. I thought that would affect the update interval that users set within AVG products. If AVG only uploads new definition files twice a day, then setting an AVG program's update interval to 30 minutes would not seem very useful. <-QUOTE}

There is no fixed pattern for update frequencies afaik. In the past it varies from 0-6 daily. And sometimes the time between updates was only a few minutes :)

Gerard

[Green Giant]

This morining (April 12) from the UK, www.ewido.net shows no new database of signatures since April 10.

I cannot believe that the instigators of malware have suddenly stopped, yet no word from the Ewido staff!

[gerardwil]

There is one:

[Green Giant]

Thanks Geraldwil for the info!

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Thanks Geraldwil for the info! <-QUOTE}
Something screwy has been going on with Grisoft since Easter. Support is suddenly slower than usual, updates are not as timely as before. I think its gonna take up to a week to get things back in order.

[jayt]

Well, Green Giant, just to let you know that you are not alone: my AVG antispyware v. 7.5, paid edition, has been updating sporadically. For the last two updates, including today's I had to update by the cumbersome process of downloading the updates from the Ewido networks page, installing them, shutting down AVG, restarting and then manually updating.
Since we were promised a solution by the middle of April (new client?) and since today is April 12th, perhaps this problem will soon be resolved. But I am not holding my breath.

[gerardwil]

Latest 6 updates on this box.

Gerard

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Latest 6 updates on this box.

Gerard <-QUOTE}
And here my AVG remains stuck at 2482. WTF? ???

[Green Giant]

Thanks for the posting jayt. This reminded me to look again at the Updates Forum her on Wilders to find that Randy Bell had kindly posted notice of yet another update - again not downloaded automatically. So again the cumbersome and tiresome process described by jayt.

Has AVG no shame?

[Firecat]

I finally received the 2489 update for the Anti-Spyware engine just now - makes a huge difference in detection rates in my samples. :o

[Chubb]

{QUOTE-> I finally received the 2489 update for the Anti-Spyware engine just now - makes a huge difference in detection rates in my samples. :o <-QUOTE}

I suppose the huge difference would be a surge in detection rates instead of a deterioration. ;D :P

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> I suppose the huge difference would be a surge in detection rates instead of a deterioration. ;D :P <-QUOTE}
What did you expect? :P

[blueoysterdvp]

Add me to the list.Paid version,no updates since April 10.Manually downloaded updates today.5 minutes later I got the message Auto update downloaded successfully.It was the same exact update I just downloaded manually.I haven't had this problem til now.Guess this plague is spreading.

[blueoysterdvp]

Since my last post on this, receiving auto updates again.Knock on wood!

[Green Giant]

Same here blueoysterdvp!

[Green Giant]

Yesterday (Monday April 16) automatic updating appeared to resume, but a few minutes ago, I tried manually updating. This was because today's signatures had been posted on the Ewido web site.

Again the manual update just hung, so another download from http://www.ewido.net/en/download/updates/, close AVG AntiSpyware 7.5, install the full database of updates, restart AVG and then click on update.

I think I was misled when I was persuaded to buy a 'lifetime' licence for this software!

[Perman]

Hi, Green Giant: I have my full ears. I do understand your situation. Are you willing to say a bit about your "misled" experience ? Perhaps I can share some or whole of your grief and grievance. After all, this is the SUPPORT forum, official one too. ::)

[Green Giant]

When Ewido, Germany owned and administered what is now called AVG AntiSpyware 7.5, any problems were answered and dealt with quickly. Now under new ownership, the problem of the software not updating automatically seems intractable.

[blueoysterdvp]

Welcome back to the update plague! To be continued.

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> When Ewido, Germany owned and administered what is now called AVG AntiSpyware 7.5, any problems were answered and dealt with quickly. Now under new ownership, the problem of the software not updating automatically seems intractable. <-QUOTE}
Not only this, but now I find Ewido's support to be lack-lustre. Though I don't send many messages to Ewido's support team (because I am a Grisoft customer), the one virus submission I did send was never replied to. This is in total contrast to the prompt support that is offered by Grisoft on this matter. :(

[acooldozen]

189211

[blueoysterdvp]

Is today another one of those special manual update freeze-auto update arriving late days?

[BrainWarp]

I rarely have a problem with there update.This is a paid version.But today it did freeze when trying to update.Had to shut "down and restart" then it updated just fine.

showing 759,688 right now april 25

[boromeo]

May 1 , no updates yet , last time was yesterday at 6 pm , signatures 765,665 since nothing, and the ewido site is down , Is it the same for you ?>:(

[gerardwil]

765,665 is the correct number.

Gerard

[gerardwil]

And now: 766,571

[blueoysterdvp]

{QUOTE-> And now: 766,571 <-QUOTE}

765,665 here.Last update 4-30-2007.Still waiting for 5-1-2007.

[blueoysterdvp]

And of course after I post the update comes through,766,571.Yesterday though I wasn't that lucky.

[boromeo]

766,571 for me too now but i had to update manually on the ewido site..:thumbd: , it seems the site is workin now but still doesn't make the automatic updates..>:(

[triton54]

This software decided to update today. It hasn't completed an update since April 13th. Wonder if some server work has been started?

[acooldozen]

I'm wondering if the server program could be related to geographical location? I have had no major problems with signature updates with the paid version. West Coast Canada.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v479/pairofhearts/sshot-1-2.gif

[KSFINN]

{QUOTE-> 766,571 for me too now but i had to update manually on the ewido site..:thumbd: , it seems the site is workin now but still doesn't make the automatic updates..>:( <-QUOTE}

Today I received updates by using the update option and not downloading them manually. :thumb: The last time this happened was April 11-2007. Maybe theirs hope yet.

[acooldozen]

Latest signature updates (automatic) is 775.418 May 5/07.

[KSFINN]

{QUOTE-> Latest signature updates (automatic) is 775.418 May 5/07. <-QUOTE}

Yep!! Thats what I got also ( 775,418 ) 8)

[jayt]

Well the saga of automatic? updates continues. For the last few days I have had to update using the cumbersome method of downloading update manually from http://www.ewido.net/en/download/updates/

running update, shutting down AVG Antipspyware, restarting it, and then manually updating it.

I wonder where is the vaunted, promised solution that was supposed to occur in the middle of April? It is the 10th of May here and no solution is in sight. I remarked in an earlier post that {QUOTE-> Since we were promised a solution by the middle of April (new client?) and since today is April 12th, perhaps this problem will soon be resolved. But I am not holding my breath. <-QUOTE}
Good thing I did not. Blue is not my favorite color. ::)

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Well the saga of automatic? updates continues. For the last few days I have had to update using the cumbersome method of downloading update manually from http://www.ewido.net/en/download/updates/

running update, shutting down AVG Antipspyware, restarting it, and then manually updating it.

I wonder where is the vaunted, promised solution that was supposed to occur in the middle of April? It is the 10th of May here and no solution is in sight. I remarked in an earlier post that
Good thing I did not. Blue is not my favorite color. ::) <-QUOTE}
I think it was stated by an ewido representative that the new version will still come, its been delayed due to bugs...

[blueoysterdvp]

Still no update today.Like I should be surprised!

[tigertheboo]

It is May 11. Automatic updates seem to work in the initial boot, but when I try to manually update during the day, the update page appears but it simply seems to hang saying it is downloading updates but actually doing nothing. This seems to be the same situation reported a month ago. I suspect server problems since I have the same problem but intermittently on my three machines each with paid versions of the anti-spyware program.

[flimbag]

Yup, automatic update here today. Now 786,186

[Biscuit]

Paid versions of AVG AS were failing to update at my customer sites in the UK as of 12 May. This is a disaster - I'm getting blamed by my customers for selling them such a load of rubbish! :-[

[blueoysterdvp]

Paid version no auto update in 2 days. This thread is sadly like a broken record!

[Ocky]

Very poor business practice. Many customers that are coming up for subscription renewal will undoubtedly look for alternatives.
The free versions are even worse than the paid versions - compared to other free versions, eg. SAS, just to name one, it's
unacceptable. I have the paid version, and unless some or other solution is found, will not be renewing.

Is Grisoft not concerned in having to present an income statement showing a headline loss and having to explain this to their board ?


Fix the very longstanding and well documented update problems and it's a good product.

>:( :ouch:

[blueoysterdvp]

{QUOTE-> Very poor business practice. Many customers that are coming up for subscription renewal will undoubtedly look for alternatives.
The free versions are even worse than the paid versions - compared to other free versions, eg. SAS, just to name one, it's
unacceptable. I have the paid version, and unless some or other solution is found, will not be renewing.

Is Grisoft not concerned in having to present an income statement showing a headline loss and having to explain this to their board ?


Fix the very longstanding and well documented update problems and it's a good product.

>:( :ouch: <-QUOTE}


That is my only complaint,but it is an important issue.I feel like we've been thrown in the back seat and are second class citizens in the world of Grisoft.I'm a big fan of ewido and like I've mentioned on this forum too many times,when they stopped supporting ewido 3.5 it broke my cyber heart.

[Green Giant]

I had been without an Internet connection for around three weeks until my new PC was installed. At first the paid-for version of Ewido appeared to update itself normally, but today I have had to download the full database, close Ewido, install the database and then click on updates. After all of the adverse publicity wouldn't you think that Grisoft would have some shame in continuing with an imperfect product?

[computerpunk]

Hi, I downloaded the free version of the AVG anti-spyware. Managed to get the update working after a few tries. Have tried previously without success.

Have noticed that a lot of TCP connections were made for the update. After the updates were made, the TCP connections remains.
The connection monitoring was viewed using the analysis tab (connections).

I know that this may sound a bit far fetched but isn't it true that connections are precious resources and shouldn't the number of connections be reduced. And since the connections are not released until after a while, could it be the cause of server resources being held up and that's why not being able to serve other people out there trying to update their version?

[mark5019]

my paid still stuck oh well

[Firecat]

I asked Grisoft a bit about why the new version of AVG Anti-Spyware is taking so long to be released and also mentioned a bit about the update problems and Windows Vista/Windows 64-bit compatibility. After quite a long time (yes, much more than expected) I received a somewhat detailed reply regarding the issue. I will not quote the entire message here but here's the gist of what it contained:

- Grisoft is 100% aware of the problem with Ewido/AVG AS products
- As of today they're working on the release candidate version
- During the development period, several unexpected bugs came up due to which the release had to be delayed, therefore the new version couldn't be released in mid-April as was initially planned
- The new version will have the version number AVG 7.5.1.x
- Currently the new version is in testing and Grisoft/Ewido is confident that this version will be released within 14 days
- Ewido is trying to improve the situation with the updates but a large part of the "fix" will only be achieved with the release of the next program version.

I hope the above information was of some use to all of you Ewido users. I would also like to thank Grisoft and Ewido's support teams for commenting on the matter. If any of you at Grisoft are reading this thread right now, please do note that it is highly appreciated! :)

[lucas1985]

Are there other things in this new build besides a partial fix to the update problem and Vista/x64 support?

[Firecat]

{QUOTE-> Are there other things in this new build besides a partial fix to the update problem and Vista/x64 support? <-QUOTE}
From what I saw in the message, NO, but AVG's other products also didn't acquire any new features with product updates. Most likely all feature work will only be introduced with AVG 8.0, to be released at the end of the year.

BTW, its not a partial fix, the new version should fix most of the update issues.

[lucas1985]

{QUOTE-> BTW, its not a partial fix, the new version should fix most of the update issues. <-QUOTE}
That's great. I misunderstood this sentence:
{QUOTE->
- Ewido is trying to improve the situation with the updates but a large part of the "fix" will only be achieved with the release of the next program version. <-QUOTE}
I thought that a major program release was needed (i.e. AVG AS 8.0)
Thanks Firecat.

[Green Giant]

Although the information to Firecat from Grisoft is welcome, wouldn't it have been courteous for AVG/Ewido to deal publicly with all of the continuing complaints about automatic updates?

Had it not been for Firecat, we should still have been in the dark

[Biscuit]

FWIW They've not told resellers a thing, not that I'm too bothered any more. :dry: