If you haven’t updated your Avast application version in a while, chances are the issue is occurring due to an old bug that ended up affecting Avast Free and Avast Security. This problem was resolved by Avast at the beginning of 2019, and you can take advantage of the fix by installing the latest available version of Avast. In case the problem started occurring after a machine interruption or after a failed application update, chances are you are dealing with some type of corruption that cannot be resolved conventionally. If this scenario is applicable, you can use the built-in repair function to troubleshoot and heal the application. However, there are also two types of program conflicts that might cause these types of event viewers. The first one involves using Avast Security Browser with the default AV suite (Microsoft Defender). The second possible problem can be caused by Nvidia ShadowPlay when it doesn’t release the Registry Keys before shutting down. In both of these cases, you can fix the issue by uninstalling the conflicting application.
Method 1: Update Avast to the latest version
As it turns out, back in 2018, there was a whole surge of Avast Helper Error 1316 after Avast pushed a quality-of-life update that ended up increasing the memory and CPU usage of Avast Free and Avast Security. A lot of those affected users complained that whenever the usage went up, the Event Viewer filled up with events pointing towards the Error 1316. Several affected users that they managed to resolve the issue by forcing the Avast installation to update to the latest version. Here’s a quick guide on updating your Avast version to the latest build (Avast Free or Avast Security): If you’re still having the same issue, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 2: Using the built-in repair function
If you’ve only started to encounter this issue after an unexpected machine interruption or after a failed application update, it’s possible that you’re seeing this error due to a partially corrupted application installation. Several affected users have managed to fix the issue by running the built-in repair function that all Avast products have built-in. You can run it directly from the application and it’s really effective in fixing most local issues that will end up triggering the Avast Helper Error 1316. Here’s a quick guide on running the built-in troubleshooter in order to repair the Avast AV product: In case the same problem is still persisting, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 3: Uninstall Avast Secure Browser
If you’re using Avast Secure Browser, keep in mind that it’s one of the most frequent culprits that is known to trigger the regular Avast Helper Error 1316 entries in Event Viewer. As it turns out, the issue is most likely occurring due to a conflict between Avast Secure Browser and the default security product on Windows 10 (Windows Defender) or a different 3rd party antivirus. The majority of users encountering this problem have reported that they’ve managed to fix the issue simply by uninstalling the Avast Secure browser. If you’re looking for a good alternative that doesn’t conflict with Windows Defender, you should consider Brave browser: Here’s a step by step guide on uninstalling Avast Secure Browser: In case the same issue is still occurring, move down to the next potential fix below.
Method 4: Uninstalling ShadowPlay (or similar application)
In case you are using an AVAST product but you also game regularly and you use ShadowPlay (or the ShadowPlay functionality included with Nvidia Experience), chances are the event is caused by an app (ShadowPlay) that does not release the Registry Keys before shutting down. In some cases, this particular issue will occur due to the fact that an application like ShadowPlay runs in the background and doesn’t release it’s Registry keys when a user signs off. This behavior will end up forcing Windows to unload the registry. This issue should have no other meaningful impact to the users other than rare cases where recent configurations changes will not get saved (but this happens very rarely). Although there are no other repercussions (other than frequent Event Viewer entries), you can stop new events from appearing by uninstalling ShadowPlay conventionally. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this:
[FIX] ‘The Specified Account Already Exists’ (Error 1316) in InstallShield…How to Fix Unknown Error on Avast when UpdatingFix: avast Blocking League of LegendsFix: aVast Unable to Start Firewall
