avast ahoy

[rube]

can anyone help me remove avast from my imac. it won't uninstall or launch or delete but runs a bunch of services every 10 seconds, contacting the mothership or something. i tried redownloading and installing and uninstalling to no avail. it removes the new download but the old pieces are still running running running. tia

6/17/13 10:36:40 AM
com.apple.launchd[1] (com.avast.daemon[2706]) Exited with exit code: 16/17/13

10:36:40 AM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.avast.fileshield[2708]) posix_spawn("/Library/Application Support/Avast/fileshield/com.avast.fileshield", ...): No such file or directory

etc

i have downloaded 2 app removers (app zapper & app be gone????) but they were no help.

 

[Slydude]

Haven't used this program (Avast) so I can't say for sure that it works but try the procedure in this video.

 

[rube]

that was for a pc, but thanks for the try. i am writing to avast to see if they can help me. i think they now have an uninstall option, but they did not when i installed it a few months ago. i am extemely frustrated to find out it is constantly running.

 

[rube]

the uninstall option does not work with mine, because parts of the program were already removed.

 

[RadDave]

Hi Rube - I used avast! on my previous Windows Vista laptop - nothing on my new MBPro - as you probably know these AV programs can be a pain to remove and often software removal tools from the specific website is needed!

If not already done, I would visit the support area of avast!, e.g. link below is one FAQ that may be of help to you? Also, there is a support forum of users which would be worth a search and/or a post? Good luck - Dave

avast! Support | FAQs

 

[Slydude]

that was for a pc, but thanks for the try. i am writing to avast to see if they can help me. i think they now have an uninstall option, but they did not when i installed it a few months ago. i am extemely frustrated to find out it is constantly running.

Ignore the ad at the beginning of the video. That procedure is for a Mac. As for whether it works or not I am not sure. I've never run Avast.

 

[rube]

was that an ad lol. i thought it was the video. I will give it another look. i have seen several solutions on the web but none so far has helped. I will check it out and let you know if it works.

 

[rube]

to rad dave,

Yes! How insane! Can't get rid of it. I opened a ticket on avast and am off to view the video skydude suggested. i downloaded it because i thought i had a virus. i think the virus would have been easier to eliminate.

 

[rube]

i just started the video. unfortunately avast no longer launches for me so i can't follow those directions. i think that is why i can't remove it.

i have reinstalled it and deleted it a few times today, but the old pieces never go away. i can't trash it and i can't turn it off.

i could try reinstalling it, following those steps, and see if that will help. it could make it worse. then again i dont' have anything to lose. let me check if avast got back to me. i think they are struggling with the problem too.

 

[rube]

Well whaddaya know. It worked!! With a little improvisation and a few reboots. I reinstalled, went to the video, did what he said and turned off the 3 shields. I noticed there was also a web shield which he said nothing about.

I use mozilla so I looked at my add-ons, and there was an add-on for avast which i had disabled. So I had to reenable so I could uninstall it and there was also an avast add on for Safari (which I almost never use) which i had to uninstall. Then I was able to uninstall the new avast i just installed. Afterwards I was able to trash the remnants of the old avast and it stopped running. I am not sure if everything was predicated on everything else, but bottom line, i am avast free!!!

If I can return the favor, like maybe you need something (written, edited, graphical, etc) speak up, i may be able to help. And I thank both of you for yours!

I noticed I have all these akamai services also running in my console every 10 seconds. Do you know if that is something that is supposed to be running. Is it normal to says "bug" "throttling" "respawn." Should i post it to a new thread.

I noticed your coffee quote, and I was dreaming about this after waking and hopefully there is a cup in my not too distant future. Bulletproof Coffee (I try to follow a primal lifestyle where eating butter and beef is good and pasta and most fruit is bad. Even so, i have to admit that is ultimate coffee)

 

[Slydude]

Don't drink coffee much anymore though I used to drink a cup or two almost every day. I put the sig there because I know a few folks who will agree to almost anything before that first cup of the day.

Glad you got the Avast things removed. Sounds like it was a real pain.

 

[rube]

Yes. Thanks.

I searched the web about getting rid of the akamai services and found this.

Uninstall Akamai Download Manager and com.akamai.client.plist

I tried to locate the files to remove them but could find nothing. Finally the last solution worked for me. I went into the terminal and pasted in
launchctl unload -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.akamai.client.plist

I am hoping my mac runs cooler now. I do run smc fan but it is starting to heat up anyway, and that has always been the beginning of the end for me. i often wonder if the heat is the end game to drum up business. I mean, can't they easily put more fans on the inside. i bought this mac used, from a fellow who went back to using a pc. probably because the mac was running hot and he was really a pc person and not familiar with smc. pc's run hot too. maybe if i keep a fan pointing at the back of the mac i can extend its life and mine.