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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: backdraft on December 16, 2005, 04:56:09 PM

Title: connection timeout
Post by: backdraft on December 16, 2005, 04:56:09 PM
Hi,

This box keeps popping up its labeled avast!:connection timeout and then in the box it says       Internet connection timeout elapsed, continue waiting?
                        [javaw.exe-> h6210021064.dsl.speedlinq.nl:110]
Yes or No

What does this mean??

greetz

Backdraft
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: Lisandro on December 16, 2005, 05:07:17 PM
Do you use java?
Can you update your Java version and see if it helps?
http://www.java.com
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: DavidR on December 16, 2005, 05:09:56 PM
Are you using Azureus?

The Java process javaw.exe is connecting to the internet using an email port (POP3 port 110), this is a port that is monitored by avast's email scanner and it is expecting traffic that is using the email protocol and this would appear not to be so the traffic isn't properly identified and this is likely to cause a delay and the server timeout messages is displayed.

Whilst the process that launched javaw.exe has to be identified  (and possibly your firewall logs might help), the only cases of a timeout associated with javaw.exe that I have seen in the forums they have also had Azureus installed.

You can extend the timeout delay in your email program (which is?) and avast, but I'm not sure that will help if the protocol is unrecognized, it may simply delay the display of the message?

As Tech said ensure that you update Sun's Java, what version are you using?
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: backdraft on December 16, 2005, 10:49:04 PM
Indeed I'm using Azareus, but I use this program for a long time and I never had this problem.

In software I see this for Java:

J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0
J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 update 5
Java2 Runtime Environment SE v. 1.4.2_05

I use Mozilla Thunderbird as mail-client.

Can I just simply uncheck the option "internet timeout" in Avast?
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: DavidR on December 17, 2005, 12:14:44 AM
Killing the symptom rather than treating the problem is not really advisable. Without finding out the reason you could be allowing some malicious software internet access.

Were it my system I would want to know why javaw.exe required an outbound connection (which program launched it), why it would use an email port to connect to the internet (rather than an email server) and why it went to that particular url? Is there anything familiar with that url?

I don't know if your firewall logs would record this activity by javaw.exe and if it was able to show if there was a launch by another program or Azureus.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: szc on December 17, 2005, 02:28:20 AM
Btw that's not latest Java environment update you have installed on your system... latest one is Update 6

It is highly recommended to keep your Sun's Java up to date.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: CharleyO on December 17, 2005, 09:06:19 PM
***

Thanks for that info, Craftec!    :)

I have java set to check for updates on the 20th of each month and it would have been 3 more days but now I have it.     :D


***
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: backdraft on December 17, 2005, 10:41:24 PM
Well,

Speedlinq is my internet provider and speedlinq.nl their site.

Now and then there appears an icon in my system tray that looks like an enveloppe with a blue alarm light. When I right (or left) click on it nothing happens but a ballon with the text: "h6210021064.dsl.speedlinq.nl"

Í don't know what it means...but my guess it has to do something with e-mail.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: Lisandro on December 17, 2005, 11:27:50 PM
Now and then there appears an icon in my system tray that looks like an enveloppe with a blue alarm light.
avast Mail Scanner could add an icon in the system tray.
Go to the 'a' blue icon, right click, choose On-Access Protection Control.
Then the Internet Mail provider and click Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and uncheck the last option: "Show tray icon when scanning mail"
Do the same for Outlook/Exchange plugin.

If the icon appears after this, well it's not avast  :)
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: szc on December 17, 2005, 11:46:13 PM
***

Thanks for that info, Craftec!    :)

I have java set to check for updates on the 20th of each month and it would have been 3 more days but now I have it.     :D


***

Hello my friend, how are you ? Haven't seen you around in a while...

Regarding Java - to be true, Java never ever alarmed me of new updates even I have that option checked... I guess it's just not that reliable, so I like to check it myself from time to time, and also I like to check our UPDATES thread in General forum (Spyros started it btw) because few times people posted about Java updates in there...

Quote by backdraft:
Quote
...Now and then there appears an icon in my system tray that looks like an enveloppe with a blue alarm light...

It is definitelly your avast! internet mail icon since you use Thunderbird as your mail client. No need to worry at all. I guess all you need is just to increase your internet connection timeout value. Check these threads I posted before on how to solve that one:

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=15832.msg133578#msg133578

This is how to set it in avast! internet mail provider (on-access Scanner settings window):

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=8951.msg74056#msg74056

And even you don't use Outlook Express, this is how to set it in OE... since I dfon't use Thunderbird I have no clue where those settings are in TB, but I guess it should be under accounts or sometwhere similar. If nothing else, it will give you a good picture of what you are really looking for...

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=8951.msg74061#msg74061

Cheers !
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: DavidR on December 18, 2005, 01:01:09 AM
Well, Speedlinq is my internet provider and speedlinq.nl their site.

Now and then there appears an icon in my system tray that looks like an enveloppe with a blue alarm light. When I right (or left) click on it nothing happens but a ballon with the text: "h6210021064.dsl.speedlinq.nl"

Í don't know what it means...but my guess it has to do something with e-mail.
Well there is something trying to connect to your isp and it is using the pop3 email port that you would normally download email, because avast's email scanner monitors any traffic to the email ports 25 SMTP, 110 POP3, 143 IMAP and 119 News (NNTP Protocol). When the avast! email scanner is scanning you will see the icon you mentioned.

Does your ISP have some form of monitoring your DSL connection quality, etc. using Java? I would ask your support about it, starting with the timeout error location and why it would use the pop3 port [javaw.exe-> h6210021064.dsl.speedlinq.nl:110] they should be able to track where that should go and possibly why it is going there. Outside of that I'm baffled.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: alanrf on December 18, 2005, 01:23:46 AM
DavidR is quite right that something is connecting to your ISP using port 110. 

That something is not Thunderbird, if it were then the process reported by avast would be Thunderbird.exe.  The process being reported is javaw.exe.  That means it a java based function that is connecting to port 110.

While David's words of caution are completely appropriate, we have seen other instances here of azureus users who are experiencing javaw.exe process timeouts to both ports 110 and port 25. 

It seems that in these instances excluding the javaw.exe process in the [MailScanner] section of the avast4.ini file has alleviated the problem.

Since I'm not an azureus user - does it ask for your email server information as part of its setup?

By the way, if you do find the need to change the timeout value for Thunderbird (though again it has nothing to do with this problem) you will find that it can be done in the interface in the 1.5 version (to be generally released by the end of the month).  In earlier versions it required the use of override parameters in the user.js file.  Both the interface and the old user.js options are described in other threads here which you can find by using the search option.  If you have difficulty finding it let us know.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: alanrf on December 18, 2005, 02:04:50 AM
In the interests of research I just installed the latest release of azureus on my system. 

azureus is a peer to peer client.  It allows users to connect to each other and allows one user to tell another user what port they are choosing to listen on and so if user A tells backdraft to establish a connection to his system h6210021064.dsl.speedlinq.nl (clearly a user address and not the email server of that ISP) at port 110 then that is what azureus (running under javaw.exe) will do. 

Given that avast expects anyone connecting to another server at port 110 to be doing so for the purposes of getting mail it will intercept the azureus connection. 
(Same goes for port 25, 143, 119 etc).

The avast user of azureus has two choices:

1) the less desirable - exclude (the controlling process for azureus) javaw.exe in the [MailScanner] section of the avast4.ini file.

2) the preferred option.
 
Establish yourself as an intermediate or advanced user in the Tools > Configuration wizard of azureus

In the Tools > Transfer window of azureus enter  into the box for "Ignore peers with these data ports":

25;110

at least and preferably

25;110;119;143
 
to avoid conflict with the avast Mail Scanner.

OK - research done - I'm off to restore my system to a point before installing azureus.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: alanrf on December 18, 2005, 04:51:35 AM
For the avast team ...

It would appear (to me) that for many domestic users it would be an easy choice to set their azureus client to be listening on well known ports 110 or 25.  Clearly those users are never going to be listening on those ports since they are not running mail servers on their systems.  While I propose users of both avast and azureus exclude peers using well known ports in their azureus configuration I suspect they will tend to opt for excluding javaw.exe in avast rather than having to exclude a (possibly large) group of potential peers. 

So it occurred to me to suggest that you might check during either avast installation or startup for the presence of azureus and automatically exclude javaw.exe in the Mail Scanner.  However, on reflection it occurs to me that would immediately exclude e-mail scanning by avast should anyone install a java based email client. 

I was not aware of any (or at least any popular) java based email client.  A quick search shows that an Italian team has just come up with one called Columba (takes me back many years to my first Latin classes - so now do you want The Dove or The Thunderbird?). 

So a question for you guys - when it comes to a process that is more of a utility (like java) how difficult would it be for you to extend exclusions to be able to say "exclude azureus.exe using javaw.exe but still intercept columba.exe using javaw.exe in the MailScanner?  I'm sure you've got folks thinking about it already, but if not ... well you don't need me to tell you.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: DavidR on December 18, 2005, 03:52:44 PM
Alan, thanks for your research and time, very valuable, informative (as usual) and gets to the heart of why these timeouts occur not the timeout itself but why.

Having pinpointed why it occurs we can point them to your post and they can make their choice, hopefully they will choose the preferred option.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: ..::ReVaN::.. on December 27, 2005, 11:46:23 PM
I will just add a screenshot on how to block specific ports in Azureus i am sure it will be usefull :)

(http://img430.imageshack.us/img430/2901/blockports1zz.jpg)

Regards,

Mikey
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: snarky on April 21, 2006, 04:32:30 PM
The avast user of azureus has two choices:

1) the less desirable - exclude (the controlling process for azureus) javaw.exe in the [MailScanner] section of the avast4.ini file.

To me, this is the preferred option.  Why not exclude javaw.exe and azureus.exe from MailScanner?  Scanning BitTorrent protocol traffic with a POP3/NNTP scanner is pointless anyway.

2) the preferred option.
 
Establish yourself as an intermediate or advanced user in the Tools > Configuration wizard of azureus
In the Tools > Transfer window of azureus enter  into the box for "Ignore peers with these data ports":
25;110
at least and preferably
25;110;119;143
to avoid conflict with the avast Mail Scanner.

This, to me, is less desirable, since it prevents connections to peers with stupidly-chosen port numbers.  Yes, those peers shouldn't be using ports like 25 or 110, but sometimes you're shooting yourself in the foot by disallowing connections like this.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: marciton on April 21, 2006, 11:21:04 PM
Both don't work for me ... Azeurus deseaper and I've timeout message from avast

I've read somthink like "We could change the Timeout" ...
how could we do this ?
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: snarky on April 21, 2006, 11:25:41 PM
Both don't work for me ... Azeurus deseaper and I've timeout message from avast
I've read somthink like "We could change the Timeout" ...
how could we do this ?

Changing a timeout isn't what you want to do if the problem has to do with a non-mail application using ports normally reserved for mail use.  Have you tried adding this to avast4.ini?

Code: [Select]
[MailScanner]
IgnoreProcess=azureus.exe,javaw.exe

But really, if you configure Azureus to listen on a port in the 5-digit range, and disallow it from connecting to peers that use 25,110,119, you should not be continuing to have trouble.
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: alanrf on April 22, 2006, 05:22:08 AM
The latest update of avast (to 4.7) automatically turns off the timeout that has been causing issues for users of azureus.

A poster above (somewhat critical of my earlier posting) said it makes no sense for the Internet Mail Scanner to be scanning an azureus peer to peer session - I agree with that.  While it is a "no brainer" to use the exclude option in the Mail Scanner for processes such as bitorrent.exe and utorrent.exe there is a bigger issue for azureus. 

azureus does not run under the process azureus.exe.  azureus is a java application and it runs under the controlling process of javaw.exe.  If the process javaw.exe is excluded then all java applications are excluded.  Now if there were a mail client running under java (yes - there is one) then it would be excluded too whether that was the intention or not. 

So the avast folks have turned off the timeout but, by and large, to avoid any extraneous issues it probably makes sense for most azureus users to use the option in the [Mail Scanner] section to exclude the process javaw.exe.  Then you can connect to other peers who tell you to connect on the well known mail ports without the Mail Scanner getting involved. 
Title: Re: connection timeout
Post by: snarky on April 22, 2006, 04:49:06 PM
azureus does not run under the process azureus.exe.  azureus is a java application and it runs under the controlling process of javaw.exe.

This is no longer completely true.  Beginning with version 2.3.0.6 (http://azureus.sourceforge.net/changelog.php?version=2.3.0.6), released in November 22, 2005, Azureus runs as azureus.exe, not javaw.exe.