Avast! Emergency Update

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 21:01:30 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 14:47:59 +0000, John wrote:

"START"/"Task Manager" click on the Performance tab. Somewhere in
there, near the bottom is "uptime". It should tell you which box
hasn't been restarted in a while.

Out of curiosity, I checked my uptime. It was something like
1:04:24:38.

I don't understand that, frankly. It can't be time since last boot:
that was a week ago. It can't be time since last resume from
hibernation: that was six or seven hours ago. I don't think it's
elapsed time since last boot, disregarding hibernation time, though I
can't be 100% sure of that. I booted last Saturday, and I'm pretty
sure I've been running the computer for more than 28 hours since
then. I did a LOT on Sunday and on the holiday Monday.

My computer indicated 22+ hours since to last restart or shutdown
which I knew to be incorrect.
I did a quick shutdown and restart and it now says the correct time.

Go figure.

Jim

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 21:01:30 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 14:47:59 +0000, John wrote:

"START"/"Task Manager" click on the Performance tab. Somewhere in
there, near the bottom is "uptime". It should tell you which box
hasn't been restarted in a while.

Out of curiosity, I checked my uptime. It was something like
1:04:24:38.

I don't understand that, frankly. It can't be time since last boot:
that was a week ago. It can't be time since last resume from
hibernation: that was six or seven hours ago. I don't think it's
elapsed time since last boot, disregarding hibernation time, though I
can't be 100% sure of that. I booted last Saturday, and I'm pretty
sure I've been running the computer for more than 28 hours since
then. I did a LOT on Sunday and on the holiday Monday.

IIRC

Net Stats svr (or systeminfo) counts time since the computer was last
rebooted. E.g., it looks at the last boot time, the current time, does
some math and comes up with a value.

The task manager uptime counts the time your computer has actually
been running. If your computer goes into sleep mode, the time it is
powered down is not counted.

So if you last rebooted your computer two weeks ago, the systeminfo
cmd will show 336 hours uptime. But if the computer spends 8 hours
each day in sleep mode, task manager will show an uptime of only 224
hours.

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:50:39 -0600, BillW50 wrote:

There is a whole thread on this nonsense (7 pages worth).

Topic: Google Chrome installed without my permission, very annoyed!
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=125379.0

Every time there are users who claim Google Chrome is installed and
every time an equal number of users say it isn't. (I belong to the
latter.)

P.S. I have intentionally set "Program Updates" to MANUAL...
which is supposed to tell avast neither to check for program
updates nor to automatically install them. I find it ironic
that so called "emergency updates" --- in this case, merely a
"migratory preparation" --- can defy this setting.

There are places where I've set avast! up to automatic updates. On my
system, settings were to 'Ask when an update is available'. In both
cases avast! failed. It didn't download automatically where it should
have (even after several weeks) and in my case, a new version of avast!
was installed without asking. My only choice was to reboot. My settings
are now 'Manual update' and I'm very curious what's going to happen with
the next program update.

Topic: Emergency Update 2013-11-21?
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?top...992#msg1064992

I know about this thread; I even responded to it (under another handle).
IIRC the thread was initially about a startup item that wouldn't go away
by itself. The same thing was happening to me and I "solved" it by
uninstalling avast! (using their uninstall tool) and installing it
again.

However, reinstalling created another problem. The whole process froze
on AvastEmUpdate.exe. Apparently, my HOSTS file from mvps.org was to
blame. I still don't know which domain, so I temporary replaced it with
the default HOSTS file and the install went fine. avast! is capable of
creating a back-up of your settings, so a reinstall wasn't such a PITA.

I also remember that avast! officials only reacted /once/ in this thread
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=140730.msg1025160#msg1025160

--
s|b

"s|b" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:50:39 -0600, BillW50 wrote:

There is a whole thread on this nonsense (7 pages worth).

Topic: Google Chrome installed without my permission, very annoyed!
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=125379.0

Every time there are users who claim Google Chrome is installed and
every time an equal number of users say it isn't. (I belong to the
latter.)

I have no doubt and until just recently, I would have been totally on
your side. But those that received the program update (generally Windows
8 users) running an older program version, which gets their program
update (when you tell it manual install or notify only) through the
emergency update backdoor will be the only ones who will probably see
Chrome automatically installed on reboot (you will be not notified that
you need to reboot either). Otherwise I don't think it will ever happen.

P.S. I have intentionally set "Program Updates" to MANUAL...
which is supposed to tell avast neither to check for program
updates nor to automatically install them. I find it ironic
that so called "emergency updates" --- in this case, merely a
"migratory preparation" --- can defy this setting.

There are places where I've set avast! up to automatic updates. On my
system, settings were to 'Ask when an update is available'. In both
cases avast! failed. It didn't download automatically where it should
have (even after several weeks)

I heard of this before and I never saw it on any of my machines.
Although I have seen it on machines that had malware on it. I am not
saying it has to have malware, I just never seen it myself.

and in my case, a new version of avast! was installed without asking.
My only choice was to reboot. My settings are now 'Manual update' and
I'm very curious what's going to happen with the next program update.

That is that blasted backdoor emergency update. As Avast can override
your settings and force you to get updates anyway. The only way to stop
it besides blocking AvastEmUpdate.exe from calling home is to disable it
completely.

Topic: Emergency Update 2013-11-21?
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?top...992#msg1064992

I know about this thread; I even responded to it (under another
handle). IIRC the thread was initially about a startup item that
wouldn't go away by itself. The same thing was happening to me and I
"solved" it by uninstalling avast! (using their uninstall tool) and
installing it again.

However, reinstalling created another problem. The whole process froze
on AvastEmUpdate.exe. Apparently, my HOSTS file from mvps.org was to
blame. I still don't know which domain, so I temporary replaced it
with the default HOSTS file and the install went fine. avast! is
capable of creating a back-up of your settings, so a reinstall wasn't
such a PITA.

Yes I recall somebody was talking about that too. ;-)

I also remember that avast! officials only reacted /once/ in this
thread
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=140730.msg1025160#msg1025160

Yes indeed. :-(

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows Live Mail 2009 v14
Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 4GB - Windows 8 Pro w/Media Center

In message , BillW50
writes:
On 2/22/2014 6:25 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
I was wondering why 30+; are you in the maintenance or retail business
or something?

Yes.

I often think I've got too many computers (meaning Windows
PCs) here, but only four are in anything like frequent use, and I don't
think the total even including possibly non-working ones would reach 15.

The vast majority of mine are still fully operational.

You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

All humanity is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those who
are movable, and those who move! - Benjamin Franklin

On 2/23/2014 3:32 PM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.

Oh yes! I already like Gerry! :-)

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v24.3.0
Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 4GB - Windows 8 Pro w/Media Center

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 10:29:59 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Net Stats svr (or systeminfo) counts time since the computer was last
rebooted. E.g., it looks at the last boot time, the current time, does
some math and comes up with a value.

Not in my copy of Windows (Windows 7 Home Premium). It shows the
date and time of the last boot, but not the elapsed time since then.

This subthread started because the Performance tab of Task Manager
_does_ show elapsed time, but the figure seems wrong to me.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 22:10:36 +0000, John wrote:

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 21:01:30 -0500, Stan Brown
wrote:

On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 14:47:59 +0000, John wrote:

"START"/"Task Manager" click on the Performance tab. Somewhere in
there, near the bottom is "uptime". It should tell you which box
hasn't been restarted in a while.

Out of curiosity, I checked my uptime. It was something like
1:04:24:38.

I don't understand that, frankly. It can't be time since last boot:
that was a week ago. It can't be time since last resume from
hibernation: that was six or seven hours ago. I don't think it's
elapsed time since last boot, disregarding hibernation time, though I
can't be 100% sure of that. I booted last Saturday, and I'm pretty
sure I've been running the computer for more than 28 hours since
then. I did a LOT on Sunday and on the holiday Monday.


I suspect I know what's happened. Your Hibernation wasn't counted. In
Win7 the Taskman uptime is off:


It could be, but I really think I spent more time that that on the
computer since the last boot. I didn't keep a log, so I could very
well be wrong.

On my Windows 7 Home Premium, net stats svr and net stats workstation
seem to give identical information, viz:

Workstation Statistics for \\{my machine name}


Statistics since 2014-02-16 9:40:39 AM


Bytes received 0
Server Message Blocks (SMBs) received 11
Bytes transmitted 0
Server Message Blocks (SMBs) transmitted 0
Read operations 0
Write operations 0
Raw reads denied 0
Raw writes denied 0

Network errors 0
Connections made 0
Reconnections made 0
Server disconnects 0

Sessions started 0
Hung sessions 0
Failed sessions 0
Failed operations 0
Use count 0
Failed use count 0

The command completed successfully.


--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...

On 2/23/2014, J. P. Gilliver (John) posted:
In message , BillW50
writes:
On 2/22/2014 6:25 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
I was wondering why 30+; are you in the maintenance or retail
business
or something?

Yes.

I often think I've got too many computers (meaning Windows
PCs) here, but only four are in anything like frequent use, and I
don't
think the total even including possibly non-working ones would
reach 15.

The vast majority of mine are still fully operational.

You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.

Some how those pictures make me fantasize that I could turn on any one
of those radios and hear broadcasts from the 20's and 30's, static and
all!

Wouldn't that be great?

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message ...

On 2/23/2014, J. P. Gilliver (John) posted:
In message , BillW50
writes:
On 2/22/2014 6:25 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
I was wondering why 30+; are you in the maintenance or retail
business
or something?

Yes.

I often think I've got too many computers (meaning Windows
PCs) here, but only four are in anything like frequent use, and I
don't
think the total even including possibly non-working ones would
reach 15.

The vast majority of mine are still fully operational.

You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.

Some how those pictures make me fantasize that I could turn on any one
of those radios and hear broadcasts from the 20's and 30's, static and
all!

Wouldn't that be great?


It's really true.
Just go to Co and buy some good legal 'stuff' and you will fine out.


--
Buffalo

Buffalo wrote:

and you will fine out.

Is that like feeling fine and spacing out combined? By the way, I live
in the "Mile High" city.

--
Sir_George

In message , Gene E. Bloch
writes:
On 2/23/2014, J. P. Gilliver (John) posted:
In message , BillW50
writes:
[]
The vast majority of mine are still fully operational.

You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.

Some how those pictures make me fantasize that I could turn on any one
of those radios and hear broadcasts from the 20's and 30's, static and
all!

Wouldn't that be great?

Sadly, no - though he sometimes _does_ operate a fleapower pirate
transmitter on the medium wave with music of the period. He says the
authorities will never detect it as a pirate station, because it isn't
broadcasting rap music ...

Though he'd assure you that the sound quality was excellent, no static!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Desperation led me to re-boot absolutely everything, even the cat. - Molly
Romanov in DIST, 2012-2-4.

On 2/24/2014, John posted:
On Sun, 23 Feb 2014 15:18:42 -0800, Gene E. Bloch
wrote:

On 2/23/2014, J. P. Gilliver (John) posted:
In message , BillW50
writes:
On 2/22/2014 6:25 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
I was wondering why 30+; are you in the maintenance or retail
business
or something?

Yes.

I often think I've got too many computers (meaning Windows
PCs) here, but only four are in anything like frequent use, and I
don't
think the total even including possibly non-working ones would
reach 15.

The vast majority of mine are still fully operational.

You'd like my friend Gerry the Museum
(http://www.bvwtm.org.uk/tour/photos1.htm); he makes the same claim
about his collection.

Some how those pictures make me fantasize that I could turn on any
one of those radios and hear broadcasts from the 20's and 30's,
static and all!

Hollywood beat you to it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_%28film%29
Good film. Very well done. I won't offer any spoilers but Herbert
George would have been proud to have done this one.
J.

:-)

But I like my simpler idea better! I'd hate to live through as much as
I read of that movie plot (I stopped in order to avoid too much
spoilage).

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)