avast

A Windows bug patched last month had been exploited for six months by hackers linked to North Korea. Microsoft reportedly knew about it and the delay in fixing it may have been down to internal bureaucracy. Security company Avast found the bug last ... August and reported it to Microsoft. At the time it was already a zero-day bug , meaning there was evidence hackers not only knew about the bug but where taking advantage of it. That meant Microsoft had "zero days" head start in coming up with a fix and rolling it out before hackers exploited it. Microsoft released a fix in the February "Patch ... (view more)

Mozilla has removed security tools from Avast and AVG from the Firefox extension store. It says the tools are collecting too much personal data about users. The extensions are third-party tools for the Firefox browser that add extra functionality to ... web browsing. In this case, the advertised purposes include highlighting and blocking malware that could be downloaded, and warning users when a page may be part of a phishing attack. That's where a user is tricked into typing in personal details into what they think is a legitimate site. Mozilla acted after online posts by Wladimir Palant, who ... (view more)

Microsoft has blocked users of some security software from updating Windows 10. It's also spotted some problems with specific WiFi drivers. The good news is that although the Windows 10 problems are with the well-known Avast and AVG security tools, ... it only affects older versions. Specifically the problem comes if the software is from version 19.5.4444.567 or earlier. (Source: techradar.com ) Since Avast! also owns AVG, the version number is the same for both engines. Automatic Updates On Hold Microsoft hasn't said exactly what the compatibility problems are, but has put a block on automatic ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Frank G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently installed AVG antivirus and made the mistake of paying for the upgrade to premium, which has slowed my computer down considerably. I've since canceled my subscription and reverted back to ... AVG free (per your recommendation). I now cannot uninstall AVG Secure browser . Each time I try, it says it's removed, but it's still there. I've tried everything I can think of to remove AVG Secure Browser, but it seems I'm stuck with this steaming pile of poo. To make things worse, it automatically loads every time I reboot the machine like it's ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve P. writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently my computer updated to Windows 10 October Update (2018). Since then, Avast antivirus reports that ' You are unprotected '. I have tried disabling and re-enabling Avast, but it doesn't help. ... I have also tried to uninstall Avast (in hopes of reinstalling it), but the uninstall hangs near the 99% mark and will not progress. When I abort the uninstall, it says ' You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Avast '. I have already verified that my user account has administrator access. I have tried updating avast but received an error ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kevin L. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been researching the best anti ransomware software for 2018 and came across your website. I was wondering if you had any recommendations? While searching for the best anti ransomware software ... (free), many websites have their own opinion on what anti ransomware software is the best, but most require a paid subscription. What is your opinion on the best anti ransomware software for PCs? " My response: I've answered this question in depth before (in a round about way) with my guide on How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps . This ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jerry C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I took your advice on antivirus and tried to install Avast! using minimal settings, but the install fails with an error message ' Avast cannot be installed into the folder you entered (directory not ... empty) '. I have searched for the answer to this but no one seems to know the answer. Can you help? " My response: I asked Jerry if he would like me to connect to his machine using my remote desktop service and he agreed. I have not seen this error message before, and tried running the "Avast Uninstall Utility" to clean up any left-over remnants ... (view more)

Users of the popular CCleaner optimization software have been urged to immediately update the program. The software was recently compromised by hackers for almost a month, though it does not yet appear they did any damage. The warning to update is ... particularly important because CCleaner doesn't automatically update - though it does tell users when a new version is ready. The compromised versions were the 32-bit editions of CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 . User who currently have these versions should uninstall them immediately, then get the latest copy from the website of ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Peter F. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks so much for your newsletter. I've been a long time subscriber (about 10 years now) and enjoy reading your Windows tips. I took your advice some time ago regarding antivirus software, and have ... been using Avast antivirus (free) ever since. I have never had an issue with it - except for today when Avast popped up with an 'Avast Software Updater' notification in the bottom right hand corner near the clock. I have never seen this notification before. When I clicked on it, Avast opened up with a new window with the title 'Software Updater' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gord F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 but every time I run the upgrade, it fails with an error message: '0x8007002cf - 0x4000d - The installation failed in the second_boot phase with an error ... during migrate_data operation,' then reverts back to Windows 7. I have tried upgrading 3 times but it keeps failing. I don't know what to do. Can you help? " Update 20200116 : I'm getting a lot of emails from folks asking for help with this problem now that Windows 7 has officially reached its end of life as of January 14, 2020. If you need help ... (view more)