Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: REDACTED on August 21, 2015, 03:22:31 PM
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Can anybody explain how Avast browser protection works?
I've read Norton 360 description of browser protection and i do not completely understand how browser protection works in antivirus systems.
Norton 360 works only against not fixed vulnerabilities but it is not clear whether it works against every possible not patched vulnerability or not.
So my question is whether Avast browser protection works against any not yet found vulnerability or only against found but not yet patched vulnerabilities.
Is it some kind of virtual machine for browser engines? How it works? And what it actually does?
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This information may give you some insight: https://www.winhelp.us/avast-free-antivirus-additional-protections.html (https://www.winhelp.us/avast-free-antivirus-additional-protections.html) :)
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As i see there are only rating based browser protection. There are no binary code modification based protection in Avast antivirus.
I've heard about sandbox in Avast. It seems it is all we have as protection against unknown browser vulnerability.
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As i see there are only rating based browser protection. There are no binary code modification based protection in Avast antivirus.
There is more than just rating based browser protection - there is also phishing protection.
Not to mention that avast has the Web Shield that is the real-time scanning of web content for malware.
I've heard about sandbox in Avast. It seems it is all we have as protection against unknown browser vulnerability.
The avast sandbox is different again, you can elect to run your browser in the sandbox (isolated), but it would also be scanned. The full sandbox feature is only available in the paid products not the free version.
The file system shield can run suspect files in a sandbox environment (DeepScreen), which is available in the free version.
When Avast detects suspicious behavior in a file or program it is automatically opened or run in the sandbox to prevent any potential damage to your system.
You can also use Hardened mode:
Enable Hardened mode - Recommended for novice users who are not aware of risks when opening unknown files. Set on moderate, no files with poor reputation are allowed to run. Set on aggressive, only whitelisted files can be opened.
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So my question is: what Avast Web Shield actually doing? Does it only scans for virus signatures and new unknown virus can break the shield or it is somehow forbids not expected, not necessary system calls from running as seccomp-bpf do in Linux OS and chromium.