Avast AV Beta News [Windows]

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2305]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Fixed blocking of traffic from virtual machines by firewall

Known issues:
• Offline installation of Avast does not work without network

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2306]

Changelog/Fixes:
• New dialogs for malware detections
• Offline installation of Avast works without network
• Loading of some websites no longer blocked by Web Shield

Known issues:
• Behavior shield detection dialog not updated

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2307]

Changelog/Fixes:
• New Sensitive Data Shield component
   » it scans for documents (pdf,doc,txt) on your PC that contain sensitive information (agreements, work documents, flight tickets etc) and offers an extra protection of those
   » the documents are then protected against access by untrusted apps
• New SafeZone browser version
• Fixed crash during product activation by license

Known issues:
• Settings for Sensitive Data Shield not ready yet
• Sensitive Data Shield does not protect already protected files when those are modified
• Behavior Shield detection dialog not updated to new design

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2308]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Anti-phishing in Web Shield - Web Shield now blocks Phishing sites even without the browser plugin Avast Online Security installed in the browser
• New Cleanup Premium - Cleanup is now standalone application, in beta you can use it even without license
• New detection dialogues also for Behavioral Shield
• Improved flow of all detection dialogues
• Fixed animation of systray icon

Known issues:
• Active Game Mode does not suspend Avast pop-up dialogues
• Avast service random crashes
• Cleanup installation sometimes does not work on Windows 10

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2309]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Systray icon now has a blue dot, when there is a new unread notification
• New notification when you connect to a new network for the first time and provides an option to scan it

Known issues:
• No known major issues

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.6.2310]

Changelog/Fixes:
• We found a bug in licensing, so we just released new version with fix

Known issues:
• No known major issues

[Asyn]

Avast AV Release-Version [17.6.2310]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Improved Anti-Phishing prevents you from falling victim to scams and fake sites (no browser extension needed!)
• New standalone Avast Cleanup Premium product with improved cleaning (to be rolled out in stages)
• We now recommend scanning for hidden network threats when you first connect to a new network
• Our systray icon now shows when you have a security notification
• Improved threat detections are now more visible and more informative about threats

Infos & Feedback: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=208049.0

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.7.2311]

Changelog/Fixes:
• SafeZone Browser is not installed with clean AV installation anymore (https://www.avast.com/faq.php?article=AVKB209)
• Several bug-fixes

Known issues:
• Setup: Cleanup component cannot be uninstalled via modify installation or from UI
• Setup: Passive mode is not activated when another Antivirus solution is already installed
• Game Mode: All game mode rules are turned off by default (this setting is reloaded after restart)
   » Affects both clean installation and update
• Sensitive Data Shield: When protected documents are modified, such documents are no longer protected
• Sensitive Data Shield: When protected document is stored on device which is unplugged and plugged back to the computer, such documents are no longer protected
• Sensitive Data Shield: Changing rule allow/block in settings are not saved (the rule cannot be changed due to this)

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.7.2312]

Changelog/Fixes:
• You can add Real site exclusions to Webshield exclusions in following form: dns://donotfilter.mydomain.com

Known issues:
• Sensitive Data Shield (remains the same as in 17.7 (BETA1)
   » When protected documents are modified, such documents are no longer protected
   » When protected document is stored on device which is unplugged and plugged back to the computer, such documents are no longer protected
   » Changing rule allow/block in settings are not saved (the rule cannot be changed due to this)

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.7.2313]

Changelog/Fixes:
• New Webcam shield that checks which apps are trying to turn on your webcam (3 modes)
   » Smart mode (default) - we allow trusted apps and ask to grant access for unknown apps
   » Strict mode - we always ask user if the app should access webcam or not
   » No mercy mode - we always block the access to webcam so your webcam can't be turned on
• New Virus Chest - it's now part of main UI, more easily accessible via main navigation
• Improved low level optimizations for AMD Ryzen CPUs

Known issues:
• It is not possible to disable WebCam shield
• There are no notifications in WebCam shield in No mercy mode
• WebCam shield detection dialogues are not displayed on top in case some metro application is detected
• Help for WebCam shield is not localized

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.7.2314]

Changelog/Fixes:
• It is possible to enable/disable WebCam
• Wifi Inspector scan is now started parallely in Smart Scan to speed up whole Smart Scan

[Asyn]

Avast AV Release-Version [17.7.2314]

Changelog/Fixes:
• New Webcam Shield stops hackers from hijacking your webcam to spy on you (Premier only)
• Virus Chest redesigned and moved to the Protection menu for easier access
• Improved low-level optimizations for better performance with AMD Ryzen CPUs
• Exclusions for Real Site (Secure DNS) can now be added via Web Shield exclusions
• Added support for credit cards in Avast Passwords
• Refreshed UI of SecureLine VPN

Infos & Feedback: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=209423.0

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.8.2315]

Changelog/Fixes:
• We did not finished any new feature in adequate BETA quality

Known issues:
• When a license/subscription is about to expire, empty dialog may be shown.
• Passive mode does not behave correctly in some cases.

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.8.2316]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Reporting more statuses to Windows Security Center on latest Windows 10 Fall's Creators Update
• Fixed BSOD on x64 systems caused by Sandbox driver
• Fixed crashing User Interface when Sign-In is used
• Fixed resetting Game Mode rules to default (all ON) after service (computer) restart
• Fixed Avast service exceptions creating dumps of it (without service crash)
• Fixed issue with Gmail signature (007 error) that was breaking outgoing emails
• Fixed Firewall new network toaster to set the correct profile
• Fixed several issues in passive mode (e.g. Avast in passive mode when no other Antivirus solution is installed, Avast in passive mode when another Antivirus client is installed as second etc.)
• And several other internal fixes and tweaks of the product

Known issues:
• Behavioral Shield does not display detection dialog when any of the automatic modes are enabled
• Update execution from Windows Security Center when product is outdated does not work
• Some of the Scan settings (at least areas to scan) are not accepted (ignored) when scan is executed
• User Interface freezes under some (currently unknown) conditions

[Asyn]

Avast AV Beta-Version [17.8.2317]

Changelog/Fixes:
• Firewall component status reporting
• Real Site (Secure DNS) component crashing
• Issue related to in-product messaging causing the service to consume abnormal CPU resources
• Service crashing when license file is not present
• Update execution from Windows Security Center when product is outdated
• Restoring of malware from the virus Chest detected by Behavioral Shield when removal required computer restart
• Displaying toaster for Smart Scan when it is executed and User Interface is closed
• User Interface crashing when all options in Smart Scan were disabled
• Accepting special characters (such as <, >, etc.) in displaying toasters (such as Firewall - new network detection)
• Behavioral Shield does not display detection dialog when any of the automatic modes is enabled
• Restore dialog in Chest is correctly in CEF now
• User Interface crashing when Firewall button was used in displayed Firewall toaster
• Issue with creating Rescue USB disc on some (usually older ones) types of USB flash drives
• Scheduled daily scan is now always run on time

Known issues:
• Scan for performance issues (in SmartScan or Performance → Cleanup) did not find any issue and got stuck in scanning progress
   » Note: This issue was just partially fixed. However, still happenning and under further investigation at the moment.
• UI freeze during sample restore from Virus Chest

Suggested areas of testing:
• Restoring of samples from Virus Chest
• Scan settings and applying of these settings for different scans
• Smart scan and performance scan behavior

We are aware of suspicious behavior in mentioned areas and we would like to get your feedback and bug reports regarding these areas. It is important for us to obtain more results from different scenarios, environments, OS's, and so on.