Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: mccoady on October 27, 2008, 08:08:14 PM
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I bought a new Dell Studio 15 (Vista Premium) a month ago and installed Avast Home, free Zone Alarm, SuperAntiSpyware, Spybot, AdAware, etc. (NO Norton) but I've had problems with something causing my browsers IE and Firefox to quit connecting almost like I'm loosing my internet connection. In fact I've been thinking I was loosing my internet connection despite the fact I has a strong network connection plus when this problem occurs I do a diagnose and repair on my connection and it says there is nothing wrong with the connection.
I can be browsing with either IE or Firefox and usually after an hour it quits connecting to websites and the only way to fix the problem is to reboot which fixes the issue. I've set my laptop back to Dell Factory State four times which reformats and one at a time added programs back but I could never isolate the problem, I even went back to using Firefox 2.0.0.17 blaming 3.0 version which I still think has problems.
I've tried everything to figure this out but couldn't until now, if I shut down Avast when the problem occurs my browsers can connect again things work as they should. I have everything checked in ZA under "Program Control" and "Access" to allow anything related to Avast.
I'm using the exact same programs (including Avast) on my desktop computer without any problems but it is using XP Pro so I don't know if that means anything.
Since I know Avast is the problem is there any solution short of not using Avast?
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Into the firewall settings, the following programs should be allowed to connect:
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe (avast! Web Scanner)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe (avast! e-Mail Scanner Service)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\avast.setup (avast! Update executable). This is a temporary file that just appears when an update (check) is about to launch, and disappears again afterwards.
Don't need rights to connect:
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe (avast! Update Service)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe (avast! antivirus service). Although, ashServ.exe sends ping packets to find out if the Internet connection is alive. You can turn this off by checking the "My computer is permanently connected to the Internet" box in the avast Program Settings > Update (Connections) page.
Are you using ZA free or paid version?
Which ZA version number are you using?
Did you try to remove all avast entries and trying again to connect (allowing them again)?
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As I mentioned above I have everything checked to "Allow" in the "Access columns (both under "Trusted" and "Internet" ) in my firewall, although under the "Server" columns everything is blocked like every other program I have installed.
I already had it checked where it says my computer is permanently connected to the internet.
Free ZA as stated above , version 7.1.254.000
No I didn't because as stated above I had reformatted the laptop four times each time going back to a clean state with both Avast and ZA and I eventually had the same issue.
I did notice that the Web Shield setting was set on "Custom" is this supposed to be the correct setting?
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Delete the entries for avast in the ZA program control it does on occasions seem to suffer amnesia at times even when the application is set to allow and the only way to rectify that is deletion of the entry to force it to ask again.
The Web Shield default setting is Normal and for it to sit on Custom you would have to have changed settings in the Customize button or it would revert to High or Normal. Is this the window you see when you say that the Web Shield is set to Custom, see image ?
Though with ZA I don't know if you got a compatibility pop-up at any time when installing avast (you should with ZA free) ?
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Okay I deleted all the avast entries in ZA so now I will let it ask permission again for Avast.
Yes the image you provided is what was set to custom although I've never changed it to custom I don't know enough to risk messing with any of the settings so I don't have a clue how it got changed. I did change it back to the default setting of "Normal".
Could the Web Shield being set to custom have caused my problem?
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Could the Web Shield being set to custom have caused my problem?
I don't think so...
The problem, would you like or not, will be on ZA... sometimes it loses the settings, sometimes it has glitches and a bad interaction with antivirus, specially avast.
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i agree with "tech".. my guess would be that the problem is associated with the "zone alarm" firewall..
check to see if "zone alarm" is allowing "DHCP", local port 68 to remote port 67, UDP, both directions.. i am guessing that the problem is that "DHCP" is not being properly allowed, and that that is causing the problem that you are experiencing..
something else that you could look into is the known conflicts between "zone alarm" and a couple of the most recent "windows updates".. apparently, the windows updates have not completely killed your internet connectivity (due to conflicts with "zone alarm" ), but there still could be a problem, there..
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You may very well be right about ZA causing but I read on many forums (Kim Komando being one) that Avast and ZA work well together and are both recommended.
Are you sure this isn't a Web Shield issue since it also is known to cause Firefox problems?
I'm not that tech savy but the only DHCP listed is where it is showing DHCP Server allowing my IP Address.
So what other free firewalls are out there works as well as ZA, is easy to setup, doesn't bug you to death, and works with Avast?
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I have not had a single problem with the web shield and firefox since the release of the web shield function. Other than the fact that firefox is one of the supported browsers, the web shield doesn't know or really care what browser you use.
So I don't know where this 'known problem with firefox' comes from ???
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http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_any_website#Firewalls
Under "Websites randomly don't load"
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mccoady, i am not suggesting that you shouldn't use "zone alarm", if that is the firewall that you want to use.. however, using "zone alarm" can be tricky.. zone alarm, like some other firewalls, can block files from running, which can cause problems.. you will have to make sure that it is not blocking files from running..
make sure that you are using the latest version of the zone alarm firewall..
also, make sure that your "DHCP" connection is not blocked..
it is possible that "webshield" is causing a problem, for you, while not causing a problem for some others..
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http://kb.mozillazine.org/Error_loading_any_website#Firewalls
Under "Websites randomly don't load"
Well your reference is generic and not specific and the key point in the paragraph below is 'may.'
Note that some antivirus packages include web scanning features, such as Avast! "Web Shield" and Kaspersky "Web Anti-Virus", that process all HTTP traffic, which may cause intermittent timeouts and failed page loads
The follow on link from that page mentions specifically the comodo firewall and conflict with your anti-virus, this I would suggest isn't specifically related to just comodo.
If you are using the Comodo firewall, it can cause a conflict with your antivirus scanner and interfere with file downloads. Try updating Comodo to the latest version. See this forum thread for details.
The problem with intermittent, can't connect is they are very hard to pin down to exactly what is the true cause, if it were the web shield in isolation you wouldn't be able to connect to any http page period. You don't say what any of these pages are so we can't test anything in that regard.
However, if any of them are https (secure encrypted pages) avast doesn't scan those pages so if there is a problem which is also related to https pages not loading there is likely to be something else involved also.
You can try terminating the web shield and browse and see if the problem occurs after an hours browsing as before. If it does continue then avast's web shield isn't involved as it isn't running, if it doesn't happen then the web shield could be involved in some sort of conflict, usually with a firewall or another AV or remnants of one still on your system.
You mentioned NO Norton, did you specify no additional software other than the OS to be installed on your Dell as they have a nasty habit of installing trial ware ?
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I just thought I'd post back in case anyone else has had this problem, I had tried everything to stop Firefox 3.0.3 from hanging but nothing worked until I uninstalled Avast and now the hanging has stopped. I know, I know many people use Firefox and Avast together with no issues but quite a few are also having problems using them together according to the Mozilla bug forum so I wouldn't call this an isolated incident. I tried to see if the Web Shield was causing the compatibility issue but was never able to confirm this in fact when Firefox would hang I would try disabling Avast and sometimes Firefox would quit hanging and other times it made no difference.
It wasn't until I uninstalled Avast that Firefox quit hanging. Read Dyrshin's post http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=695335&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=195
I uninstalled Avast first confirming that's where the compatibility issues lie at least for some Firefox and Avast users on some computers, so it wasn't necessary to uninstall Zone Alarm.
The Mozilla bug forum suggests that some anti-virus's are causing Firefox to hang but the two most mentioned are Norton and Avast but not AVG.
Now I consider this a Firefox version 3 issue that hopefully Mozilla can figure out but it sure wouldn't hurt if Avast would dig deeper into this to see if it's something on their end. I'm now using Firefox 3.0.3 and AVG together with no Firefox hanging problems but would prefer to use Avast if this can ever be sorted out.
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Hi
i got similar problem with Firefox 3 AND IE7. The web shield process is using lots of CPU and the browser, whatever i use, is hanging like no internet connection.
I'm using iSafer personnal firewall.
Just to add a bit here.
I've also updatesd some existing post related to something similar (for nto saying the same) wehre lot of poeple got troubles with the web shield in Avast.
Thanks a lot.
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The web shield will use CPU time because it is actively scanning your web http traffic.
If there really were lots of people having problems with the web shield you would be swamped in posts about it and that simply isn't the case. Yes some people are experiencing problems and I don't doubt that, the problem is in the number of different permutations of security software installed on a system all of which can bring something different to the party.
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Hi DavidR
Thanks for your reply.
First I would like to say that I am not trying to give negative feedback on Avast product at all. I'm using it for a while, without problem, and I'll continue.
I'm not trying to say the product got a bug. I just want to make sure that it will be possible for a large number of people to continue using it, and make it a success. As a result, i wanted to share my problem first, and try to regroup all these information to something that look related at some point.
Of course it is a guess. I'm not a developper and therefor cannot judge and debug the product.
I feel a bit disappointed by some reactions as i really thought that creating my own post will just create a mess than something else. If some other already point failures around that, what's the point to create one post by user with a different title for everyone??? That's the situation s at the moment.
Anyway, they are maybe all different, and surely not related to anything else than....something else.
I'll continue to use fantastic product. With some restriction on webshield until something is changing (deliberately or not) or something like a "SOFT A + SOFTB + AVAST + FRIDAY NIGHTE => MAKE THINGS BAD" is found and inserted in FAQ or known problem sections.
I just wanted to help, users and developers, but it looks like my approach was not the best one.
My apologies.
Cheers
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I have no problem with anyone saying there is a bug, after all I'm an avast user like anyone else posting on the forums.
By creating your own topic with your own particular circumstances makes it easier than to have a topic with multiple threads running through it, that only serves to confuse unless your problem is identical to the one/s that you chose to post on and I don't see that.
So when trying to group information it is important that that information is 100% the same or it just clouds the problem.