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Avast! antivirus let me choose whether to load its services before or after other system services.

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I noticed that by unchecking that box (and letting avast load first) the system boot hangs and it is slower to load, while if I check it and let the system load its own services, the boot is smoother. The latter seems to be the best option, at least from the performance point of view, but I'm a bit concerned about security.

Now, being a feature included in the antivirus software, I prone to think that also from the security point of view there would be no problems to do so, but still, I wonder if loading Avast services after all other system ones could leave open a possible time-frame where I'm not protected against malware.

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    If its an option in the security software itself there is no security risk.
    – Ramhound
    Commented May 11, 2013 at 11:35
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    Not necessarily, Ramhound, it's not like anti-viruses are bullet-proof, this might offer a security risk by allowing infected processes to run before avast, I think it's a genuine concern. It might not, though. This isn't answerable unless one knows exactly how the software operates, which would require having access to the source code. In any case, having an anti-virus is like protecting yourself from the sun with a strainer.
    – Alex
    Commented May 12, 2013 at 22:39
  • seems there as a troubleshooting option only?
    – Joep van Steen
    Commented Jan 28, 2023 at 13:54

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Being on the fact its on the troubleshooting page, its likely that there are known issues with loading Avast before the system services. It makes sense that its slower loading the system services after Avast, as Avast is doing AV checks on those services - they are executables. It is probably "safest" to have Avast load first, unless you feel you cant live without the speed. Is it safe? Not as safe as loading before the system services, but should be adequate.

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Loading your antivirus after the system services is generally a bad idea. This could allow a virus or any malware to be executed before your antivirus and profit from the fact that your antivirus isn't executed yet to do some damage to your computer. If the malware is advanced enough it can even target your antivirus directly and deactivate it...

You can think of it a bit like this:
Let's imagine that you live in a very dangerous neighborhood... Now you are entering your house after a day at work and you are hungry, so is it better to lock your door behind you immediately or is it better to just wait after you are done eating dinner?

I think the main reason for having this option is to allow the operating system to load a bit faster but unless your computer is extremely outdated it shouldn't take more than a few extra seconds to load the antivirus before everything else.

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