Problem: Avast update fails and the Avast tray icon has red X on it. If you see this condition, your antivirus is not working, you should immediately call The Computer Guy for service. Do not delay because now you do not have active antivirus protection. Further use in this condition could allow virus infection. If your Avast tray icon does not have the red X on it then your computer does not have this problem, all is fine.

Probable causes are:

• A virus definition update got stuck and avast needs repair.
• A virus infected your computer and disabled Avast.
• Hard drive errors have caused Avast to fail, the hard drive could be failing, immediate attention is required to prevent possible further data loss.

The solution could range from simple to complicated.

One incident that is known to have occurred:
A virus definition update on 01/25/2012 got stuck causing avast to need repair. This did not effect all computers, but I have seen a few of these incidents. If your Avast tray icon does not have the red X on it then your computer does not have this problem, all is fine.