Automatic update in Windows NT %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Problems %%%%%%%% Update of the program requires administrator rights allowed. It's because it rewrite some of the system files in winnt/system32 directory, it can even install services or drivers and can require access to network, because it needs to download update files from network drive. Avast can be started in Windows NT in different conditions. 1) Engine runs as a service Engine of avast is ran under the system account, with the rights of administrator. Update can proceed, but engine will have no access to network drive and will not download the update files from it. 2) Engine doesn't run as a service, the user runs it, who is not administrator Engine will have access to network as the logged user have. With good setting the core could download the update files, but the update will not proceed, because the user is not administrator. 3) Engine doesn't run as a service, administrator runs it itself In this case, the update will proceed without problems. Present solution %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 1) It is possible to download update files from ftp or http server (if in the INI file is set: UpdateUseInternet=1). This solves the problem, when the program cannot access network. 2) It is possible to have the update paths set on local directory and copy inside the update files on each NT station. This also solves the problem with the network inaccessibility 3) Update is made by AvUpdate.exe program. This program is therefore possible to launch by, for example, MS Task Scheduler from MSIE 4.0 under the user account, who is local administrator and also have the access to network. It is needed to add path to files using the UNC (\\server\path) and set the intervals to the level, when the update will not proceed. in task scheduler the enter this : avupdate.exe /gui /Update=SecurityUpdate still not working avupdate.exe /gui /Update=TaskUpdate avupdate.exe /gui /Update=LicenseUpdate avupdate.exe /gui /Update=FileUpdate avupdate.exe /gui /Update=AvsUpdate avupdate.exe /gui /Update=SpUpdate Program avupdate.exe will take the path setting from INI file. New solution %%%%%%%%%%%% From June 2000 is with Avast32 3.0 installed a new service AvUpdSvc, which takes care of update. AvUpdSvc serves just for launching the AvUpdate program with specific parameters from the setting in Avast32.ini. AvUpdate is not ran by the engine (program avServer). The update is therefore not inflicted by the running or not running engine as a service. AvUpdSvc needs for its work to know the username and password of the user, in whose profile the AvUpdate program should run.This user must have rights to access the network and must be a member of Administrators group. We recommend to create a special user in domain for the needs of update of Avast.Username and Password are located inside the DATA/asw32u.dat file. The file is created like this: avupdsvc /user Usename password avupdsvc /user Domain\Username password We strongly reccomand to create this file before the installation of Avast32 on client machines. Install Avast32 on one computer. Select the user, in whose profile the update will proceed. Using the AvUpdSvc create file asw32u.dat for this user. Save this file into the directory with the install files of Avast (in this directory the setup.exe program should be located). After the installation, this file will be copied into the DATA directory. Upgrading to Jun2000 and you wish to use the automatic update %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%%%%% If you are a user that maintains his computer himself, only thing to do is to run after the installation: avupdsvc /user Domain\Username Password If ou are network administrator, create asw32u.dat file and copy it on all Windows NT machines in Avast32\Data directory. If you want to use update using the MS Task Scheduler, you can turn off the AvUpdSvc service. If you were using update in way of copying the update files on local machines and launching avserver, which ran as a service, no changes are needed. Note %%%% In path to update files is needed to enter the path to shared folder on Microsoft network using UNC (\\server\path), because service doesn't have access to the mapped drives. We have experimentally found out, that in windows NT 4.0 is possible to update through Novell drive, but in Windows 2000 works just update through Microsoft network shared drive. Changes in Jul2000(build 261) ver. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% User, whom account you enter during the installation doesn't need the administrator rights. Under this account only copying of files take place, so it is just needed for this user to have access to network. Changes in Aug2000(build 276) ver. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Program AvUpdate tries to copy files "as it is" in first place, that means, under the system account. If it is unsuccessful, it tries again under the account of the user now logged in, if that is a failure too, it tries the account saved in asw32u.dat file. That means that asw32u.dat file is not needed in most situation.