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Regaining access to Avast Antivirus without a password

Avast Antivirus allows you to set a password to protect access to various areas of the application. If you forget your password, you can regain access to Avast Antivirus in two ways. Refer to the relevant section in this article to either reinstall Avast Antivirus or remove the aswResp.dat file.

This article is not related to Avast Account passwords, or the Avast Passwords manager feature in Avast Antivirus. For more information, refer to the following articles:

Reinstall Avast Antivirus

If you are unable to remember your password, you can regain access to password-protected areas of Avast Antivirus by reinstalling the application in Safe Mode.

  1. Start Windows in Safe Mode by following the steps in the article below:
  2. Uninstall Avast Antivirus. For uninstallation instructions, refer to the following article:
  3. Reinstall Avast Antivirus. For installation instructions, refer to the articles below according to your product version:

    After reinstalling Avast Antivirus, you can access the application without a password. To set a new password, refer to the following article:

Remove the aswResp.dat file

If you are unable to remember your password, you can regain access to password-protected areas of Avast Antivirus by removing the aswResp.dat file.

  1. Ensure you are logged in to Windows with Administrator permissions. For more information, refer to the following article:
  2. Start Windows in Safe Mode by following the steps in the article below:
  3. Simultaneously press the Win and X keys on your keyboard and select File Explorer from the menu.
  4. Click the Start icon and select Computer.
  5. Double-click your Local Disk (usually C:) where Avast Antivirus is installed by default.
  6. Enter the file path C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast into the address bar at the top of the File Explorer window.
    If you cannot locate the ProgramData folder, refer to the following Microsoft article to make hidden files and folders visible:
  7. In the Avast folder, locate the aswResp.dat file. Select the file, then right-click it and select Delete.
  8. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog that appears.
  9. Restart your PC. After your PC restarts, Avast is accessible without a password. To set a new password, refer to the following article:
  • Avast Premium Security 22.x
  • Avast Free Antivirus 22.x
  • Microsoft Windows 11 Home / Pro / Enterprise / Education
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Home / Pro / Enterprise / Education - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 / Pro / Enterprise - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 8 / Pro / Enterprise - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic / Home Premium / Professional / Enterprise / Ultimate - Service Pack 1 with Convenient Rollup Update, 32 / 64-bit

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