Holy crap, Avast...

[Diggs]

Set Avast to "Gaming mode" and uncheck sounds.

My only exception is during Avast's "Talk like a pirate" month (LOL), but I haven't seen that in years. Always got a chuckle - "Aye Matey! Scuttle them thar viruses..."

But, that's one of the problems with switching to Avira. Gaming mode is only available on their paid/Pro version so the popups are back. I tell my clients to upgrade their AV if it bothers them.

 

[cypress]

Wow that is definitely a new thing i have seen with Avast. Taking up that much space? Incredible.

I think I will start looking elsewhere for options on another Anti-virus. Once the MAV of Emsisoft comes out for Kabuto I will be switching over to that. No more Avast.

 

[CLC]

Client called saying their hard drive was completely full. I know I've said it before, but seriously, I think I've just about had it with Avast. A 400GB temp file? Insane.

I had this same thing happen with kaspersky, the debugging feature was on I think. It was quite a while ago so don't quote me on it.

 

[JoeTech]

I would use Bitdefender Free because it is lightweight, doesn't have any fluffy unneeded features or has any upgrade popup ads. Only problem is after 30 days you have to be logged into an account. People hate creating accounts and even worse at remembering them so when people started getting logged out of bit defender free and calling back about it, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of more support calls over it.

I have been trying panda free because it doesn't have a lot of unnecessary features, doesn't try to overtake your browser like avg does and doesn't require an account after 30 days. It does have popups similar to avira that pop up a few times a day in the bottom right hand corner but haven't locked up or crashed a pc in win 7/8/10 so far.

 

[jzukerman]

I've had AVG fill up a client's harddrive before, in the temp folder filled with definition files I assume. Annoying to say the least.

 

[carmen617]

I've actually seen lots of weird things fill up client's hard drives. Among others, Google Earth, Norton Backup (automatically backing up the same drive it's resident on, for crying out loud), and I had a client with a MacBook Pro with a 500 GB drive that was full - turns out there was a 380GB AOL folder in her mail library.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

Strange. I use Avast qutie a bit. Never have seen it act that way. Not saying it does not, I've just never experienced that.

 

['putertutor]

Wow. That's pretty awesome! Avast was my goto free av for a while, and I hadn't run into this either. Something to look for during future scans I suppose.

 

[seedubya]

I've never understood why techs use free AV programs. If you look at your AV comparisons - pick your site - you'll never find a free AV in the top 3. Why would you recommend anything less than the best to your clients. Eset - Bitdefender - Kaspersky. I'm an Eset guy YMMMV.

 

['putertutor]

I've never understood why techs use free AV programs. If you look at your AV comparisons - pick your site - you'll never find a free AV in the top 3. Why would you recommend anything less than the best to your clients. Eset - Bitdefender - Kaspersky. I'm an Eset guy YMMMV.

I'm right there with you. I never recommend a free AV, and at this point I don't think I've installed one for a long time. There is the occasional customer (fixed income, unemployed, etc) for whom just my regular fees are a big part of their budget. For them I will install the freebies. But for most everyone else, if they turn down Kaspersky, I tell them they are free to install avast on their own and I won't support any free AV spftware.

 

[TechLady]

The G+ thread. I particularly love the brilliant suggestion that antivirus isn't necessary at all.

 

[glennd]

The G+ thread. I particularly love the brilliant suggestion that antivirus isn't necessary at all.

That would be true if the computer lives in isolation or any town close to it....

 

[Diggs]

I've never understood why techs use free AV programs. If you look at your AV comparisons - pick your site - you'll never find a free AV in the top 3. Why would you recommend anything less than the best to your clients. Eset - Bitdefender - Kaspersky. I'm an Eset guy YMMMV.

I keep seeing this statement come up again and again.

I use free AV sometimes because that is what my client/customer has requested and not all of them are ignorant. They especially loath being upsold on something they believe is unnecessary. We discuss the issues and if they want free AV I'll install it for them and they will pay me for my time.

 

[carmen617]

I keep seeing this statement come up again and again.

I use free AV sometimes because that is what my client/customer has requested and not all of them are ignorant. They especially loath being upsold on something they believe is unnecessary. We discuss the issues and if they want free AV I'll install it for them and they will pay me for my time.

I agree. As someone who supports home/end users part of my value added is saving them money. Advising them on which system to buy, when to upgrade vs. when it's time to replace, and whether it's worthwhile to pay for an AV or if a free one is sufficient, is part of how I build trust with my client base. Some clients are happy with OpenOffice, some won't be satisfied unless they have the full Office 2016 suite - same with A/V. I'm not a corporation that automatically upsells my client base on whatever AV product I have a contract with this year - I actually want to be able to make a recommendation that's best for their particular situation.

 

[cypress]

I am done with Avast on Windows 10. Although I haven't had these issues yet I don't want to risk it. Just did a clean install on a Windows 10 machine that came in for botched Windows update previously. System was nuked and paved now and all set up. Calling the client to let him know its either Kapersky or not Anti-virus at all. lol.

 

[Krynn72]

I've never understood why techs use free AV programs. If you look at your AV comparisons - pick your site - you'll never find a free AV in the top 3. Why would you recommend anything less than the best to your clients. Eset - Bitdefender - Kaspersky. I'm an Eset guy YMMMV.

I wonder what difference in the results Bit Defender's free AV is compared to the one tested in AV Comparatives. Its the only free one I recommend to people because, surely it uses the same definitions and all, right?

 

[phaZed]

How-To Geek - Beware: Free Antivirus Isn’t Really Free Anymore

Avast's Secure Web Browser Was Anything But Safe - Exposes C: Drive to Internet

 

[TechLady]

Avast's Secure Web Browser Was Anything But Safe - Exposes C: Drive to Internet

Like I said, I dunno what they're smoking in Prague...

 

[phaZed]

Like I said, I dunno what they're smoking in Prague...

Dunno. If ya ask me, a few joints at the board-room table might be a good thing... they need a different perspective on the situation!

 

[Larry Sabo]

AVAST Premium bit another customer of mine today. HP AIO running Windows 8.1, slow as molasses in January and no internet access. It was stuck on Public Network and I tried every fix in the book, the last of which (Homegroup/Network troubleshooter) said it successfully changed it to Private network but it didn't really, even after a reboot. Argh! Uninstall Avast on principle and it's fixed. I should start with uninstalling Avast as step 1 on every problem from now on. Installed Avira AV Pro and he's set to go. What a bloody waste of time.