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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: REDACTED on June 22, 2014, 02:31:28 AM

Title: hosts file woes
Post by: REDACTED on June 22, 2014, 02:31:28 AM

Devs - Please, please, put something in to ask us if we want the hosts file tampered with.

I know many people don't know what the hosts file is, or even if they have one, but for those of us who use it as a defense it is seriously annoying to find that it has just been raped and various addresses removed, even when we have the file set as "READ ONLY"!  >:(

And then to find Avast! also attacking our backup copy when we go to repair the damage is taking "friendly fire" too far.  >:(

If we're going to monitor the hosts file, at least teach Avast! that 127.0.0.1 is a safe place!  8)

Gordon.

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: igor on June 22, 2014, 09:44:08 AM

Is avast! detecting anything in the hosts file? If so, what is it?

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: REDACTED on June 22, 2014, 11:47:10 AM

Hi igor - I think it sees addresses it doesn't like.  It's a very good question, because obviously there are no signatures (or shouldn't be  ??? ) in a hosts file.

I will say that if Avast! is doing what I think it may be, then it is good in that .mp3 .avi & etc can be rapidly evaluated--we got caught badly long ago when a .mp3 took us to a very nasty site instead of playing Aerosmith!

Gordon.

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: igor on June 22, 2014, 02:05:39 PM

Let me rephrase - do you see any popups from avast! reporting infections in that file (or at least in any other file, though such a functionality isn't there yet)? If you don't, then I somehow doubt the mentioned behavior is connected to avast!...

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: REDACTED on June 22, 2014, 03:11:46 PM

No, my bad.  v7 was doing it.  But yes, there would be a pop-up telling me that it had dealt with an "infection", usually a Trojan  :o  And I would find the hosts file in the Virus Chest.  Exactly the same would happen if I did anything with my backups.

As soon as I made the appropriate Exclusion the problem stopped--but it was by no means gone away.

I have Excluded hosts in my shiny new 9.0.2018, right from get-go so I'm not compromised again.

Gordon.

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: REDACTED on June 22, 2014, 07:42:10 PM

I keep my hosts file up to date and have not seen any false detections on it with 2014.9.0.2018.

Is it possible you need not do any exclusion at all?

-Noel

Title: Re: hosts file woes
Post by: REDACTED on June 23, 2014, 01:49:47 PM

Hi NoelC - It is possible.  However, after my experience with v7, I see no need to take risks and experiment to see if the problem has been fixed in v9.

I've been bitten, and I'm shy.  A qualified reassurance from the devs would be of great assistance here.

Gordon.