Avira made an announcement a few days ago where they addressed that problem somewhat. They mention that they have realized that “users of the free Avira AntiVir Personal had issues fetching the Updates in time recently”. This is not exactly the same issue but it could very well be related.

Avira therefor decided to implement the following two changes: Change the virus definition file format and use a content distribution network.

First, we switch from our current virus definition files (called iVDF) to a new format called nVDF. iVDF consists of 4 VDF files, while nVDF uses at least 32 files – we need to transfer less data for updating our virus definitions effectively in the future.

This means that we need to deliver about 25 MByte to every Avira installation starting today for switching to the new update system. This might lead to some delays for some users, especially for the users of our free version Avira AntiVir Personal. Just to get an idea about what we’re talking here: More than 100.000.000 Users are trying to get the update more or less on the same day. That is more than 2.5 Petabytes (or 2,500 Terabytes) of traffic.

The previous format used four files that contained all the virus definitions of the program. The new format splits those virus definitions in at least eight times that number so that it will take less data transfers to update the virus definition files (it theoretically could slow down as well if a majority of the files need to be updated as this would mean that more files need to be transferred than in the old update system, but that’s just speculation as there are no technical information available about the process at this point).

To ease the bandwidth bottleneck, we decided to additionally use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). We were first testing a CDN built up by our current Internet service provider. Shortly after activating the CDN, the redirectors – which redirect the update requests to servers close to the users location – were overloaded and couldn’t answer the requests anymore. The situation was solved a little later on, but the CDN isn’t big enough yet to spread this huge update in time. So we decided to switch to a global player in the CDN market to deliver the update.

The second change is the use of a content delivery network. Avira is building up their own CDN but had to contract a global CDN company to spread the massive update to all Avira users. It is likely that they intend to switch to their own CDN at a later time.

It does sound like a good plan though although the massive data transfer to bring the update to all Avira users could prove to be quite a challenge. Did anyone already receive the update?

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Luckily though Ghacks reader Dante found a solution for the problem which he send in as a tip to share here at the website. The Avira update problem seems to only affect the automatic update of the antivirus software. What is not affected at all is the manual update process.

To fix Avira Antivir Update problems a user would therefor need to aquire a new virus definition file and update the software manually with it. This fixes the broken automatic update in Avira Antivir:

• Download the latest antivirus definition file for Avira Antivir at Softpedia.
• Bring up the Avira Antivir interface.
• Select Update and there Manual Update
• Use the file browser to select the downloaded updated definition file
• Wait until the update has finished.

The manual update of the antivirus software will fix the broken automatic update in Avira so that it can be used again afterwards. Thanks go to Dante for sending in the tip.

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It should not be a problem to use the license code in Antivir Premium versions that use a different language. It did work the last time I tried it. The online registration form asks for name, email and country. The information send to the email address is also directly available at the website after registration.

Basically an account at the Avira website is created with a six month license for Antivir Premium. The download link for the premium version and the required HBEDV.KEY is directly available in that account center. If you already have Antivir installed uninstall it before making the installation of Antivir Premium.

The Premium version will ask for the HBEDV.KEY file during installation. Just select it from your hard drive and everything should install just fine and without problems.

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The personal free edition of AntiVir 8 has two new features or improvements listed on that page. The first is a raised scan speed which is always nice obviously and the second a redesigned visual appearance. The other versions of AntiVir contain a new system to create Rescue-CDs and the Security Suite a new option to backup data.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is supported now as well and there is an option to choose between software updates and updates of the virus definition lists. The size of the download is roughly 22 Megabytes and it is still possible to perform a software update right after installation which I would recommend.

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The premium version of AntiVir sells for €19.95 (that’s Euro) usually and adds protection against spyware, adware. pop3 email protection and fast updates through premium servers in comparison to the free version. Both versions protect against viruses, dialers, phishing, worms, trojans and rootkits.

Make sure you fill out the form above and download the Personal Edition Premium from the Avira servers.

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