Avira/Avast conflict?

I have been using Avast Pro for a number of months, no problems with it. I read from a link i got on this forum for an impartial testing of antivirus software
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
where it showed that Avira caught 69% of the virus and malware and Avast caught 42% in their testing. So i downloaded Avira free version, did an up date and a scan. Nothing was found. But since then I have had 2 alerts from Avira. They are as follows: (for one i hit delete, the next time deny access) All this in just the last half hour.

Virus or unwanted program 'TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen [trojan]'
detected in file 'C:\WINDOWS\Temp\_avast4_\unp192872719.tmp.
Action performed: Delete file

and

Virus or unwanted program 'TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen [trojan]'
detected in file 'C:\WINDOWS\Temp\_avast4_\unp245720853.tmp.
Action performed: Deny access

Is this just a confick between 2 antivirus programs? Or is it actually something? Also Superantispyware just finished a scan and found nothing. If the alerts come back from Avira, which option is best to hit?

 

Hi there,
It is common knowledge that installing 2 antivirus simultaneously can be dangerous to your system. Problems could range from conflicts, false positives, and sometimes the system can crash so badly that it might need a reinstall. if I were you I'd try to uninstall Avast first if you want to test Avira, and decide later which one you want to keep. Avira's detection is probably a false positive.

 

Thank you for your reply. Do you recomend one of the two over the other. There seemed to be such a big difference in the percentage of what was stopped.

 

I would stick with Avast! Professional Edition, my opinion is that Avast! is more dynamic in protection. Also the new version, Avast! 5, is on the horizon

This test shows that Avira and Avast! are almost equal:
http://www.virusbtn.com/news/2008/09_02


HKEY1952

 

Thank you for your reply. At the first link i was using, i was not looking at the "on demand" test results, which i guess is more reflective of what real world results would be. In that section it was 99.6% for Avira and 97.6% for Avast detections.
So they are both very good.

 

Just a suggestion: if you uninstall one of these AVs, use the company's uninstaller, a regular Windows uninstallation leaves too much behind.

 

Yes, good advice Fly, uninstall program/s through Windows Add or Remove Programs, Reboot, then run the appropriate removal/uninstall tool per venders instructions.

Avira AntiVir Removal Tools:
Look for: Avira AntiVir RegistryCleaner in the list
Dated: 11 Feb 2008 - Version : 7.0.0.8
http://www.avira.com/en/support/support_downloads.html

Avast! Uninstall Utility:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-uninstall-utility.html


HKEY1952


EDIT: Edited for clarification

 

I don't know anything about Avast except that it is improving consistently with every test. If you paid for the Pro version of Avast, stay with it. It is also against the rules at Wilders to compare two AVs directly, and ultimately you should follow your own judgement.
Why not add a virtualizer or a sandbox? No AV on its own will give you maximum protection.

 

Hi there,
I think that your link " Avira Removal Tool " is really a program which will clean a system from malware:

I have uninstalled Avira many times in the past, and it really doesn't leave anything behind.

 

Simply exclude "C:\WINDOWS\Temp\_avast4_\" from scanning in the Avira Guard. Avast seems unable to lock their temp files while unpacking programs. Nice to know if you want to abuse it for unpacking programs.

 

In the list of Downloads is an tool called Avira AntiVir RegistryCleaner, an description of that tool is in the list below that:

Avira AntiVir RegistryCleaner
Dated: 11 Feb 2008 - Version : 7.0.0.8
Description: Normally the Avira RegistryCleaner removes all entries that were created by AntiVir.
In this way, it prepares your system for the installation of a new AntiVir version.

Yes, the Avira AntiVir Removal Tool
Dated: 04 Jun 2009 - Version : 3.0.1.17 is an Virus removal tool
I should have been more specific.


HKEY1952

 

You are perfectly right! It is good to know there is such a thing, perhaps the wording from the Avira site should be more specific. Out of curiosity, I have uninstalled Avira on my Vista machine several times now, and I just ran the tool that you mentioned to see what was left behind: not one single entry (I will certainly use it in the future on my XP machine, just to make sure).