security – TechKnownet

Avast, the free internet security software, is a very useful tool to have on your PC. It protects you from viruses, malware, spyware, and other online threats while simultaneously allowing you to browse the internet safely. While Avast is reliably regarded as one of the best antivirus software programs for PCs, it's not entirely immune to bugs and errors. In this article we'll be taking a look at some common problems that cause Avast to fail to launch and how you fix them. As a general guide, Avast will not open or launch if there has been an installation error, automatic update error issues, no subscription or change of subscription status. 1. Avast Will Not Open After Windows Update Error One of the most commonly reported problems with Avast not launching is when there's been an error with the Windows update process. If you have just updated your PC, or you have just installed updates to Windows, then this is one of the most common causes of Avast issues. These problems usually manifest themselves with an error message saying that the old version of Avast has stopped working and needs to close. To resolve this problem, you will need to uninstall your existing copy of Avast (this can be done via the control panel) before reinstalling it once Windows updates are complete. 2. Avast Won't Open Due To Problems With Internet Connection Your internet connection is the lifeblood of your PC. It connects you to all kinds of websites that contain information, entertainment and even work tools. Avast Ransomware Protection detects ransomware before it can do any harm to your data. With many different causes for why Avast not working , one of them is due to a problem with your connection If your issue is that Avast won't start up at all, there are a few things to check. First off, try restarting your computer and see if that helps. If it doesn't then you'll most likely have to configure the program using the " Run as administrator " option which is accessible from the Windows Start Menu. To do this simply right-click on the Avast shortcut and select " Run as administrator ". If this still doesn't work, you may also need to run an anti-virus scan using a different program as well as doing a complete PC scan using online virus software. 3. Avast Not Launching - Problems With Product Key / Activation Code If your Avast product key has expired or is no longer registered to your account, Avast will not launch. When you install Avast it saves a digital copy of your license information on your computer. If this gets out of sync with the data stored on their servers then there is a chance that Avast may fail to open or work correctly. The solution to this error is simply to re-activate your Avast software and ensure that the product key is up to date. First off, check that you are running the latest version of Avast on your computer. If not then you'll want to update it first before proceeding as older versions may be more prone to errors such as these. Once updated, open Avast and go to " Protection " followed by " Subscription ". From here, you should see an option called " License Information ". Clicking on this will take you through to a new screen where you can re-enter your product key. 4. Problems With Automatic Updates & Scheduled Scan Issues Another problem that may cause Avast not to launch is when there are problems with an automatic update or scheduled scan. You can check on the status of your Avast updates by going into the " Protection " section and then press " Update ". If you have a manual, daily or weekly scheduled scan set up in your settings then this may also affect Avast from launching. To resolve this, you will need to remove the scheduled scan that is causing the launch error before Avast can start. 5. Problems With Third-Party Security Software & System Files If your issues are not due to the product key or automatic updates then it may be because there's a problem with another security program on your computer. During an antivirus scan your computer may slow down considerably for a few hours or longer depending on the size of files that are being scanned. If you're running Avast alongside other antivirus programs then there's a chance that this could affect Avast not opening correctly. The solution to this problem is one of two things, either disabling your secondary antivirus program or adding Avast to the exclusion list. If you choose to disable your secondary antivirus program, you will still need antivirus protection on your computer for when Avast isn't running (it doesn't protect you when it's turned off). If you don't want to take that "risk", then add Avast to the exclusion list of your other antivirus program. 6. Avast Is Not Responding - System 'Not Responding' Error A common problem that you may come across with Avast is one where the program just hangs and say it's not responding. There are a few reasons why this may happen, such as poorly written third-party software, a problem between your screen resolution and graphics card or if you have too many programs open at one time causing a memory leak. You may experience this problem more often on older computers with less powerful processors and not enough RAM to go around. To resolve this issue, try closing other programs that are running in the background before launching Avast. Another solution is to disable your screensaver or power management settings. Doing this may help Avast launch normally if there are problems with the programs that control these processes on your computer. 7. Scanning Problems: Not Scanning Every File, Can't Scan Cloud Files & Other Issues You're having issues with your scheduled scan not running when it should, or problems with Avast not scanning specific files in your system. If you're having issues with it not scanning particular files then this may be due to the type of files that Avast is set to scan. To resolve this problem, go into " Protection " and then press " Active Protection ". From here, click on " Customize " and then navigate to the section that says " Scan Files, Cloud Items ". If you're having problems scanning files from your cloud storage service, or if Avast isn't scanning every file in all of your drives, then this is where you can change these settings. 8. 'Cannot Connect' Problems - Firewall Issues If you're having problems with Avast not connecting, whether it's with the update server, its CommunityIQ service or online banking protection then this may be caused by a firewall issue. A common problem that users experience is when they have certain ports blocked. This can stop Avast from making a secure connection to send and receive data. To resolve this problem, you will need to allow the following connection in your firewall rules: http://www.avast.com/i-009 If you're using Avast's paid Antivirus Pro or Premier versions then there are a few more ports that may need to be unblocked : https://pro.avast.com:443/ http://*.update.avast.com:8089 https://*.update.avast.com:8089 https://prosupport.avast.com:80 If you're still having problems connecting with Avast after unblocking these ports then the following may also be helpful : To configure your firewall to allow Avast to update its virus definitions and software, go into your main Avast interface and then select " Protection ". Now click on " Firewall ", followed by " Program Control " and finally add the following program: avast! updater To configure your firewall to allow Avast WebRep to collect data from your browser , go into your main Avast interface and then select " Protection ". Now click on " WebRep ", followed by " Program Control " and finally add the following program: avast! webrep Note : If you're still having problems after adding these programs to your firewall, then try adding them under their respective headings. This means that if you added them under " Program Control ", then you will have to repeat this process by moving them under the heading of " Network Protection ". As you can see, Avast internet security software has a wide range of features that are designed to protect you from potential problems. Whether it's detecting known viruses, protecting your data or preventing advertising software from tracking what you do online, Avast is guaranteed to have the perfect solution for you. When I needed help and online identity protection, I went out looking for internet protection software with feature-rich yet affordable. But what I didn't know was that with Avast, you can get started for free and upgrade your internet security on per need basis. All I did was go to Avast website and download the free version and started using it. The rest is history as I have been using the paid versions of the software ever since. Having downloaded and used the free Avast software way back, little did i know how quickly it would become an indispensable part of home and business computer usage. Today, Avast has evolved and offers premium features like anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, home network security, file and mail shields with HIPS protection to boot. As you may already know by now, Avast does not need any manual updates when a new virus is released. It automatically detects the threat using its cloud-based vulnerability scanning technology and releases