Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: HHogan on July 24, 2020, 02:17:39 PM
-
I have installed Avast premium security 20.5.2415 (build 20.5.5410.584). new installation (windows, office and avast) from scratch
I am unable to enable the Antispam function in Outlook 2019.
In Outlook I see the add in (Avast Add-in) installed and active, but:
- I don't receive any email with the SPAM tag (on another PC with same avast + outlook 2016 I receive the same emails but with the SPAM tag)
- there is no way to enable the Avast toolbar.
Has this happened to anyone else? How was this fixed ?
Thanks in advance
Mauro
-
Hi,
Please note that the Anti-spam feature was removed in the last update.
We strive to provide the best protection possible, and our research and comprehensive review of the feature showed that Anti-Spam wasn’t offering enough value to our customers. Given that email providers nowadays provide strong embedded anti-spam filters, we decided to focus our development efforts on adding value in other areas. Recently we introduced new features such as Remote Access Shield, Password Protection, improved botnet protection, etc. We think these new features — along with ongoing improvements to our other many features — provide advanced protection for our customers.
-
Hi,
for some users (like me) this is a important change. Such changes must be included in the changelog you post for the new versions.
I have been used the antispam feature for many years without problems and the value for me was high.
None of the things mentioned (Remote Access Shield, Password Protection ...) can replace the antispam plugin. And by the way - I install only 6 Modules (from now on 5) and all these others does not have a value for me.
Also to mention: I have also a 10 seat business license, there in the 20.5 update the antispam plugin is included.
Please keep in mind, that all the antispam users are users that are paying for the license - antispam is (sorry: was) not included in the free tier ones.
I'm a little upset.
-
Hi,
for some users (like me) this is a important change. Such changes must be included in the changelog you post for the new versions.
I have been used the antispam feature for many years without problems and the value for me was high.
None of the things mentioned (Remote Access Shield, Password Protection ...) can replace the antispam plugin. And by the way - I install only 6 Modules (from now on 5) and all these others does not have a value for me.
Also to mention: I have also a 10 seat business license, there in the 20.5 update the antispam plugin is included.
Please keep in mind, that all the antispam users are users that are paying for the license - antispam is (sorry: was) not included in the free tier ones.
I'm a little upset.
Hi,
We apologise for any frustration or inconvenience caused by this update.
Please note that our consumer and business products are not having the same updates.
If a component is added or removed in the consumer line AV, the same change does not apply to our business AV products.
The Anti-spam component will remain in our business AVs, and there are no plans to remove it for now.
-
We still have problems with AV and MS Outlook 365.
Email shield is active but the spam buttons in Outlook are gone. Contacted support already but they have no solution.....
I used to have buttons for the white list, black list ect. in my Outlook. Since 3 - 4 months these buttons are gone and I'm not longer able to qualify e-mails and/or add email addresses to my white list.
According to my Email shield report the shield works fine.
Anyone who has a solution for this?
Already installed Outlook again, used the repair option for AV. Nothing seems to solve this issue.
Thanks!
JP
-
So, your company decided that the antispam feature was of "no value"? Did you ask any of your customers? You didn't ask me. I found it valuable. Did you poll your customers? If you did, I did not get polled. Seems to me that the algorithm for detecting spam, once developed, is pretty static, not dynamic, and requires little maintenance. And you claim that the e-mail client program has its own adequate filters to take care of spam. Well, I use Outlook 365, and I haven't had anything land in my Junk folder for months, even though my spam settings are set to "Strict". I get those pathetic phishing attempts to update my bank accounts, and Outlook does not even block those.
Look, admit it, you guys blew it. Take a vote. Ask your customers. Or update your configuration settings to make the antispam feature an option, i.e., let the customer decide whether they want to enable the feature or not. This is a no-brainer. This is a terrible way to support your faithful customers. I myself have lost a lot of faith and on the brink of bailing out.
-
antispam removed? :o :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[
Time to cancel Avast.. grrr
-
Hi,
Please note that the Anti-spam feature was removed in the last update.
We strive to provide the best protection possible, and our research and comprehensive review of the feature showed that Anti-Spam wasn’t offering enough value to our customers. Given that email providers nowadays provide strong embedded anti-spam filters, we decided to focus our development efforts on adding value in other areas.
This is outrageous. For a start you haven't removed spam filtering, it is still there in the control panel, it just doesn't work. Consequently, I have wasted my time trying to get it to work over the last few days.
You don't "improve" a security feature by removing it.
If you had intended to remove a feature then you should have let me know at the time I renewed my subscription, not say to yourselves "let's get their money first and then remove the feature" I never would have renewed if I had known this would be removed.
Now I have to waste more time trying to find a way of removing it from Outlook.
You have removed a feature that I am still paying for it.
Spam filtering was working perfectly well.
I certainly won't be renewing in future. Not just for this but because I am also sick of constant nag screens asking me to upgrade.
I want my money back !!!!
-
WHAT??? >:(
I want to go back to the previous version where anti-spam was working beautifully !! Because the plug in was still visible but did not catch anything anymore, I did the stupidity of my life : I reinstalled the (last) SW version and out of the settings, I discovered that the anti-spam plug in had disappeared - which is confirmed by this forum...
And who said that Outlook contains a powerful anti-spam/phishing tool ?? NOBODY !!
This is a scandal as I don't see a way to download the previous versions... Can anybody help ?
Thank you!
-
I totally agree that it was a ridiculous move by Avast to remove the Outlook anti spam. Sufficient for me to start looking for alternative software and totally dropping ALL Avast products from our computers
-
So, that is really true: SOMEBODY thinks that anti-spam has "no value" and should be removed without single warning. And thatopinion is the reason why you've just made so big trouble for almost all of your clients. Unbelievable.
Who is that "somebody"?! Darth Vader, perhaps? >:(
-
So, that is really true: SOMEBODY thinks that anti-spam has "no value" and should be removed without single warning. And thatopinion is the reason why you've just made so big trouble for almost all of your clients. Unbelievable.
Who is that "somebody"?! Darth Vader, perhaps? >:(
I’m in total agreement with all the above forum members. I believe that the anti spam module should be added back into the program. Something one can add, such as the driver updater, VPN, and so forth. I have been beta testing on an older desktop, and believe that it can be added, and installed, if needed by the user. Let’s try to make it better.
-
This just happened to me ... 3 days ago. No anti-spam. I get 200+ a day. Avast is now unusable. Ridiculous. I don't know why it took 6+ months before an update finally removed it on my computer, but there you go. Useless now.
-
That's a very questionable choice, because what is written in an earlier reply is simply not true!
Given that email providers nowadays provide strong embedded anti-spam filters
On the contrary, ISPs do a poor job of filtering spam, and most of the spam I receive WAS filtered until now by Avast.
Like other Avast premium users, this is a major nuisance for me, and suddently puts on the table the option of changing from Avast to another software vendor, which I had no intention of doing until now.
@r@vast: can you please escalate to your product management team?
Thanks
-
MY RECENT REPLY TO AVAST SUPPORT... RE ANTI SPAM
Avast has to provide a patch to offer the anti-spam option in your new version.
I use MS Outlook as my mail client and want that Antispam Tool bar, email servers filters are not always reliable. I want my antivirus to provide this option as before.
I have had Avast premium ( formerly Avast internet security, etc.) as my anti-virus software for many many years. And, each time a major update occurs I find I usually experience some kind of issue.
I was happy with Avast, however, now I am not sure I will renew my subscription when it comes up. ( I have already stopped the reoccurring payment option in my Pay Pal account).
Every time there is an issue I am told to completely uninstall and reinstall the software and all its files etc. I know all the procedures to try to rectify things. However, that doesn’t always solve the issues.
And so,( I appreciate your personal efforts to assist me), but if you cannot assist me with this issue then I will begin to explore other options for antivirus protection.
Hopefully I will get my anti-spam tool bar option back before my renewal time.
Thank you,
-
I will add my two cents to this string: I use Avast Premium Security and Outlook and the Avast anti-spam buttons on my ribbon was invaluable. Now that they are no longer available I have to use MS Junk which requires two actions rather than one to mark an email as spam. Given the dozens of spam I receive daily this adds up. And I don't know whether the MS anti-spam actually works (see other comments on this thread).
Avast: please reactivate your anti-spam add-in for Outlook ASAP.
-
Hello all.
I don't understand...Why remove it?? If people don't like it they could just disable it. I think the whole "We removed it to focus on other stuff" line is BS. For a major AV company to remove an important feature like that seems a little odd.
I have many client's that relied on that tool and now that it is gone their inbox is flooded with spam because the add-in is gone and it disables Outlooks spam filter. As bad as it is, it still catching somethings. And it's a huge cop out to say that mail servers block spam for its users. If that was the case they would not have made the feature and continued to update it in the first place.
Me and a few buddies are going to install the offline version that still has the spam filter to and attempt to find anything of relevance, then try to manually install/add the vpx to the latest version.
Between the spam blocker being gone and the horrendous way that Avast is manipulating beginner and novice PC users by giving them a "free version" of the cleenup program and then charging $30 to $50 for the equivalent of a free version of CCleaner, their practices have been losing a lot of favor in the IT community. User's get messages like "your computer is at risk" from the Avast program itself designed to dupe them into spending another $50 for a VPN. If your card is on file with from buying an AV license from them just clicking install will add it to your license and they won't stop charging you unless you contact them to stop. And if your card is on file and it is time to renew, the $30-$40 license jumps to $80. that's around $150 a year for 1 license+cleenup+vpn. I can't count the number of times I have had to call them on behalf of a client because they either have a VPN, system cleaning program, have both, or don't need either. How are they any different than the spam messages they refuse to block now? If anyone has seen the Nugenix or Noom scams to get your credit card number you can see nary a difference.
Sorry for the rant. I just don't like how they went from a trust worthy provider to an unscrupulous greed machine.
-
Hello all.
I don't understand...Why remove it?? If people don't like it they could just disable it. I think the whole "We removed it to focus on other stuff" line is BS. For a major AV company to remove an important feature like that seems a little odd.
I have many client's that relied on that tool and now that it is gone their inbox is flooded with spam because the add-in is gone and it disables Outlooks spam filter. As bad as it is, it still catching somethings. And it's a huge cop out to say that mail servers block spam for its users. If that was the case they would not have made the feature and continued to update it in the first place.
Me and a few buddies are going to install the offline version that still has the spam filter to and attempt to find anything of relevance, then try to manually install/add the vpx to the latest version.
Between the spam blocker being gone and the horrendous way that Avast is manipulating beginner and novice PC users by giving them a "free version" of the cleenup program and then charging $30 to $50 for the equivalent of a free version of CCleaner, their practices have been losing a lot of favor in the IT community. User's get messages like "your computer is at risk" from the Avast program itself designed to dupe them into spending another $50 for a VPN. If your card is on file with from buying an AV license from them just clicking install will add it to your license and they won't stop charging you unless you contact them to stop. And if your card is on file and it is time to renew, the $30-$40 license jumps to $80. that's around $150 a year for 1 license+cleenup+vpn. I can't count the number of times I have had to call them on behalf of a client because they either have a VPN, system cleaning program, have both, or don't need either. How are they any different than the spam messages they refuse to block now? If anyone has seen the Nugenix or Noom scams to get your credit card number you can see nary a difference.
Sorry for the rant. I just don't like how they went from a trust worthy provider to an unscrupulous greed machine.
Have you found an offline install that works for installing the antispam module???
Avast: please reactivate your anti-spam add-in for Outlook ASAP.
-
I too can't seem to understand why Avast has removed an important feature that they deem to be "unimportant". Almost all security solution have an Anti Spam module integrated within their products to tackle Desktop Spam, Phishing/malware links etc.
My Avast Premium license expired last week, I was contemplating if I should renew with Avast due to this important feature not being there. I have switched to Bitdefender now. So far pleased with the switch as it contains an excellent Anti Spam feature and excellent malware protection. Bitdefender and Avast are top of the line when it comes to malware protection thus I made the switch. So far, very happy with no regrets.
-
I too can't seem to understand why Avast has removed an important feature that they deem to be "unimportant". Almost all security solution have an Anti Spam module integrated within their products to tackle Desktop Spam, Phishing/malware links etc.
My Avast Premium license expired last week, I was contemplating if I should renew with Avast due to this important feature not being there. I have switched to Bitdefender now. So far pleased with the switch as it contains an excellent Anti Spam feature and excellent malware protection. Bitdefender and Avast are top of the line when it comes to malware protection thus I made the switch. So far, very happy with no regrets.
Thanks for the reminder. Bitdefender is great and may offer to switch more clients to that in the coming months. I haven't seen what their their bulk license prices are but it is a solid program indeed. I prefer Malwarebytes for my personal PC. But one thing Avast has going for it is how aggressive the firewall can be.
BTW did anyone notice that Avast stopped their password storage program too? Another really great feature just *pft* gone, wtf Avast?? It was one of the few password programs I trusted and spanned across a variety of internet explorers, plus had the options for online and local backups. A lot of machines didn't have it, but then I will see both versions of it (old and new) on others, including one of my laptops. After they keep whittling down some of the better add-ons it might as well be Windows Security.
-
Have you found an offline install that works for installing the antispam module???
Avast: please reactivate your anti-spam add-in for Outlook ASAP.
Yes. I just enabled my profile to receive emails here. We can figure out something like an anon drop link. But if you post here forgive me if I don't remember to check this particular community forum to answer back in the interim though.
-
Have you found an offline install that works for installing the antispam module???
Avast: please reactivate your anti-spam add-in for Outlook ASAP.
Yes. I just enabled my profile to receive emails here. We can figure out something like an anon drop link. But if you post here forgive me if I don't remember to check this particular community forum to answer back in the interim though.
Thanks for the reply....I really doubt Avast! give a hoot about the antispam module, however, some of us paying customers relied on it. It's really sad.You could add it to the beta program (you have the technology) and those who want to install it CAN! Just a real sad thing they have done. When there's all sorts of stuff that can be installed,if you choose, and you have the opportunity to not install it if you don't want it.
Sadly, I believe our concerns and hopes are falling on deaf ears.