Problems with the popular free antivirus Avast have long been known. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that Avast does not start, despite the presence in the system of the installed current version of the security application and the latest anti-virus databases. The reasons for this phenomenon can be very many, but then we will try to consider the most common ones. Based on this, several simple solutions will be proposed that will restore the protection of computers from external threats.
Why does Avast not start?
The most common situations that have been identified by both users and experts in the field of cyber defense are the following:
- antivirus does not work due to shutdown of protective screens;
- there is no protection due to exposure to viruses (alas, this also happens);
- the program does not start after updating to the current version;
- unavailable user interface;
- antivirus does not work after installing system updates.
The simplest methods to restore protection
Of course, these are far from all known cases when Avast does not start. Nevertheless, the elimination of the problems that have arisen should begin precisely with them. First of all, you should check the system for viruses using some portable scanner (the KVRT and Dr. Web CureIt utilities are best!). What is the reason for the use of such programs? Only by the fact that it’s a sin to concede that the Avast antivirus itself belongs to the category of security software that can detect only simple threats and not serious rootkits or trojans. Self-defense, which is available in all anti-virus applications, is here against such threats is powerless. That is why some viruses can also damage Avast antivirus components.
If no threats were detected on the computer, but Avast does not start even after that, the package can be restored to functionality by going to the programs and components section of the Control Panel, mark the antivirus in the list and click the delete / change button on the top.
After that, in the anti-virus management window that appears, you need to choose just not a removal, but a fix. Upon completion of all actions, the computer should be rebooted and the program checked.
Note: just in case, through the PCM menu on the antivirus icon in the system tray, check if all security screens are turned on, since the restored program can inherit the current settings.
What to do if Avast does not start after the update?
However, quite often you can encounter problems that arise when updating the modules of the antivirus itself. In particular, this was noticed when switching from the sixth to the seventh version.
Since in this case Avast does not start solely due to an internal failure, the update to the current modification must be done manually, having previously uninstalled the obsolete version using the special Aswclear utility, restart the computer, and then install the new version yourself, after downloading the installation distribution kit from the official website the developer.
Note: since very often updating of anti-virus components may be accompanied by a black screen instead of the “Desktop”, at the system boot stage it will be necessary to select the safe mode using the F8 key (in Windows versions higher than the seventh, you will first need to enable legacy boot via command string).
How to restore user interface login?
Another problem related to the fact that Avast does not start is that the protection seems to be active, but the user cannot access the application settings. This situation can be corrected by activating some Windows services.
To do this, you need to use the corresponding section (services.msc) in which you need to find the terminal service, enable it and set the automatic startup type. Then on the same component through RMB in the menu you should select the mode of all tasks and activate the start line in the additional menu.
Similar actions are performed for the background transfer service. After rebooting the system, access will be restored.
Problems with Windows Updates
Finally, the behavior of the antivirus can be affected by updates of the operating system itself, installed automatically, but recognized by the antivirus as undesirable software (false positives for Avast are also seen very often). It is possible that the updates themselves are not installed correctly, so for starters, you should turn off protection and perform a manual search with the subsequent installation of all found packages.
By and large, despite the rather high popularity of Avast among ordinary users, in order to avoid problems and conflicts, it is strongly recommended to get rid of it by installing other more powerful and reliable software after complete removal.