Historical incident: December 2023. This is an archive of the Avira Windows freezing issue, not a notice of a newly confirmed fault in current releases. The report is useful for understanding what the vendor acknowledged at the time. It should not be used to diagnose every subsequent startup freeze.
TL;DR: Avira identified a firewall-related fault and deployed a mitigation. For a computer freezing today, establish the current cause before removing security software.
What Avira confirmed
In its official support notice, Avira said a rare internal-firewall condition prevented new Windows processes from starting on some Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. It reported deploying an update on 11 December at 11:30 CET, temporarily disabling that firewall component. Avira said its antivirus protection remained enabled. This is the vendor’s account, not an incident I independently reproduced.
What this report does not establish
The notice does not provide a measured failure rate, an affected-user total or a complete list of product builds. It is not evidence that every Avira installation was affected or that a present-day freeze has the same cause. We are not assigning a product ranking from this isolated incident.
If your Windows PC is freezing now
Record the Windows version, Avira version, when the problem began, recent updates and any error message. Give those details to Avira support or the person responsible for the computer. They help distinguish an application startup issue from a wider Windows, driver or hardware problem. Avoid changing several things at once, which makes the cause harder to isolate.
If removal is the advised next step, use Avira’s official Windows uninstall instructions for your operating system. The vendor describes removing the application through Windows and restarting afterwards. Check the resulting antivirus and firewall status; do not simply assume that another protection provider has activated correctly.
Editorial correction
An earlier version mixed this Avira report with a Volt Typhoon router-botnet heading and FAQs. Those passages concerned a different subject. They have been removed, along with unsupported usage figures and a blanket recommendation to uninstall Avira.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a new Avira incident?
No. This page records the December 2023 incident. A new Windows freeze needs its own diagnosis; matching symptoms do not establish the same cause.
Was the problem caused by Volt Typhoon?
Avira attributed this incident to its internal firewall. The earlier Volt Typhoon material on this page was unrelated and has been removed.
Should I uninstall Avira if my PC freezes?
Do not diagnose the cause from this historical report alone. Record your versions and symptoms, consult current support guidance and verify protection after any software removal.
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Stuart Kerr Spindlow is Impulsec’s Publisher, Chief Editor and Lead Reviewer. He writes and maintains coverage of consumer cybersecurity and digital-safety software, with a focus on practical suitability, limitations and the evidence behind product claims. Read Stuart’s full profile.