Stand-alone scanners

I apologise if this is not the right place to ask this question or if it is a duplication, but I do not know where else to put it.

Avast AV :- I did download this highly popular AV program and liked it very much.
It met all my parameters including a no-nonsense FREEWARE ticket - no trial period then along comes the guy with the collection box.

I use AVG9. I had to chose between that and Avast. I chose to keep my old faithful and uninstalled Avast.

Question ?
If I download Avast again, can anybody tell me how I can stop it running real time at start-up, so I can simply use it as a stand-alone ad-lib scanner just like MBAM ?

John Bull

 

I agree with stapp, you will bound to get some form of conflict at the least. I know you like Firefox, you may be interested in BitDefender QuickScan 0.9.9.4

 

I'm not sure that can be done with Avast, but I'll let others who know for sure answer that. My thought is that, yes, as said, it will be too easy for a conflict to arise with both installed.

For "second opinions" that won't interfere, try ONE of the following:

1. Hitman Pro. (Yes, I know, you went through that already.)

2. MBAM.

3. SuperAntiSpyware.

All of those above will get along quite happily with the AV you choose.

 

Hi Stapp,
Perhaps not explained enough. What I mean is to have Avast installed, but INACTIVE, just like any other of my dozens of programs. A second AV has no conflict with anything else if it is inactive and subject to manual operation only.

Simple really, when I wish to do an Avast scan, I hit the icon, select the scan and away it goes. No conflict whatsoever. No more than MBAM, A-Squared, Hitman-Pro or many other stand-alone scanners.

It is only when two AV`s are running together real time that any problem may arise. I want Avast to lay dormant on my Desktop until I decide to run a scan. I see no reason why not, Avast is a superb scanner.

My question is how do I stop Avast starting up at start up ?
Programs like these take no notice of any changes in Regedit, they simply over-ride the NO and next time you check, there is a YES. Tried this many times with no luck. It needs more attention than that.

I think the Registry entry/entries for such programs need a tweak. This is why I have posted the question here.

John B

 

For clarification, I think JB could have used the term "on-demand" (as opposed to real time) rather than "stand alone". Sorry I can't answer that question about Avast but thought I could help with the target of inquiry.

 

If you have 2 AVs installed, then their drivers both hook the same global APIs (not necessarily, but in most cases yes). This is the reason for conflicts when running 2 apps that try to do the same thing. It does not matter if one of them is inactive, their drivers are still installed, trying to occupy same OS resources. You can unhook avast! driver (possibly) but that would also disable manual scanning (as AV still has to hook a low-level API to remove malware). So, no, I don't think you will succeed in your intentions. You can try and play, but as I recommended in a thread a while ago, have your image handy.

EDIT: can this thread be moved to "other anti-malware" or possibly "other AVs" so it can get better attention?

 

Hello Dave again,

Thought your BDQuickScan was a really good poke in the right direction. I checked it out, but it is one of those scanners that finds a load of junk in your garage and then tells you to clear it out, so my enthusiasm wilted fast.

But thank you, it was a good try.

John B

 

Yeah, it is a bit limited in a way. It's good for a quick second opinion I suppose. My favourite on-demand scanner is SUPERAntiSpyware.

 

I suggest Emsisoft's EmergencyKit. (previously A2free)
Still free, on-demand scanner with great detection, albeit slow.
It can even be run from a USB key.
Good for a second-opinion AV/Malware software.
(I also use MBAM and Panda Cloud AV)

 

I believe you can do that by doing a custom installation. You should leave
ALL the shields unselected and you ll have Avast as a scanner. John, even
though I am telling you how to do it, I recommend you choose one and only
use one. Using Avast and Avg on the same computer will be troublesome.

Bo

 

Install Avast custom, without all shields, disable self-defense, remove it's windows start-up entry and put it's service to manual startup.

BTW I would advise Avast over AVG for realtime as AVG free has the limited rootkit detection.

Other free on-demand scanners:
Emsisoft Emergency kit
Malwabytes' Anti-Malware
SUPERAntiSpyWare
ClamWin
AVP tool(Kaspersky on demand, scans and removes for free, but can't update so you need to download the new version everytime.)
Dr. Web Cure-it!(Kinda like AVP tool but now from Dr. Web, also free scanning and removal, can't update and this one can't do a full scan, only quick.)

 

drweb cure it can do a full scan. after the quickscan has finished you can lanch a full scan.

 

As always, our posters have given an incredible response. I do like the team I am a member of.

Perhaps this thread is not a good one. My attitude is, that if I download a program, it is MY decision whether to run it, NOT the vendors.

So, I see no reason why I should not download every AV program on the net, disable them from starting up and then choosing a different AV every week. That is called CHOICE, variety is the spice of life. To have an AV or any other program dictate to me that it has to run at start-up is simply not an option - I DECIDE THAT.

So having an assortment of AV programs on my computer that are inactive is no problem at all, they are simply bits of software packed up in storage. My original question was "How to stop them running at start-up". I have tried MSCONFIG and REGEDIT and other controlling programs that should disable these AV`s etc, but they obviously have a built-in command that over-rides my manual adjustments.

Nothing wrong in what I am wanting, simply that I have an assortment of tools and it is ME who decides which to use and when.

If it is beyond the ability of a Forum like ours to come up with a means of stopping such programs running at start-up, then OK, but IT IS POSSIBLE and I will have to find another source for a solution.

Any program that assumes command of MY computer is not welcome.

As always I sincerely thank all the posters for their kind responses.
If somebody does by chance understand my scenario and has a solution, then I will be tremendously pleased to hear it.

John B