Avira, one of the most popular antivirus programs for Windows PCs, is reportedly causing Windows computers to freeze upon boot-up following a recent Avira update.
The issue is causing affected users to vent their anger and frustration on Reddit and Avira’s own customer forums with most users complaining that their Windows machines are freezing upon start-up right after the Avira application loads up.
This has led many of the users to unsubscribe from the program to avoid the unexpected problem.
“Today, my PC suddenly started to freeze on startup. I tried disabling all background apps until only Avira was left. 2 other people i know had the same issue (both have Avira). Fixed it by going into safe startup and uninstalling Avira. This along with the game booster (that we didn’t enable) causing lag (took forever to figure out the cause) and the horrible support, i will be cancelling my subscription and keeping avira uninstalled,” wrote one Redditor u/kiiniiwiinii.
“So my computer (Win 10) was functioning just fine 2 days ago, I usually leave it running. (I have made no changes to anything) I went to use it tonight and Start completely freezes up and will not load anything,” wrote another Redditor r/techsupport.
Some users are even reporting 100% processor and memory usage during the PC freezing episodes, which only resolves after uninstalling Avira. It seems that the issue is affecting both Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
When BleepingComputer contacted Avira, they said they were aware of the complaints and are currently investigating the issue to find a resolution. They blamed the issue on its internal firewall.
“A recent update from Avira is resulting in Windows 10 and Windows 11 processes not starting. The issue is caused by the Avira internal Firewall under a rare condition,” Avira said in a statement told BleepingComputer.
“The issue was first reported on Friday, December 9, and should be fixed automatically by an update that was deployed on Monday, Dec 11. In the unlikely case that the computer did not receive the update, users can reach out to the Avira support team who is happy to help.”
Meanwhile, if your Windows PC is affected by the Avira issue, you can reboot your Windows into Safe Mode and then uninstall the Avira antivirus program by going to the Control Panel app > Programs and Features > Uninstall a program.
Once the uninstallation is complete, restart your PC, and the Windows operating system will automatically enable Microsoft Windows Defender on your system to protect it from malware in the absence of antivirus software.
