Avast AV Beta News [Windows]

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2014 R4 Beta [9.0.2019]

Changelog/Fixes:
* We've improved the security of the product - e.g we handle the conditions for the Guest account better, we are very senstitive for any incorrect inputs from the user with a negative impact on the system's security, or, we tuned the import settings functionality not to allow bypassing any protections
* We've added "resume" support in the setup component, so some of you should notice smoother downloading - depends on a "quality" of your connection (mainly during the program update where the amount of data is quite big)
* We've included a new antispam library (IS/Premier editions) for better accuracy of our anti-spam module
* We've put warnings during the installation process if there could be some obvious problems resulting in not 100% functionality after the installation (missing admin rights, insufficient space on disk, etc.)
*We've added ability to disable promotion popups (in PRO/IS/Premier editions). We strongly believe that our additional products can be valuable for you, but we also respect your will not to be bothered by such offers.
* We've performed a static analysis of our code resulting in many fixes (but don't worry, nothing was critical, just a small tuning :-)
    General bugfixing - this covers a lot of stability & performance changes in all components (but the main focus was traditionally on the network & engine components)

Known issues:
- IE AOSP plugin might crash sometimes - working on fix

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2014 R4 RC [9.0.2020]

Changelog/Fixes:
* Improved stability of the IE AOSP plugin
* Occasional uninstall problems
* Several crashes in various components (setup, browser cleanup, ie plugin, etc.)
* Occasional deadlocks in GUI
* GUI glitches
* Failure in RescueDisk creation
* Improved security of our processes (guarded by the self defense component)
* Secureline tuning (user experience mainly)
* Improved avastCleaner
* Tuned text & graphics
* We've improved the security of the product - e.g we handle the conditions for the Guest account better, we are very senstitive for any incorrect inputs from the user with a negative impact on the system's security, or, we tuned the import settings functionality not to allow bypassing any protections
* We've added "resume" support in the setup component, so some of you should notice smoother downloading - depends on a "quality" of your connection (mainly during the program update where the amount of data is quite big)
* We've included a new antispam library (IS/Premier editions) for better accuracy of our anti-spam module
* We've put warnings during the installation process if there could be some obvious problems resulting in not 100% functionality after the installation (missing admin rights, insufficient space on disk, etc.)
* We've added ability to disable promotion popups (in PRO/IS/Premier editions). We strongly believe that our additional products can be valuable for you, but we also respect your will not to be bothered by such offers.
* We've performed a static analysis of our code resulting in many fixes (but don't worry, nothing was critical, just a small tuning :-)
* General bugfixing - this covers a lot of stability & performance changes in all components (but the main focus was traditionally on the network & engine components)

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2014 R4 [9.0.2021]

Changelog/Fixes:
* We've improved the security of the product - e.g security of our processes (guarded by the self defense component), we handle the conditions for the Guest account better, we are very senstitive for any incorrect inputs from the user with a negative impact on the system's security, or, we tuned the import settings functionality not to allow bypassing any protections
* We've added "resume" support in the setup component, so some of you should notice smoother downloading - depends on a "quality" of your connection (mainly during the program update where the amount of data is quite big)
* We've included a new antispam library (IS/Premier editions) for better accuracy of our anti-spam module
* We've put warnings during the installation process if there could be some obvious problems resulting in not 100% functionality after the installation (missing admin rights, insufficient space on disk, etc.)
* We've added ability to disable promotion popups (in PRO/IS/Premier editions). We strongly believe that our additional products can be valuable for you, but we also respect your will not to be bothered by such offers.
* We've performed a static analysis of our code resulting in many fixes (but don't worry, nothing was critical, just a small tuning
    General bugfixing - this covers a lot of stability & performance changes in all components (but the main focus was traditionally on the network & engine components)

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[Asyn]

avast! AV 2015 Beta 1 [10.0.2022]

Changelog/Fixes:
• HTTPS scanning: Now, we are able to detect and decrypt TLS/SSL protected traffic in our Web-content filtering component. We are using our own generated certificates that are added into the Root Certificate store in Windows and also into major browsers. This feature will protect you against viruses coming through HTTPs traffic as well as adding compatibility for SPDY+HTTPS/ HTTP 2.0 traffic. You can tune/disable this feature in the settings section.
• Home Network Security: Scan your home network for vulnerabilities (wifi status, connected devices, router settings, factory passwords, etc.). This is quite a new approach as we are trying to discover potential problems not isolated on the particular device only, but in the entire network of devices you use or connect to the Internet from.
• SecureDNS (this feature is active in the paid versions only): We are introducing a new provider which guards against unprotected DNS/DNS hijack on a router/client (including unsecured networks, public ones, etc.).
• Smart Scan: Integrated all on demand scans into one (Antivirus, Software updates, Home Network, GrimeFighter). One scan, different results and recommendations.
• New Support System: Easy contact for paid users to submit a ticket with all info included automatically. Improved knowledge base for free users. Help is completely online and is more up to date.
• General bugfixing: This covers a lot of stability & performance changes in all components (but the main focus was traditionally on the network & engine components).

Also, we have something extra prepared for you, but please be patient and wait for the beta update coming in approx. 14 days :-) Anyway, we would like to ask for your feedback, what is not working, what is your experience, whether do you see any performance problems, connectivity problems, etc. There is a lot of new low-level functionality with an impact to the whole system, so we need your feedback to tune everything for the final release. Thanks a lot!

Known issues:
- SecureDNS provider is not working correctly when you are on the restricted wi-fi networks
- If you are using Firefox while avast is installed, restart the browser for correct functionality of the SSL scanning
- SSL scanning scans only major browsers (FF,IE,Chrome) - checkbox in GUI is ignored

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[TerraX]

avast! AV 2015 Beta 2 [10.0.2200]

Changelog/Fixes:
• AVAST NG
A hardware based virtualization solution capable of running each Windows process in standalone safe virtualized environment (VM) and fully integrated to your desktop. Each process is executed in its own instance of VM, which means totally isolated from your other applications. This feature is now powering the Avast DeepScreen, resulting in better detection. The technology will also eventually power the Sandbox and SafeZone components (although it does not now).

Note: In this beta build, not all detections are 100% operable yet, so I wouldn't recommend using the new DeepScreen for detection testing for now. It will be 100% operable in the next couple of weeks - we will certainly let you know when is the good time to start testing with your malware collections.

Note 2: Avast NG can be installed only on physical machine, does not work in VM. It requires HW virtualization enabled.

• GrimeFighter Free
GrimeFighter will offer free cleaning of junk files and tuning of system settings. These tasks are performed by our Zilch and Torque minions. Other minion functions remain as paid-for features.

Known issues:
- IE AOSP plugin has still some minor issues
- slow first start of avast! UI after first reboot after update
- minor performance problems on Win8 under heavy network traffic

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[TerraX]

avast! AV 2015 Beta 3 [10.0.2201]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Improved malware detection in DeepScreen running on NG
• IE plugin - fixed problem with continuous opening AOSP settings
• Webshield - performance and stability changes
• Browser Cleanup - fixed missing extenstion list for Chrome 37
• SecureDNS stabilization
• Improved registration to Windows Security Center
• Many general performance and stability improvements

Known problems:
- Online content for GrimeFighter still in development
- There might be problems with removing bad addons on Win8.1 in Chrome in BCU

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2015 RC1 [10.0.2202]


In AVAST 2015 Release Candidate 1 you can find mainly stability a performance improvements:

• Added support for none SSE2 machines
• IE plugin - stability
• Changed program name to Avast
• Browser Cleanup - Chrome 38 support
• And some general performance and stability improvements

Known problems:
- we are not aware of them, find and report to us

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2015 RC2 [10.0.2203]


In AVAST 2015 Release Candidate 2 you can find mainly stability a performance improvements:

• Registration to Windows Security Center
• Fixed UI crash while logging to my.avast 
• Resource.pak corrupted - Boottime scan problems
• NG now installed only on machines with SSD disks
• and few internal stability improvements

Known problems:
- Cannot delete custom scan
- Aggressive Hardened mode still catches SafeZone browsers for few installations

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2015 RC3 [10.0.2204]


Changelog/Fixes:

• NG is now again installed on all HDDs, limitation only in CPU - minimum 2ghz
• Internal NG stability fixes
• Custom scan can be deleted now
• Karma points lead to correct my.avast page
• and few internal stability improvements

Known problems:
- please report to us

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).[/list]

[Asyn]

Avast AV 2015 RTM [10.0.2205]

Changelog/Fixes:
- Both channels - beta/production are now equal and contain same binaries
- NG is now installed again on machines with lower CPU than 2ghz

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[Asyn]

Avast AV 2015 Release-Version [10.0.2206]

HTTPS scanning
Ability to detect and decrypt TLS/SSL protected traffic in the Web-content filtering component. This feature will protect you against viruses coming through HTTPs traffic as well as adding compatibility for SPDY+HTTPS/ HTTP 2.0 traffic. You can tune/disable this feature in the settings section.

AVAST NG
A hardware based virtualization solution capable of running each Windows process in standalone safe virtualized environment (VM) and fully integrated to your desktop. Each process is executed in its own instance of VM, which means totally isolated from your other applications. This feature is now powering the Avast DeepScreen, resulting in better detection. Avast NG requires HW virtualization enabled.

SecureDNS (this feature is active in the paid versions only)
A new provider which guards against unprotected DNS/DNS hijack on a router/client (including unsecured networks, public ones, etc.).

Home Network Security
Scan your home network for vulnerabilities (wifi status, connected devices, router settings, factory passwords, etc.). It helps to discover potential problems not isolated on the particular device only, but in the entire network of devices you use or connect to the Internet from.

Smart Scan
Integrated all on demand scans into one (Antivirus, Software updates, Home Network, GrimeFighter). One scan, different results and recommendations.

GrimeFighter Free
GrimeFighter will offer free cleaning of junk files and tuning of system settings. These tasks are performed by our Zilch and Torque minions. Other minion functions remain as paid-for features.

New Support System
Easy contact for paid users to submit a ticket with all info included automatically. Improved knowledge base for free users. Help is completely online and is more up to date.

General bugfixing
This covers a lot of stability & performance changes in all components (but the main focus was traditionally on the network & engine components).

Infos & Feedback: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=157524.0

[DJBone]

avast! AV 2015 SP1 [10.0.2207]

Hi,
just a small notice about upcoming program update - AVAST 2015 SP1 (build number 10.0.2207). We've released
this version as a beta build now. If everything is ok, the final release should come in the following days.
What is fixed?


Changelog/Fixes:
* Missing NG component under certain circumstances
* Fixed a bug in the keyboard driver causing problems with keyboards
* Better compatibility of the WebShield with some https pages (e.g. spotify, waze, etc.)
* SecureDNS - better logic of server selection resulting in performance improvements
* Fixed reported crashes

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).[/list]

[DJBone]

Avast AV 2015 SP1 [10.0.2208]

Hi all,
we're glad to announce that we've just released AVAST 2015 SP1 (service pack1) - build number 10.0.2208.

Changelog/Fixes:
* Fixed problem with missing NG component under certain circumstances
* Fixed a bug in the keyboard driver causing problems with keyboards
* Better compatibility of the WebShield with some https pages (e.g. spotify, waze, etc.)
* SecureDNS - better logic of server selection resulting in performance improvements
* Fixed reported crashes

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved). Or you can use in-product updater.

Infos & Feedback: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=159534.0

[DJBone]

Avast AV 2015 R2 Beta1 [10.2.2209]

Hi all,

I'm glad to announce new beta version: AVAST 2015 R2 Beta1 (build number 2015.10.2.2209)

What's new:

-          Improved Windows 10 Compatibility

-          Changed setup flow for better license activation

-          Avast NG – lot’s of performance and stability fixes

-          AccessAnywhere function is removed and replaced with new remote connection feature available through Account screen in all editions

-          Browser Cleanup integrated to Avast UI and added to Smart Scan

-          GrimeFighter now supports UEFI

-          Stability and performance improvements


Known issues:

-          AOS plugin for chrome still needs some UI fixes

-          Some features on Windows 10 might not work correctly (Sandbox, DeepScreen, browser plugin in IE)

-          Avast UI crashes on Windows XP64b


It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).

[Asyn]

Avast AV 2015 R2 Beta2 [10.2.2210]

Changelog/Fixes:
- Performance fixes in stream filter
- IE AOSP plugin is more stable than ever
- NG now can be installed on x86 machines without VTx/AMDv
- BCU internal improvements

Known issues:
- Please tell us about them

It should be possible to install this version on top of your existing avast! installation (all settings should be preserved).