Can I run Smadav and Avast? Potential conflicts and how to solve them

Tekno Pedia - While you technically can run Smadav and Avast on the same machine, doing so without proper configuration almost invariably leads to a series of debilitating system conflicts that undermine both performance and security. These conflicts, ranging from resource contention to contradictory security alerts, can be avoided, but only through deliberate intervention. This comprehensive guide will precisely identify these potential conflicts, explain why they occur on a technical level, and provide the step-by-step solutions to resolve them, allowing you to use both tools in harmony.

Imagine a finely tuned symphony orchestra. Every musician, every instrument, has a distinct yet coordinated role. When the conductor gives the signal, they play in unison, creating powerful, coherent music. Now, imagine placing a second conductor on the stage with a completely different score, demanding the musicians play conflicting notes at the same time. The result is not richer music, but chaos—a cacophony of dissonant noise that ruins the entire performance.

This analogy perfectly captures what happens when you install Avast and Smadav and simply let them run with their default settings. They are both powerful security instruments, but without a conductor (you) to clearly define their roles, they will play conflicting notes at the very heart of your operating system. Understanding the nature of this dissonance is the first step toward transforming the chaos into a coordinated security symphony.

The Root of All Conflict: The Battle for Real-Time Control

Before we can dissect the specific conflicts, we must understand their root cause. Nearly every problem that arises from running two antiviruses stems from one core function: real-time protection.

Both Avast and Smadav are engineered to be your system's primary protector. To do this, they must integrate deeply into the Windows kernel, using what are known as "file system filter drivers." Think of this as the single highest-level security checkpoint that every file must pass through before it can be accessed. When you run both in active mode, you are effectively placing two sets of uncoordinated guards at the same checkpoint, which leads to three primary categories of conflict.

Conflict 1: The Resource War—A Drain on Your CPU and RAM

This is the most immediate and noticeable conflict that every user will experience. It is not just a matter of your PC feeling a little slower; it is a significant performance tax on every action you take.

The Cause of the Conflict

• Redundant Scanning: Every time you click a file, download an attachment, or launch a program, both antiviruses will scramble to be the first to scan it. Your CPU is now forced to do the exact same security work twice, effectively halving the resources available for your actual tasks.

• Race Conditions: This scramble to be the first to scan a file can create "race conditions," where each program may lock a file while it is scanning it, preventing the other from accessing it. This can lead to tangible application freezes and delays.

• Memory Duplication: Each antivirus loads its massive virus definition database into RAM for fast scanning. They do not share this data. As a result, you are dedicating two large blocks of your system memory to what is largely overlapping security data.

The Solution

The solution to the resource conflict is to decisively eliminate the redundancy.

• Designate One Real-Time Protector: Choose one program (Avast is recommended, due to its more comprehensive scope) as your sole real-time protector.

• Completely Disable Smadav's Real-Time Protection: Go into Smadav's settings and turn off every active shield or toggle. This transforms it from a constant background process into a passive tool, eliminating the CPU and RAM drain.

Conflict 2: Digital Friendly Fire—False Positives and Quarantines

This conflict is more insidious than a mere slowdown because it can actively undermine your security posture. It occurs when the two antivirus programs begin to view each other as threats.

The Cause of the Conflict

An antivirus, by its nature, behaves like sophisticated malware. It hooks deep into the operating system, monitors the activity of other programs, and intercepts files—all hallmarks of a Trojan infection. As a result:

• Cross-Detection: Avast's advanced heuristic engine is highly likely to detect Smadav's real-time processes as suspicious, malware-like behavior and attempt to quarantine or disable them.

• Quarantined Definition Files: Smadav, in turn, may flag Avast's large and frequently updated signature database files as a potential threat, attempting to block them.

• Alert Fatigue: Your system will begin to bombard you with constant security alerts. Cybersecurity experts, as often cited in reports from the SANS Institute, warn that alert fatigue is a real threat. Users become so accustomed to the false alarms that they start ignoring all alerts, including the one that signals a real security breach.

The Solution

The solution here is to create a digital demilitarized zone by configuring mutual exclusions. This formally tells each program to ignore the other.

• Create an Exclusion in Avast for Smadav:

  1. Open Avast and navigate to Menu > Settings > Exceptions.

  2. Click "Add Exception".

  3. Browse to and select the entire Smadav installation folder (usually in C:\Program Files (x86)\SMADAV). This tells Avast to never scan or flag any file within this folder.

• Create an Exclusion in Smadav for Avast:

  1. Open Smadav and navigate to the Settings tab.

  2. Find the Exception List section.

  3. Add the Avast installation folder (usually C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast). This ensures that during a manual scan, Smadav will not mistakenly flag Avast's components.

Conflict 3: System Instability—Crashes and the Blue Screen of Death

This is the culmination of the first two conflicts and is the most damaging risk. When the resource war and digital friendly fire escalate, the stability of your entire operating system is put in jeopardy.

The Cause of the Conflict

• Driver Corruption: Both antiviruses are trying to control the same file system filter drivers. This conflict at such a low, kernel-level is a common cause of hard system freezes and the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). The operating system essentially becomes confused by the conflicting commands and shuts down to protect itself.

• Forced Service Termination: If one antivirus "wins" a battle and manages to terminate or quarantine a critical service of the other, it can destabilize other dependent processes in Windows, leading to a cascade of application errors.

The Solution

The solution to system instability is a strict implementation of the first two solutions combined. By (1) having only one real-time protector and (2) setting up mutual exclusions, you completely eliminate the root causes of kernel-level conflict. The operating system now has a clear set of instructions from a single security authority, restoring stability.

Your Action Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Harmony

To bring this all together, here is a clear, actionable plan to resolve every potential conflict.

1. Designate Your Commander: Choose Avast as your primary, always-on antivirus. Verify that all its Core Shields are active.

2. Neutralize the Second Agent: Open Smadav. Navigate to the "Protect" tab and systematically disable every real-time protection toggle. Confirm that its main status now reads "Protection is OFF."

3. Halt the Automatic Launch (Advanced): Open the Task Manager, go to the "Startup apps" tab, find Smadav, and disable it.

4. Negotiate a Peace Treaty: Open the Exception Settings in Avast and add the entire Smadav program folder. Open the Exception Settings in Smadav and add the entire Avast program folder.

5. Reboot Your System: Perform a full restart to ensure all changes are correctly applied.

Ultimately, the question of whether you can run Smadav and Avast is not about if it is possible, but if you are willing to actively manage their relationship. Leaving them to their own devices is a recipe for inevitable conflict. However, by taking the proper steps to define their roles, establish boundaries, and resolve potential conflicts before they start, you can transform a source of chaos into a coordinated security asset. You turn two competing conductors into a harmonious orchestra, with each instrument playing its part at the right time to protect your digital world.