Avast on Natty 64 bit?

[jdunn]

I tried this guide (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=781251) for installing Avast. It has worked for me on past versions of this distro. The guide does not seem to work for Natty. I'm not sure why but I noticed the libesmtp5 package is a dependency for Avast but the package does not exist in Natty. I can get Avast to run and to scan using the default virus signature file but if I try to update the signatures, Avast displays an error message and quits. Does anyone know how to get this working?

Please do not ask why I'm trying to install anti-virus on linux. I have a dual-boot system with Vista...which I transfer files between. I also access thumb-drives and I am using a few Wine applications. Hopefully, that explains enough.

[howefield]

Seeing as I am reinstalling next Thursday anyway, I installed Avast as per the guide and it seems ok, have you tried updating via terminal ?

If I use anti virus, I'd normally use Bitdefender which has a 64 bit version available.

[jdunn]

Seeing as I am reinstalling next Thursday anyway, I installed Avast as per the guide and it seems ok, have you tried updating via terminal ?

If I use anti virus, I'd normally use Bitdefender which has a 64 bit version available.

I updated through terminal and get no error message during the update but when I tried to run Avast: can not initialize avast engine: invalid argument

BitDefender sounded like a good alternative until I saw the license has to be renewed every month.

[billyfish010]

Hi I am using Bitdefender and I can assure you the licence only needs updating yearly. When you initially install Bitdefender it gives you 30 days to get a yearly licence for free.

[jdunn]

Hi I am using Bitdefender and I can assure you the licence only needs updating yearly. When you initially install Bitdefender it gives you 30 days to get a yearly licence for free.

Oh. Then now I have a choice to make. I found what may be the cause of my Avast problem and how to fix it here (http://forum.avast.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=6oan7f26ole1i24d1p1rr0ptf5&topic=57775.0). However, if Bitdefender has a year license and is 64-bit, I may go with that instead. The downside is I never liked Bitdefenders interface.

[yetiman64]

I updated through terminal and get no error message during the update but when I tried to run Avast: can not initialize avast engine: invalid argument

BitDefender sounded like a good alternative until I saw the license has to be renewed every month.

Please check this thread - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1518040&highlight=avast

Post number 9 has the fix for that. The problem is the Avast definitions file is too big for the default kernel shmmax value (shared memory) in Ubuntu.

Edit: I'm on 64 bit Lucid and installed Avast with "sudo dpkg --force-architecture", with the necessary 32 bit libs installed first. The additional fix in the link is required as well.

[billyfish010]

Hi Jdun I agree with that I don't particularly like the interface but I use Bitdefender because it is easy to install and use. I used to use Avast when I had 10.04 installed but just never got around to reinstalling. To be honest I ran for months with no protection whatsoever and got no viruses but thought I should protect my computer no sense in taking unnecessary chances.

[howefield]

BitDefender sounded like a good alternative until I saw the license has to be renewed every month.

As others have said Bitdefender is no more onerous than Avast in terms of a free licence, ie, no more than an annual email is required.

License page is here, (can be "awkward" to find..)

http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Products/ScannerLicense/

In any event, looks like you have a fix for Avast and have it installed, so the easiest option would be to keep it.

[jdunn]

Please check this thread - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1518040&highlight=avast

Post number 9 has the fix for that. The problem is the Avast definitions file is too big for the default kernel shmmax value (shared memory) in Ubuntu.

Edit: I'm on 64 bit Lucid and installed Avast with "sudo dpkg --force-architecture", with the necessary 32 bit libs installed first. The additional fix in the link is required as well.

Thanks Yetiman. I already found that fix (see the link in post #5) but I just switched to BitDefender anyway.

[yetiman64]

Thanks Yetiman. I already found that fix (see the link in post #5) but I just switched to BitDefender anyway.

Ok, you're welcome, I must have missed that bit of info in post 5. Cheers. :)