Avast Antivirus allows you to set a password to protect access to various areas of the program. If you forget your password, you can regain access to your Avast Antivirus program in two ways:
This article is not related to Avast Account passwords, or the Passwords manager feature in Avast Antivirus. For more information, refer to the following articles:
Reinstall Avast
If you are unable to remember your password, you can regain access to password-protected areas of Avast by reinstalling the program in Safe Mode.
- Uninstall Avast. For uninstallation instructions, read the following article:
- Reinstall Avast. For installation instructions, refer to the articles below according to your product version:
After reinstalling Avast, you can access the program without a password. To set a new password, read 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 by removing the aswResp.dat file.
Ensure that you are logged into Windows with Administrator permissions before you begin.
- Start Windows in Safe Mode according to the Windows support article below:
- Simultaneously press the
Win+Xkeys on your keyboard and select File Explorer from the menu.
-
From the START menu select Computer.
- From the START menu select My Computer.
-
Double-click your Local Disk (usually C:) where Avast is installed by default.
- Follow the path
C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avastto access Avast files on your local disk:
If you cannot locate the ProgramData folder in your system, follow the instructions on the Windows support page: - In the Avast folder, locate the
aswResp.datfile and delete it.
- Click Yes in the confirmation dialog that appears.
- Restart your PC. After your PC restarts, Avast is accessible without a password. To set a new password, read the following article:
- Avast Ultimate 17.x
- Avast Premier 17.x
- Avast Internet Security 17.x
- Avast Pro Antivirus 17.x
- Avast Free Antivirus 17.x
- 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, 32 / 64-bit
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic / Home Premium / Business / Enterprise / Ultimate - Service Pack 2, 32 / 64-bit
- Microsoft Windows XP Home / Professional / Media Center Edition - Service Pack 3, 32-bit