The latest Avast 2015 upgrade has disabled my Outlook 2007, as well. I can send mail but can't download it. When using an encrypted connection, I get the error that my encryption method isn't supported. Without encryption it says it can't access my server. When I disable the shields everything works fine. I'm POPing 3 accounts and they all behave the same way.
I've tried running avastclear, rebooting, and reinstalling, but the results are the same. Everything worked fine before the upgrade.
I see a system tray warning saying Avast SecureLine Disconnected. That page in the UI says "SecureLine has encountered a technical issue. The online content is unavailable. Please, check your internet connection and try again." My Internet connection is fine. Clicking Reload has no effect -- the same error comes up. Turning off SecureLine has no effect. I'm not on a VPN, so I don't know why I'd need this tool.
Turning off GrimeFighter (a previous culprit in this kind of problem) also has no effect.
This is a Win7 SP1 PC.