unable to update my avira please help Closed

Question

Hello,
i have a serious problem in updating my avira free anti virus, the last time i was able to update was in 5 February 2010 after that day and when i started update i have a message that says : " the updates are being downloaded", but after about a minute the updater disappears from the screen without installing any update. i tried to update many times but i still face the same problem. please i want your help to solve this problem. thanks in advance.

Ambucias · Answer

Hello Kareen,

Your machine may be infected by a virus which blocks antivirus.

You may try to uninstall and reinstall Avira but that would leave you without protection during the process.

Could you please download Hyjackthis and post a log here?  We could then see what we can do.

You can download Hyjackthis from this site:

http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/

Run the application and from the main page request a scan and save a log.  At end of the scan the log will open, copy the log and post it here.

Regards

Ambucias · Answer

Hello,

Here is the problem related to punkbusters:

D:\WINDOWS\system32\PnkBstrA.exe   This a process that must be stopped.

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file)  This a registry to be deleted.

Close any currently running games that use PunkBuster. Open the Windows Task Manager by pressing "Ctrl, "Alt" and "Delete" together. Click the "Processes" tab. Scroll down and click "Pnkbstra.exe." Click "End Process" to stop this program from running.

Click "My Computer" on the desktop and double click the "D:" drive. Double click "Users" and double click "Appdata."

Click Local > Punkbuster > WAW > Pb. Right click "Pnkbstra.exe" and click "Compatibility." Place a check on "Run this program as an administrator" and click "OK" to save the changes. This action will bring the program to the Services window.

Click the Windows Start > Run. Type "services" (without quotes) and press "Enter" to open the Services window. Scroll down the Services window and double click "PnkBstra" or "PunkBuster." Click "Disabled" on the "Startup-type" window and click "OK" to save changes. Punkbuster will be removed from start up and will no longer run.

Run a scan with Hyjackthis, once the scan is over, check this key

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file)

Click on Fix checked,   Hyjackthis will warn you that it is about to remove a BHO, tell it that you know what you are doing :)))

Finally,  please download and install Malwarebyte and do an update

Do a FULL system scan

You may download it from this site:

https://ccm.net/downloads/security-and-maintenance/4621-malwarebytes-anti-malware/

Then try updating Avira.  If Avira updates and you believe that your computer is cleaned and working normally, 

•Turn off system restore and wait 30 seconds, 
•Turn it back on and create a new restore point. 

This way it gets rid of anything bad that might have gotten saved in a restore point and you have a clean restore point to use in the near future if needed. 
Do not turn it off until your computer is clean and working normally because you might need to use it if something goes wrong during the clean-up process. 
It is better to go back to an infected restore point if something goes wrong then to not be able to undo changes that were damaging.

Let me know if this did the trick for you.

Best regards

Ambucias · Answer

Hello Kareen,

How did you do?

kareen125 · Answer

hi, unfortunatly all the attempts to solve the problem have failed, i'm going to replace avira with another antivirus, which one you think is the better? thanks very much.

Ambucias · Answer

Hello Kareen,

I am afraid that replacing Avira may not solve the problem.

1.Have succeeded in removing the Punkbuster process?

2. Where you able to delete the BHO?

3. Did Malwarebyte find anything?

If the above tasks were accomplished and that Malwarebyte did the job, before looking for replacing Avira, I would suggest that you uninstall and reinstall Avira.

If the Punkbuster process is still present you may have similar problems with another antivirus. So before installing another antivirus...

I suggest you run another scan with Hyjackthis and see if these two entries are still present as shown in your previous Hyjackthis log:

D:\WINDOWS\system32\PnkBstrA.exe 
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {5C255C8A-E604-49b4-9D64-90988571CECB} - (no file) 

The following entry is considered to be adware and may cause pop-ups to appear while browsing.  I hope that Malwarebyte picked it up.

If the above entries are still present, I suggest that we consider alternative solutions to remove them.

As I mentioned above, if your computer is cleaned of any malware, you just might need to uninstall and reinstall Avira.  Should you wish to replace it, Kioskea has plenty of suggestions for you on this link:
https://ccm.net/downloads/security-and-maintenance/

Let me know your results and I will be happy to help you further.

Ambucias · Answer

Hello Kareen,

As I took another look at your Hyjackthis log, I thought of one more thing you can try for there may be a bug with your Microsoft System Installer. (MSIexec)

Please Kareen, try the following.

1. Click on start and then on run.
2. Type cmd and click ok

A window with a black background will open

3. Type
msiexec.exe /unregister
Press enter

4. Type
msiexec /regserver
Press enter

Try updating Avira

If Avira fails to update, please refer to this Microsoft tool to repair your MSI

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/290301

Please let me know it this worked for you.

P.S. The above is withstanding my previous recommendation about the BHO entry and the possible risk with Punkbuster

Unable to update my avira please help

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