Software Updater

Access this feature from: Protection ▸ Software Updater

Software Updater helps keep commonly used third party software up to date to eliminate potential security risks. Malicious threats or attackers often use leaks in outdated software to access your PC. This feature displays the most popular programs installed on your PC and allows you to easily update them.

Note: Software Updater in Avast Ultimate and Avast Premier allows you to configure automatic updates for your applications.

Update software manually

From outdated software list, select one or more applications that you want to update and click the Update selected button above the list.

If Avast is unable to directly download and install an update, you are redirected to the vendor's webpage or another appropriate site to download the update.

Turn on automatic updates

Next to Automatic updates, click the OFF slider so that it changes to ON. This action enables Avast to automatically download and install updates.

Note: This feature is available only in Avast Ultimate and Avast Premier. For all other versions of Avast Antivirus, you will be asked to upgrade at first.

Manage individual applications

Click the down arrow to expand the panel of an application and perform the following actions, if needed:

  • Verify the vendor details, current version and new version of the application, if available.
  • Click Ignore updates to exclude the application from updates.
    Note: We strongly recommend you do not enable the Ignore updates setting, as outdated software is highly vulnerable to hacker attacks.

In each panel, you can also update an application by clicking Update.

Manage settings

Configure your preferences for Software Updater in ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Components ▸ Software Updater ▸ Customize.

Ensure the box next to Enable Software Updater is ticked to access the following options:

  • Allow update of system-wide products for administrators only
  • Automatically download updates if possible
  • Automatically update if possible
  • Notifications (popups) enabled

Read more...

Troubleshoot issues

If Software Updater does not recognize an update:

  • Click the refresh icon in the top-right corner to update information about the displayed application's status.
  • Go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Components and click Customize next to Software Updater. Then click the down arrow to expand the Database reset (troubleshooting) panel, and click the Reset database now button.

You can disable Software Updater from ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Components. Next to Software Updater, click the ON slider, so that it changes to OFF.