Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: HeDiBo on November 19, 2013, 04:50:46 PM
-
Avast Online Security provides green checkmarks for links to websites considered safe. But if the mouse hovers over such a checkmark, a large green "This site is safe" popup appears, blocking quite a portion of the page from view.
Is there any way to disable this popup from appearing? In most cases the checkmark should be sufficient.
If there is an obvious answer, I appologize for not finding it myself. :-[
-
The only way I know of is to disable the "avast online security" add-on.
Right click on the icon in the upper right hand corner of your browser. :)
-
The only way I know of is to disable the "avast online security" add-on.
But as you can imagine that's exactly what I do not want to do. Those checkmarks are fine, they're even great.
But who thought that I did want such ridiculously large popups? On a result page from Google search they mostly block my view from the result entry below it. :o
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
What, in your experience, is the best way to bring this to the attention of the Avast people?
-
Try using this (http://www.avast.com/contact-form.php).
The pop-ups disappear IMHO quite quickly.
-
The pop-ups disappear IMHO quite quickly.
Maybe there's another problem then. On my PC (64 bit Windows 8.1 Pro) with Firefox 25.01 when the mouse stays on the checkmark, the popup stays too. When the mouse leaves the checkmark, the popup disappears after 3 seconds. Do you have another experience?
-
Great subject ! I too would love to deactivate this annoying popup. I have sent an email to avast on this very subject. If anyone has a solution, other than searching for another free antivirus service, I am all ears. Thank you
-
That "this site is safe" popup is very very annoying. Also its keeping to long visible and its wrong positioned and to big.
Not wanted to remove the plugin. offcorse i think its double because ghostery is doing lots of things to.
Still try to figuyre out how to configure that.
just remove the big popup and it would be fine small fix for avast and fast to push to people
-
Thanks for the suggestion of using the contact form @Para-noid. I have echoed there the comments I am about to post here.
One of the great things about Avast is that it has always given excellent threat protection without being in your face.
I'm very pleased to have Avast's protection in my browser, however I find the green checkmarks after every link that hide the text under them very annoying. The three-second popups that say "This site is safe" are even more aggravating. I am happy to be alerted when Avast actually defends me against a threat or wants to warn me of an actual threat. The current behavior (which is new an unsolicited) significantly reduces readability on a link-rich web page. I hope Avast is able to code in a "Show popups only for threat alerts, not for safe sites" option, which in my opinion would be much more appropriate. Such an option would also be consistent with Avast's time-honored tradition of being a silent guardian, not the insecure bodyguard who has to say, "Hey, everybody, look at me!".
Imagine what it would be like if a Secret Service agent on the security detail of a highly placed official insisted on telling his charge, "This person is safe" for every single person passed. That bodyguard is violating a key principle of his vocation, which is to provide protection in a way that is as unobtrusive as possible and does not interfere with the protected individual's primary activities. Avast would do well to stick to the same principle, as it has consistently done in the past.
Coypu
-
Great Topic,
Web Rep drives me nuts! The only thing you can do at least in Avast 2014 is in Firefox, go into your Tools and Ad-On Extensions and turn the pop-up off. I found that you also have to restart Firefox from the prompt that says, "Change will take effect when you Restart Firefox. Do you want to restart Firefox Now- Yes/No?" You must hit Yes from the prompt. If you just close out of Firefox manually and restart that way, Web-Rep will still be there.
I don't know how many people still run IE 8, but in that, you also have to go into Toolbars and Extensions and turn it off. Users with IE 9-11 on later versions of Windows may want to post how to turn off Web-Rep in IE. I prefer My WOT (My Web of Trust) but that is personal preference. Web Rep's pop-ups are so big and bulky! Avast should do what they did with the excellent use of making the update pop-up and system tray notifications smaller for Web-Rep pop-up notices. Coming back to Avast from years past, I love the smaller notification update/notices box. Too bad that Web Rep isn't like that.
Jack
-
The only thing you can do at least in Avast 2014 is in Firefox, go into your Tools and Ad-On Extensions and turn the pop-up off.
I am not able to do that. You can only disable the whole Avast Online Security (version 9.0.2006.53), there's no separate Web Reputation Plugin setting (Firefox 25.0.1).
Where did you find it?
-
Agree, and that what i did. turn the whole avast add-on off.
Its not add so much more extra's already running ad-blocker and ghostery thats blocking everything
Waiying for the day i read a notice in this thread that its fixt or configurable.
-
Agree, and that what i did. turn the whole avast add-on off.
But Jack 1000 seems to have a way to disable the pop-ups only ???
-
The only thing you can do at least in Avast 2014 is in Firefox, go into your Tools and Ad-On Extensions and turn the pop-up off.
I am not able to do that. You can only disable the whole Avast Online Security (version 9.0.2006.53), there's no separate Web Reputation Plugin setting (Firefox 25.0.1).
Where did you find it?
Actually, I misspoke slightly,
In Firefox 25 go to Tools/Ad-On's/EXTENSIONS (Not plug in's) and you will see Avast Online Security9.XXX. This is Web Rep. Click Disable and click "Do you want to restart Firefox now?" from INSIDE the Add-On's Tab. If you don't click restart from inside the Ad-Ons tab Web Rep won't disable. You have to click from inside the Ad On Tab. Following restart, Web Rep is gone.
It seems that on a fresh install with regard to Firefox you have three choices with regard to killing Web Rep:
1.) On a Default install, just repeat the above steps.
2.) Or do a Custom install and don't select Web Rep
3.) On a Fresh Avast install when you use Firefox for the first time it will say something like "A program wants to allow this plug-in to run on Firefox." (That's Web Rep.) Just say don't allow or disable and you will get the same results as the above.
Not sure how to kill it for other browsers except IE 8, because I don't have a later version of Windows.
Jack
-
Click Disable and click "Do you want to restart Firefox now?" from INSIDE the Add-On's Tab
I was confused. Is it true then that Avast Web Shield has nothing to do with Avast Online Security? :o
-
Click Disable and click "Do you want to restart Firefox now?" from INSIDE the Add-On's Tab
I was confused. Is it true then that Avast Web Shield has nothing to do with Avast Online Security? :o
It's true the web shield has nothing to do with the AOS...
@Jack 1000 WebRep ceased to exist with v2014 it's now the "avast online security" plug-in.
For what it's worth I completely disabled it in all of my browsers. I use PriveDog.
Ghostery has its critics...
From Wikipedia...
Criticism
Some sources say that Evidon, the company owning Ghostery, plays a dual role in the online advertising industry. Ghostery blocks sites from gathering personal information. But it does have an opt-in feature named GhostRank that can be checked to "support" them. GhostRank takes note of ads encountered and blocked, and sends that information, though anonymously, back to advertisers so they can better formulate their ads to avoid being blocked.[4]
Thus, not everyone sees Evidon's business model as conflict-free. "Evidon has a financial incentive to encourage the program's adoption and discourage alternatives like Do Not Track and cookie blocking as well as to maintain positive relationships with intrusive advertising companies", says Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford grad student and privacy advocate.[5]
Tom Simonite of Technology Review explains that with the "Ghostrank" feature enabled Ghostery sends collected user data back to the vendor, who then offers it for sale to ad firms.[5] This is also reflected in the German branch of the magazine.[6] Consequently, the German computer magazine Chip comes to the conclusion to not recommend installing the software and suggests NoScript as a (partial) alternative.[7]
According to Evidon, Ghostery does not collect any information which could be used to identify users or target ads specifically at individual users. Additionally, Ghostery would collect data only when Ghostrank is enabled. The collected data would be shared with the Better Business Bureau and offered to university students, researcher as well as journalists to support their studies.[8]
-
GhostRank, yes i know that..
But.. if the user have spend 1 minute to configure ghostery.
then you see its checked by default, first thing you do is offcorse uncheck it.
-
Thanks everybody. I disabled Avast Internet Security. Now only Firefox and DNTme guard my web actions. 8)
-
I've found an optimal (I think) solution of this problem, at least for Mozilla FF: just made these colored blocks semi-transparent.
1. Disable AVAST self-protection
2. Edit file ...\Avast5\WebRep\FF\content\hover.css: add the next string to #wrcHoverDiv (1st block there)
opacity: 0.5;
3. Enable self-protection.
4. Restart FF.
Small green thumb-ups, -downs, -etc. are png-images and can be edited in any editor for raster graphics. Look at ...\Avast5\WebRep\FF\content\common\skin\img\se_icn_[color].png (or ...\Avast5\WebRep\IE\templates\img\se_icn_[color].png for IE).
-
Click Disable and click "Do you want to restart Firefox now?" from INSIDE the Add-On's Tab
I was confused. Is it true then that Avast Web Shield has nothing to do with Avast Online Security? :o
It's true the web shield has nothing to do with the AOS...
@Jack 1000 WebRep ceased to exist with v2014 it's now the "avast online security" plug-in.
For what it's worth I completely disabled it in all of my browsers. I use PriveDog.
Yes, The Avast On-Line Security Plug in (Formerly Web-Rep) if you don't want that in your Firefox Browser, Disable it in your Firefox Extensions list and Restart Firefox from within the Yes/No prompt in that list.
I would assume that for IE and Chrome, you would have to go into the Extensions list and disable the Avast On-Line Security plugin. That's what I also did for IE 8 under Toolbars and Extensions. If you need to reinstall Avast and you use Firefox and the first time it says, "Firefox notes that another program, "Avast On-Line Security Plug In" wants to run, just say Deny or Reject or whatever the prompt says. Than, it shouldn't show up in your browsers."
Satch
-
I need to agree yet again avast is getting ridicules in it bloatware pop up crap.
All that is need is a green check no pop up we can see the check mark fine. Now this stupid popup blocks what i want to click or see .
-
I came here for exactly this reason. I'm really surprised that Avast puts something this invasive into the software, AND that they have left it in here despite complaints.
Avast: Rather than annoying us with all of the sites that are OK, how about Just telling us about the sites that are NOT OK? I feel bad turning off protection that could be helpful. I just don't want to be nagged by it, or it's just as bad as the bad sites it aims to protect against. Really, what do bad sites do? Some of them install stuff that changes our user experience - uh, that's what we have here and people are uninstalling it.
C'mon folks, where's the common sense?
-
I need to agree yet again avast is getting ridicules in it bloatware pop up crap.
All that is need is a green check no pop up we can see the check mark fine. Now this stupid popup blocks what i want to click or see .
It only comes up if you hover over the Green check mark and then it is there for 3 seconds.
As for bloat, if you don't like it uninstall the browser protection element (Avast Online Security (AOS)) and it is gone.
-
if you don't like it uninstall the browser protection element (Avast Online Security (AOS)) and it is gone.
And how is that a good thing? :o
So either protection with ridiculously hindering doodles or no protection at all? >:(
-
if you don't like it uninstall the browser protection element (Avast Online Security (AOS)) and it is gone.
And how is that a good thing? :o
So either protection with ridiculously hindering doodles or no protection at all? >:(
You are still protected without having AOS installed, AOS does block some tracking and phishing attempts but the basis of the protection is in the Web and File shields.
-
You are still protected without having AOS installed, AOS does block some tracking and phishing attempts but the basis of the protection is in the Web and File shields.
What you're saying is: Avast On-Line Security Plug in is good for nothing :o
-
You are still protected without having AOS installed, AOS does block some tracking and phishing attempts but the basis of the protection is in the Web and File shields.
What you're saying is: Avast On-Line Security Plug in is good for nothing :o
We aren't saying that I certainly am not saying it, it is a browser plugin that adds certain features over and above the the protection given by the web shield and avast.
-
We aren't saying that I certainly am not saying it, it is a browser plugin that adds certain features over and above the the protection given by the web shield and avast.
Very well. Then make sure it's fixed so that people will use it again. :(
-
We aren't saying that I certainly am not saying it, it is a browser plugin that adds certain features over and above the the protection given by the web shield and avast.
Very well. Then make sure it's fixed so that people will use it again. :(
Since I'm an avast user like yourself, that is outside of my hands.
-
Since I'm an avast user like yourself, that is outside of my hands.
Which brings us to the heart of the matter, where are the Avast support people when you need them?
-
My question is why is it OK for a popup to appear when you hover over:
Trustwave, WOT, etc but there's something wrong when you do the same thing in the avast! module ???
Am I confused or is there a different issue being implied here ???
-
Dont know WOT good last time i have seen it somewhere it where only small tiny icons behind the links.
Not a hugh balloon like avast thats appearing at the wrong place etc. dont know i removed that crap now.
avast need to change the code so its only giveing a big balloon with wrong sides. and green sides you keep tiny.
then its getting more attention to users to. if you see always green big balloons you start
to ignore them and at the end dont see the color change to.
Only show warnings when its needed. not hugh bolloon messages "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" distracting annoying and bad way.
-
Dont know WOT good last time i have seen it somewhere it where only small tiny icons behind the links.
Not a hugh balloon like avast thats appearing at the wrong place etc. dont know i removed that crap now.
avast need to change the code so its only giveing a big balloon with wrong sides. and green sides you keep tiny.
then its getting more attention to users to. if you see always green big balloons you start
to ignore them and at the end dont see the color change to.
Only show warnings when its needed. not hugh bolloon messages "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" "this link s ok !" distracting annoying and bad way.
So your saying that this is OK:
(http://i.imgur.com/tdWZCai.png)
but what avast shows is not ???:
(http://i.imgur.com/q7JCbU3.png)
Please get your facts straight. All services display the results of their scan
when you hover over their icon.
I'm still waiting for you to complain to all of the others.
-
WOT !!, thats just as terrible. thats why i dont use it.
avast can improve it just by only showing big warnings with bad sides.
-
WOT pop-ups can be disabled in the settings.Don't know about AOS.I don't use it.
-
Hi OsFly,
Mind you web rep alerts are just an indicator, you still have to use your common sense.
The Interwebs out there is a jungle and on the Interwebs there are some signs to stay safe from insecurity known as web rep indicators.
A lot of bad sites come blocked via Google Safebrowsing, also warns when something is PHISHY or certain certificates aren't swallowed by your system.
Yes I know some web rep alerts are less intrusive, like Bitdefender's TrafficLight, DrWeb's URL checker, Trustwave SecureBrowsing and WOT indication on the search site. Webutation has WOT etc. included and also comes as a browser extension.
Another level of browser security is running NoScript (ScriptSafe in Chrome), RequestPolicy and a decent Adblocker (ABP).
Always have your system and third party software fully updated and patched. Together with the avast! Shields protection there is not much that can harm you.
Venturing out someplace for the first time you do not fully trust then you can always pre-scan using http://scanurl.net/?u=
After the = sign give the URL to scan
polonus
-
You forgot to name 'ghostery' in your list besides ABP, both are really requirfed this days.
and dont fforget to install ABP anti ABP script to get stupid sites working.
-
WOT pop-ups can be disabled in the settings.Don't know about AOS.I don't use it.
I never see the popup since it's set to warn me if there is danger.
When there isn't any, there also isn't any need to click on it.
-
I never see the popup since it's set to warn me if there is danger.
When there isn't any, there also isn't any need to click on it.
That would also be a brilliant option for Avast On-Line Security Plug in. Unfortunately that's missing. :'(
-
I never see the popup since it's set to warn me if there is danger.
When there isn't any, there also isn't any need to click on it.
That would also be a brilliant option for Avast On-Line Security Plug in. Unfortunately that's missing. :'(
That's what the color coding is used for. :)
-
Try using this (http://www.avast.com/contact-form.php).
I know this is a relatively old thread, but it is one of the longest on this topic, which pops up all over this forum, if you search for "this site is safe" (complete with the quotation marks).
I have registered for this forum with the specific hope that I might encourage as many Avast users as possible to complain about the "this site is safe" popup. The quoted link above is the Avast contact page. Please write to them and tell them what you think about this intrusive popup.
What makes it so annoying is that it is so unnecessary. The small checkmarks do a fine job of informing us, then you make the mistake of allowing your mouse to hover on a search result and up this great popup flies, and in many cases, simply refuses to go away. I've heard it is supposed to last for only three seconds, but I have had many instances where it remains until I leave the web page itself.
I have written to Avast asking for the option specifically to disable the popup. That way, those who see some benefit (really?) are welcome to keep it, while the many who have written to this forum complaining, like me, would be able to get rid of it.
I know you can totally disable the AOS extension, but that throws out the baby with the bathwater, as the extension does a number of useful things beside the annoying popup.
-
May or may not be old info now, but wanted to add this in case others (like me) were searching google for a way to disable the annoying popups without disabling the entire plugin.
In Firefox look for a green 'a' (looks more like a swirl) in your top bars. Click it, this will bring onto the screen a rating box. At the bottom right is a box labeled 'Settings', click it. On the page that appears in the browser, look down for a checkbox with the text "Enable popups on search results page", uncheck it, click save, then either click the X on the ratings box or click anywhere outside of the box in the browser will close the ratings box.
The ability to disable the popups is in there, I don't know how long it has though, as I just recently updated the base program and have only been bothered by these annoying popups recently.
This software seems to be getting more and more intrusive every year. These browser popups were bad enough, but I had an avast registration popup knock me out of a full screen app and cause me to lose a couple of hours of work because of it. The application has some odd programing and compatibility issues with 64bit windows, and uses an overlay that when you alt-tab out or anything else (like this registration popup) knocks you out of the app, the screen is blank when you go back in. Result is you have to alt-tab back out and force kill the process and reload the program, causing you to lose any unsaved data to that point. This is starting to turn into another ZoneAlarm, just waiting for the day a software update makes the OS unbootable.