avast! 7.0 released!

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by RejZoR, Feb 23, 2012.

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  1. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    That's what you usually get for an answer when the opposing side doesn't know how to comment things...
     
  2. Atul88

    Atul88 Registered Member

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    Installed it on 5 PCs... Not even a single problem!!!;) ;) ;) ;)
     
  3. clubhouse

    clubhouse Registered Member

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    Apart from having an issue (persistent scanning) with the final V7... the problem was soon addressed, I've been more than delighted with Avast....And the 'free' version still reigns supreme over all the other freebies...and gives a few of the competitors 'pay for' versions a fair pasting!
     
  4. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    Yeah, the scanning issue is being addressed in teh upcoming update. Which i think should be released fairly soon.
     
  5. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    Someone posted something today that I think clarifies the specifics of what was going on. The person had a user-level Chrome installation before the update from Avast 6 to Avast 7. After the update, his user-level Chrome installation, with all his settings, had been replaced by a system-level Chrome installation, that was installed by the Avast update.
     
  6. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    I had a look at that thread. On my system, where I installed Chrome separately (not part of the Avast bundle) the shortcuts are in the user start menu folders, not the "All Users" folders. Without actually trying this I'm guessing that maybe Chrome in the bundle installs for All Users which could explain what happened. Normally if you install a newer version of Chrome it just updates the existing install without changing any of the user specific settings. It would be interesting if someone could check this out in a VM.

    More generally we come back to the issue of bundling and Opt Out Vs Opt In. For security products in particular "Opt Out" feels like a conflict of interest, but the bottom line is there will be more installs with a default Opt Out. I will only tolerate this in free products.
     
  7. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    The posters have said that when they update only a Chrome install, it never changes the settings, and remains at the user-level. No problems. After the Avast update, it kicked it up a level, and messed everything up. Just another piece of a much bigger puzzle here. I'm used to unchecking toolbar opt-outs, but the issue here is that, depending on which install option users chose (automatic vs custom), some were reporting that either they weren't give the chance to uncheck the Chrome option, or else there was some sort of time limit and if they didn't uncheck it fast enough, the Avast install just went right ahead and installed the system-level Chrome on its own.
     
  8. rhuds13

    rhuds13 Registered Member

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  9. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    It helps a lot for those folks looking for it. But again, not to belabor the point, these links should be made available by Avast itself, but they are not doing it. In fact, users are being told specifically NOT to go back to the last stable version of V 6.xx.

    UPDATE: Today, the same Avast "tech" who clearly stated a few days back NOT to "downgrade" to v 6.xx has just posted a link to v 6.xx in response to a thread asking about using the previous version. He still is advising against it, and there is still no sticky thread containing the link, but the language is not as adamant as it was the other day.

    I was reading the forum at Agnitum's Outpost, and one of the MODS said that some time back, an update or upgrade had problems, and he himself went back to the last working version. It's STANDARD across the board for end users to do that. Yet for some reason known only to Avast, this time honored standard is now being totally stonewalled. That in itself makes me very leery. Why would a company insist that you move on to a non-working version, when there was a perfectly good working version just a couple of weeks ago? Their "beta" "fix" isn't even update-able through the program's normal update mechanism -- you have to use their special uninstall utility first before you can install the v 7 beta. So since you have to go through all of that trouble anyway, why not just provide an easily accessible link to v6, and then once the problems are worked out, let the users update to the new working v 7 through the v 6 update mechanism? Something is just very wrong here. And more and more users are coming to that same conclusion.

    What's interesting is a quote from Avast's CEO Vincent Steckler in a CNet piece:

    Whatever the nature of the threat, the bottom line for Steckler is reduced to Avast's reputation. "It's not just the community, it's the influencers with the community," he said. "If they see that you're annoying their mother or their friends, they're going to stop recommending you. If we've got the choice between near-term revenue or long-term user happiness, we'll go with long term."

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20074379-83/avasts-virus-lab-relies-on-robust-community/

    Obviously, the CEO recognizes the importance of customer satisfaction and word of mouth recommendations in order for his product to continue to succeed. Unfortunately, he is either unaware or indifferent to these goons that post here and elsewhere on Avast's behalf. I've seen more well mannered posters in sports smack forums. They have the audacity to attack posters who are posting on a help forum with legitimate problems, calling them trolls and whiners? It's absurd.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2012
  10. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    I decided to try and figure this out, so in my VM I uninstalled Avast and installed Chrome directly from Google. Then I discovered that I could not find an Avast installer that included Chrome (I hadn't saved my original installer) I tried an older v7 installer from Softpedia, but Chrome wasn't bundled - go figure. For what it's worth I had no problem uninstalling and reinstalling Avast 7 Free in my VM (XP SP3), which only demonstrates that the problems are not across the board.

    The reports you reference from other users are not verifiable. Typically if someone clicks an "express" install they cannot interact further with the process - they are not going to be able to interrupt the installation of any bundled software that they suddenly realize they don't want. The notion of a "time limit" after which the express install proceeds automatically doesn't sound credible. I believe clicking one of the install options implies agreeing with the EULA so I can't see this happening without that user "click". If someone can link to an installer that includes the Chrome bundle I'll revisit this and try to figure out what's going on.
     
  11. TheWindBringeth

    TheWindBringeth Registered Member

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    Hopefully both avast and users will learn from this. I saw an avast guy acknowledge the need to test all installation scenarios (first install, install when version present, *and* program self-update) and he made it sound as though he was going to resurrect an old tool that helped simulate the last one. Perhaps more users will maintain their own library (local copies) of installers just in case one they might need is pulled and/or unavailable due to there being no Internet connectivity.
     
  12. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    You can do whatever you like. Just please don't include me in any more of your responses. I'm really not interested in whatever it is that you're doing. Thanks.
     
  13. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    My mistake. I thought you were interested. Now I know you're not. No problem...
     
  14. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    When I install new software or upgrade to new versions of any software, I save the .exe file in my downloads folder. That way if I want to revert to the last version I uninstall the present version and re-install the previous version.
     
  15. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    He just wanted to vent.
     
  16. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    I do likewise until I'm satisfied with the new release.
     
  17. vtek21

    vtek21 Registered Member

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    Version 6 one time cause windows vista to be not geniue this problem is solved with version 7 ??tnx
     
  18. Vladimyr

    Vladimyr Registered Member

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    Doesn't everyone keep stable releases of their essential software?:D
    (I can send you avast!32 or VET10.6 if you PM me... but that would be ridiculous wouldn't it?)

    Most AVG users I support kept 'version 9' until '2012' came out, completely bypassing '2011' which had issues at release. Some also changed to avast! and others reinstalled AVG 9 from the old copy I had kept.

    I was a pre-beta and beta tester for avast! 7. Any problems I had were fixed in the release and I currently have 13 PCs (that's 9 happy users) with issue-free avast! 7 installs and others who have retained avast! 6 for now.
    Seems there remained some "unknown unknowns" out there in the humongous avast! userbase.

    It would be so easy if everyone in the world could just have the same hardware, Windows version, updates & patches, other installed software of every kind & versions installed, etc, but as the range of possibilities increases, effective compatibility testing is, and will continue to get, harder to achieve than ever before.

    I'm not making excuses for avast!, or any other vendor. I had to take avast! 6 off one of my own PCs for 3 months last year until a rare BSOD issue was isolated and fixed. So now I just remember these things for every new software edition.

    He who innovates is damned for trampling on the "good old" product.
    He who fails to innovate is damned for standing still!

    Always keep the last stable installer.
    Always take a full image backup before "stepping out in faith"!


    Cheers.
     
  19. skbaltimore

    skbaltimore Registered Member

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    All the more reason for Avast to have at least made the last stable version readily available for any users having problems with the new release. That's the point -- along with the Google Chrome issue, and the posters with problems being attacked for listing the problems they've encountered with v 7 -- that many of the Avast Evangelists insist on ignoring. Just read some of the appreciative posts in which the people who WERE given a link to the last stable working version of Avast (from other users, NOT from Avast) voiced their thanks. Had Avast provided its customers with that option, it would have gone a long way in terms of fostering a more satisfied user base despite the current problems with the v 7 release. That's not too much to ask, yet Avast stubbornly refused to provide that most basic common sense consideration.

    So in the final analysis, it involves more than just "is Avast protecting my system?" It begs the question: "Is this the type of company I want to deal with?" And for me, and I am only speaking for myself, as one end user, the answer is clearly "No". There are simply too many other A/V software companies out there to choose from that conduct themselves in a more professional manner.
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2012
  20. JohnBurns

    JohnBurns Registered Member

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    I agree with you - well said!
     
  21. RejZoR

    RejZoR Lurker

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    7.0.1407 is the latest version. I'm not sure to which STABLE version are you refering to when there is no other. I also don't know how users can have somthing more than avast! team itself. There is just the R2 update which is not final yet and as such not recommended. You can install it if you want to possibly fix the issues you're having but the update is not officially finished yet.

    It's not exactly a secret considering you can get it here:
    http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=94790.0

    No one is ignoring anyone, but sometimes even we, the Evangelists or Uberevangelists don't have answers and we just have to wait for avast! programmers to come around. After all it's not us who code the product and have the source code for it, they do.
     
  22. ReverseGear

    ReverseGear Guest

    I for one have never seen any other company's product release a 'PERFECT' release as they have millions of users :cautious:
     
  23. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    We have to realize that there are probably a few million people who use Avast! and the only people who frequent the forum are folks who have problems. Lets say there are 1,000 people accessing the forum on a given day. That's 1,000 out of a few million, and a good portion of the problems posted are issues caused by other software conflicting with Avast, or human error. The rest could be Avast bugs. Not a bad track record.
     
  24. ellison64

    ellison64 Registered Member

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    I agree ...i just dont understand why people who dont trust the vendor ,who has no faith in its product, or support, dont just uninstall it and get something else instead if they think theres something that suits them better, rather than rant why they dont like it? .I tried it for a few days,didnt like it ,uninstalled it ,back with NIS...end of story.
     
  25. JohnBurns

    JohnBurns Registered Member

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    I did the same - I had problems with avast, tried to fix, gave up, looked around and went back to MSE. Peace of mind!
     
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