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How to Install latest version of Avast4 workstations.

Posted: Thu 09 Sep 2010, 07:16
by Frank Cox
Avast for workstations does not protect the Linux system. it scans the places you tell it to. I have it installed on this flash drive Puppy ver 431 so I can boot windows systems and clean the viruses and/or copy the data. I also carry a live cd and a flash card in case the windows machine won't boot off USB.

There is a problem in that some of the Linux kernels and Windows 98 as well will not allow the virus files to update because they have become so large.The solution w/puppy is to modify the ~/etc/rc.d/rc.local file.
This is the post on the avast forum explaining how to do it.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=57775.0
Starting with the 400.vps, version 100328-1, one of it's internal block reached the inner limit 33554432 bytes. It's a kernel variable which
is (quite artificially) limiting the maximum size of any SHM memory block - and 33554432 was a default for some kernels.

Solution? Set the limit to higher values (as root):

sysctl -w kernel.shmmax=128000000
OR
echo 128000000 >/proc/sys/kernel/shmmax

Place those lines to /etc/init.d/rcS or equivalent file (it's distribution-specific a bit - see /etc/inittab, the sysinit runlevel) to have them set automatically (just after boot)

jemimah on the PuppyLinux irc channel suggested placing the command in the ~/etc/rc.d/rc.local file and it is working perfectly for me. I had it scan a Windows install and it found no viruses but it did correctly identify corrupted compressed files.

As far as the install I just unpacked the tarball to root and drug the AvastGui on to the desktop. If anyone figures a better way let me know. I have used Avast free edition for years on winders and no worries.

http://www.avast.com/linux-home-edition#tab4