Antivirus software is an application program that is bought or downloaded from websites to prevent a computer from being attacked by different forms of virus, spyware, worms, Trojan horses and other infections. These threats may harm the hardware and software components of the system and make the system slow and unresponsive to commands that you put in. Some of the popular forms of antivirus programs that continue to have a high demand are Norton Antivirus, McAfee and Avast.
Antivirus programs no doubt are extremely useful in keeping a check and eliminating new types of virus that find their way into computer networks; however, they can also have drawbacks. They can degrade computer performance and inexperienced users who have never understood the basics of using such software may have a hard time dealing with them. The programs often prompt users to make several decisions; and if incorrect decisions are made on the part of the user, it may lead to security breach.
One of the famous Antivirus programs that have gained importance in past few years is the Avast Antivirus. First released in 1988, it incorporates anti-spyware technology, and anti-rootkit and self-protection abilities. The program also has several other features, the most important being automatic incremental updates. It regularly updates both the program and the virus database that is used to identify potential threats, and this process is automatic by default. Whenever the virus definitions are updated or a virus has been detected, it comes up with a voice warning.
How to disable Avast Antivirus
In case you wish to disable the antivirus for any reason, there are specific steps that are required to be followed.
Step 1: Right click on the Avast Antivirus icon on the taskbar, which is located at the bottom of your home screen.
Step 2: Select the option called ‘Access Protection Control’. Then you would be required to enter the same password that you had chosen while installing the program. After entering the password, click on OK and you would be taken to the scanner window.
Step 3: Now click on ‘Terminate’ in order to disable the Avast Anti-virus protection and email scanning.
Step 4: To terminate, click on OK to confirm and save changes.
You can also go through the following steps in case you want to disable Avast Antivirus permanently.
Step 1: In the notification area of your toolbar, right click on the Avast Antivirus icon. The notification area can be found on the right side of the toolbar.
Step 2: Go over to the ‘Avast Shield Control’ option of the right click contextual menu. The menu then expands and offers additional options. There you can select ‘Disable Permanently’ for turning off all Avast protection shields.
Step 3: Click ‘Yes’ and this would confirm that you want to put an end to Avast protection.
Despite it being a great Antivirus program, some inexperienced users may not find it very comfortable to use on some computers. Others may want to disable it for trying out any different protection software.
