• Avast fixes bug that made the June cumulative updates block many programs

    Posted on June 14, 2020 at 08:01 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    Microsoft has officially acknowledged that Avast (one of my least-favorite Windows programs) has plugged a bug that caused many different Windows programs to fail to launch. Per the official Release Information Status page:

    Error when attempting to open any Microsoft Office application

    We have received reports that some users are unable to open apps after installing KB4557957, especially Microsoft Office apps. Affected users might also receive an error, such as, ‘Windows cannot find “c:\program files\microsoft office\root\office16\winword.exe” Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.’

    Affected platforms:

    Client: Windows 10, version 2004; Windows 10, version 1909; Windows 10, version 1903
    Server: Windows Server, version 2004; Windows Server, version 1909; Windows Server, version 1903

    Resolution: This issue has been resolved by Avast. This issue only affected devices with certain versions of Avast or AVG applications and was addressed with an update to their respective products. For more information on this, please see Avast’s forum post here. Note No update is needed for Windows or Microsoft Office to address this issue.

    In fact, as Lawrence Abrams reports on BleepingComputer:

    A component of the AVG/Avast security software causes Image File Execution Options registry entries to be created for various applications that would launch applications through a filter that points to C:\Program Files (x86)\AVAST Software\Avast Cleanup\autoreactivator.exe.

    A recent update broke something in this filter that was causing the programs to not launch.

    I know, I know. People love their antivirus programs. I continue to use, and recommend, Microsoft’s Windows Defender. It’s effective, reliable and free.

    Antivirus Apps, Windows Patches/Security
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