Avast questions

Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.

After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
connectivity.

I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure

I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
to be working very well and I have a few questions:

Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?

The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
benefits of the Pro version?

Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?

TIA

Louise

I've only just started using Avast as well (from F-Secure, stopped using it
as they want another £38 for another year), so I can't answer your questions
about it yet, but I can tell you that the freebie Microsoft Spyware beta
program can stop scripts. The problem though with MS's program is that it
seems to cause a couple of seconds delay on everything you do in Explorer,
opening windows etc. or at least it does on my 2.4GHz 1.25Mb AthlonXP
system.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:11:27 -0400, Louise <> wrote:

>Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.
>
>After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
>connectivity.
>
>I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
>program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
>Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure
>
>I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
>to be working very well and I have a few questions:
>
>Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
>the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
>don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
>days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
>regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?
>
>The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
>version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
>thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
>benefits of the Pro version?
>
>Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
>worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?
>
>TIA

Louise,

Check in Avast Program Settings under Updates. My Avast Definitions update is
set for Automatic, and recently, it's being updated several times / day. You
may want to re-record the update announcement at a lower volume, as I found the
yelling "Database definitions have been updated" to be quite distracting
sometimes.

Script blocking is a good thing to have in a layered defense - Microsoft
AntiSpyware does this too. I'm not sure whether having two script blockers
running simultaneously is a good idea, so this would be redundant for me. If
you don't use MSAS, and if you run IE without IE-SpyAd, script blocking could be
very protective.

Excepting the occasional network load from the Avast definitions client, and the
email and web scanning servers, running in the background, the total load from
all Avast functions is negligible on my system. I leave everything running, and
have had no problems to date.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem - it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

In article <>,
says...
> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:11:27 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
>
> >Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.
> >
> >After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
> >connectivity.
> >
> >I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
> >program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
> >Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure
> >
> >I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
> >to be working very well and I have a few questions:
> >
> >Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
> >the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
> >don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
> >days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
> >regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?
> >
> >The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
> >version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
> >thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
> >benefits of the Pro version?
> >
> >Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
> >worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?
> >
> >TIA
>
> Louise,
>
> Check in Avast Program Settings under Updates. My Avast Definitions update is
> set for Automatic, and recently, it's being updated several times / day. You
> may want to re-record the update announcement at a lower volume, as I found the
> yelling "Database definitions have been updated" to be quite distracting
> sometimes.
>
> Script blocking is a good thing to have in a layered defense - Microsoft
> AntiSpyware does this too. I'm not sure whether having two script blockers
> running simultaneously is a good idea, so this would be redundant for me. If
> you don't use MSAS, and if you run IE without IE-SpyAd, script blocking could be
> very protective.
>
> Excepting the occasional network load from the Avast definitions client, and the
> email and web scanning servers, running in the background, the total load from
> all Avast functions is negligible on my system. I leave everything running, and
> have had no problems to date.
>
>
Thanks for your responses.

I don't use MSAS nor IE SpyAd. I avoid as many Microsoft utilities as
possible - I find them to be bloatware (much like NAV), and usually of
mediocre performance quality as well.

I run Firefox whenever possible but there are times that IE is needed
and I do run it. Therefore, I suspect the script blocking might be well
worth the cost.

I'm not finding a system drain from Avast either. I have turned off the
Virus Recovery Database so as not to drain resources unnecessarily.
I've never had a virus in about 20 yrs of computing (back in the
Compuserve days), and I keep lots of backups.

Are you running the free version or the Pro one?

TIA

Louise

In article <k7-dnR9jIpT1pCPfRVn->, sbrads@nildramDOTcoDOTuk
says...
> I've only just started using Avast as well (from F-Secure, stopped using it
> as they want another £38 for another year), so I can't answer your questions
> about it yet, but I can tell you that the freebie Microsoft Spyware beta
> program can stop scripts. The problem though with MS's program is that it
> seems to cause a couple of seconds delay on everything you do in Explorer,
> opening windows etc. or at least it does on my 2.4GHz 1.25Mb AthlonXP
> system.
>
>
>
I don't see a delay with Avast - therefore probably worth it - at least
that's how I feel right now after using it for less than a full 24
hours.

BTW, I think part of the problem with F-Secure is that they are pushing
their integrated AV and Firewall. They want you to use both. And,
after uninstalling the AV, I cleaned the registry only to discover that
although I only downloaded the AV program only, all the firewall entries
had also been placed in my registry. This made me glad to be rid of F-
Secure.

Louise

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 03:14:17 -0400, Louise <> wrote:

>In article <>,
> says...
>> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:11:27 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
>>
>> >Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.
>> >
>> >After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
>> >connectivity.
>> >
>> >I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
>> >program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
>> >Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure
>> >
>> >I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
>> >to be working very well and I have a few questions:
>> >
>> >Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
>> >the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
>> >don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
>> >days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
>> >regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?
>> >
>> >The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
>> >version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
>> >thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
>> >benefits of the Pro version?
>> >
>> >Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
>> >worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?
>> >
>> >TIA
>>
>> Louise,
>>
>> Check in Avast Program Settings under Updates. My Avast Definitions update is
>> set for Automatic, and recently, it's being updated several times / day. You
>> may want to re-record the update announcement at a lower volume, as I found the
>> yelling "Database definitions have been updated" to be quite distracting
>> sometimes.
>>
>> Script blocking is a good thing to have in a layered defense - Microsoft
>> AntiSpyware does this too. I'm not sure whether having two script blockers
>> running simultaneously is a good idea, so this would be redundant for me. If
>> you don't use MSAS, and if you run IE without IE-SpyAd, script blocking could be
>> very protective.
>>
>> Excepting the occasional network load from the Avast definitions client, and the
>> email and web scanning servers, running in the background, the total load from
>> all Avast functions is negligible on my system. I leave everything running, and
>> have had no problems to date.
>>
>>
>Thanks for your responses.
>
>I don't use MSAS nor IE SpyAd. I avoid as many Microsoft utilities as
>possible - I find them to be bloatware (much like NAV), and usually of
>mediocre performance quality as well.
>
>I run Firefox whenever possible but there are times that IE is needed
>and I do run it. Therefore, I suspect the script blocking might be well
>worth the cost.
>
>I'm not finding a system drain from Avast either. I have turned off the
>Virus Recovery Database so as not to drain resources unnecessarily.
>I've never had a virus in about 20 yrs of computing (back in the
>Compuserve days), and I keep lots of backups.
>
>Are you running the free version or the Pro one?
>
>TIA
>
>Louise

Louise,

I run free everything. For script blocking, in addition to MSAS (which is MS,
and is free) and IE-SpyAd (which is NOT MS, and is free), I use SpywareBlaster
and SpywareGuard, both free.
IE-SpyAd <https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm#IESPYAD>
SpywareBlaster <http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html>
SpywareGuard <http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html>
Layered Defense Details
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/please-protect-yourself-layer-your.html#Layer3>

--
Cheers,
Chuck
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem - it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

In article <>,
says...
> On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 03:14:17 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
>
> >In article <>,
> > says...
> >> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:11:27 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
> >>
> >> >Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.
> >> >
> >> >After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
> >> >connectivity.
> >> >
> >> >I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
> >> >program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
> >> >Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure
> >> >
> >> >I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
> >> >to be working very well and I have a few questions:
> >> >
> >> >Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
> >> >the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
> >> >don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
> >> >days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
> >> >regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?
> >> >
> >> >The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
> >> >version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
> >> >thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
> >> >benefits of the Pro version?
> >> >
> >> >Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
> >> >worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?
> >> >
> >> >TIA
> >>
> >> Louise,
> >>
> >> Check in Avast Program Settings under Updates. My Avast Definitions update is
> >> set for Automatic, and recently, it's being updated several times / day. You
> >> may want to re-record the update announcement at a lower volume, as I found the
> >> yelling "Database definitions have been updated" to be quite distracting
> >> sometimes.
> >>
> >> Script blocking is a good thing to have in a layered defense - Microsoft
> >> AntiSpyware does this too. I'm not sure whether having two script blockers
> >> running simultaneously is a good idea, so this would be redundant for me. If
> >> you don't use MSAS, and if you run IE without IE-SpyAd, script blocking could be
> >> very protective.
> >>
> >> Excepting the occasional network load from the Avast definitions client, and the
> >> email and web scanning servers, running in the background, the total load from
Sounds like you have a very thorough protection system going - and all
free, is even better. Thanks for sharing the information.

Louise

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:17:10 -0400, Louise <> wrote:

>In article <>,
> says...
>> On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 03:14:17 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
>>
>> >In article <>,
>> > says...
>> >> On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 15:11:27 -0400, Louise <> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >Running Win XP Pro SP1, Sygate Pro, a Linksys router and now, Avast Pro.
>> >> >
>> >> >After removing Norton AV, I then had Kaspersky mess up my internet
>> >> >connectivity.
>> >> >
>> >> >I uninstalled Kaspersky and installed F-Secure. A few times, after a
>> >> >program hung and I had to shut down, F-Secure didn't load properly.
>> >> >Considering this too risky, I uninstalled F-Secure
>> >> >
>> >> >I have now installed a trial version of Avast Professional which seems
>> >> >to be working very well and I have a few questions:
>> >> >
>> >> >Avast says it checks for new virus definitions everytime you connect to
>> >> >the internet. Since I have an always on connection (cable), I sometimes
>> >> >don't reboot my machine, thereby reconnecting to the internet, for 2
>> >> >days. Is there a way for Avast to check every few hours, or once a day,
>> >> >regardless of whether I've reconnected to the internet?
>> >> >
>> >> >The Professional version includes script blocking - the free home
>> >> >version does not. It's my impression that script blocking is a good
>> >> >thing to have - is this true or is it unnecessary? What are the
>> >> >benefits of the Pro version?
>> >> >
>> >> >Avast also runs the VDRB generator, "virus recovery database". Is this
>> >> >worth the resources it takes or should I turn it off?
>> >> >
>> >> >TIA
>> >>
>> >> Louise,
>> >>
>> >> Check in Avast Program Settings under Updates. My Avast Definitions update is
>> >> set for Automatic, and recently, it's being updated several times / day. You
>> >> may want to re-record the update announcement at a lower volume, as I found the
>> >> yelling "Database definitions have been updated" to be quite distracting
>> >> sometimes.
>> >>
>> >> Script blocking is a good thing to have in a layered defense - Microsoft
>> >> AntiSpyware does this too. I'm not sure whether having two script blockers
>> >> running simultaneously is a good idea, so this would be redundant for me. If
>> >> you don't use MSAS, and if you run IE without IE-SpyAd, script blocking could be
>> >> very protective.
>> >>
>> >> Excepting the occasional network load from the Avast definitions client, and the
>> >> email and web scanning servers, running in the background, the total load from
>Sounds like you have a very thorough protection system going - and all
>free, is even better. Thanks for sharing the information.
>
>Louise

YW, Louise. Stay safe.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem - it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.