New Avast! Antivirus Database Update Screws Up Your PC!

To All Avast! Antivirus Users (Free Or Pro):

Earlier today Avast! Antivirus sent out an automatic database update for it's AV users. Unfortunately, the update is SEVERELY bugged and flags a large amount of commonly-used (and deemed safe) programs and files as false positives. Most likely, any detected problems today are a result of this and not of something sinister that has infected your system.


If your Avast! has updated its database today, BE WARNED that restarting your computer may make Avast! flag crucial Windows startup files as false positives and cause your system to NOT start. ***DO NOT REBOOT OR SHUT YOUR COMPUTER OFF***


The Avast! developers are aware of this issue and are currently working on a fix. In the meantime, they have issued a statement about the situation, which will follow in the next post of this thread.

Suggestions:

/Uninstall And Temporarily Switch To Another AV Program:

Until this problem is fixed - which should be a day or so - if you are an Avast! user I'd seriously consider /uninstalling it for the time being and switching to another Antivirus program. Personally, I'm going to try Microsoft Security Essentials. It's Microsoft's new antivirus program that was developed for Windows 7, but it's free for download to anyone. It's been getting good feedback and supposedly system resource usage is pretty low.


Disable Avast! Antivirus From Scanning Your Files:

If you are adamant about keeping Avast! installed, as instructed ***don't reboot or shut your computer off*** until an update comes. You can probably get by with disabling all of your Avast! Scanners. (There are seven.) To do this, double-click the icon in your system tray, select each of the seven scanners under the left 'Installed Providers' section, and click the 'Terminate' button for each. Right-click the icon in your system tray and select 'Stop On-Access Protection'.



Avast's Official Statement:

I've been keeping an eye on this thread on the DSLReports.com forums, where lots of Avast! users are voicing the effect this bugged database update had on their systems. Avast's Official Support Forums are being swamped right now and are loading slow, but the statement was copy/pasted into that DSLReports.com thread:

Quote:

Topic: If you are getting virus alerts please read! (Win32:Delf-MZG (Trj)) (Read 159 times) If you are getting virus alerts please read! (Win32:Delf-MZG (Trj)) « on: Today at 02:05:26 AM » The recent avast! VPS update has a serious flaw inside it, various files are being marked as "Win32:Delf-MZG (Trj)". Some of the common files being marked as this false positive include Skype and Spybot S&D. Apart from marking various files as this virus, the new update brought a crippling threat to the windows operating system. Accounts are vague but some are reporting that the new update may hinder the windows operating system's boot. If you have updated Avast! during the last 48 hours do not restart your computer!This is caused by avast scanning the starting files, during this process it will mark a file as hazardous and will not allow you proceed without acknowledgement, being that this is happening during the time in which windows loads there is no possible way to give acknowledgement to the program therefore putting the computer at a standstill.

Here's another thread with Avast! users' experiences on the Wilders Security Forums.


I'll be sure and let everyone know when it's safe to go back in the water.