Avast SecureDNS & HTTPS Web Shield Problems... (Avast 2015)

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Hello,
I have the same problem. After restarting the PC following an update, I was cut out of the internet (Ethernet connexion). Troubleshooting (Window 7 32 bit) said "the DNS server cannot be reached". Funny, another PC (Wifi connexion) connected to the same router showed no problem. After turning off Web shield protection, the problem was gone.
Well, what could I have done wrong, I asked to myself? Oh yes, Avast update AND Windows update, but only one reboot. How stupid of me. OK, uninstalled completely Avast, run Crap Cleaner and Glary Utilities, got rid of broken registry entries, clean install of Avast.... and the problem is there again! I am not with Web Shield protection turned off: if I turn it on I lose the DNS.

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Hi guys.  I just had new installs of Avast Free 2015 kill two customer's internet connectivity.  The one from last night was a real emergency situation and the only thing I could come up with was to eliminate the IE icons and just use Chrome (which worked where IE quit).  (Brand new Asus laptop Win8.1)

The second situation (today) I uninstalled using Revo... but the Win7 connectivity tray icon still said "No Internet Connection".  I could ping locally 127.0.0.1 and 192.168.1.1 (router) but nothing outside AFTER the uninstall.  (Win7HmPrem Gateway dsktp abt 1 year old).

So?  Forced to use my smart phone to beg for help through Google - and found a barely understandable Pakistani guy's YouTube video where he simply loaded OpenDNS's DNS settings - immediately fixed the problem.  For some stupid reason Avast (even after complete uninstall) has overridden the native DNS settings...  and NOTHING you do will fix that - short of using Google's 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 or OpenDNS's 222 and 220, etc., etc. 

So Avast?  WTF.  Fix this total train wreck mess or loose whatever's left of your customer base.  I, for one, do NOT have time to dick around with small crap like this when I'm at a customers HOUSE cleaning viruses for a small living - for crying out loud.

Sure - I'll give this thing a second chance - but only after I read here (and elsewhere) that this problem has been overcome.  Good lord what a hassle.

Bill Trail
PC Doctor
Macon, Georgia July 3, 2015

PS:  SO MUCH FOR YOUR BIG WOOP CONSUMER GUIDE MAGAZINE 1ST PLACE.  Kiss THAT magazine goodbye too.

[bob3160]

How did you remove the pr-installed trial of the third party AV that comes on an Asus computer
Not removing it properly before installing Avast or any other resident AV can result in all sorts of problems.
See my signature for help in successfully installing Avast.

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The latest update is horrible if you have a LAN and need to access computers locally. Avast has added a plug-in to verify DNS requests and changes the IPs without any warning. So you end up with an external IP instead of the internal IP which causes programs to fail of course, your only option is to use the IP and not the name. There is no way to disable this behavior, at least not in the free version, without disabling Avast totally. I used wireshark to find out that some Avast DNS server was accessed and modified the IP.
This new feature might be useful to detect/prevent "Man-in-the-middle" attacks or such, but it should at least be in the settings with some options to disable it or add exceptions.

Until this is fixed I have to disable Avast or rollback to a previous version.

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Since my post in May I have uninstalled Avast, upgraded to Win10, tried Panda, removed it because it would not let me finishing install another software, cleaned registries, removed remnant files with Glary Utilities, Crap Cleaner and Revo Uninstaller, removed Windows.old.... Today I have reinstalled Avast, hopin no memory effect, but the Web Shield problem is still there! The only way to get a connection to the internet is to turn off the web shield.
I even tried to add the Web Shield to the list of authorized programs in Windows Firewall, thinking that might be the culprit, but I do not find any executable corresponding to the Web shield, just a dll.
I'm now staying with Web shield turned off, but it's quite surprising that such an issue affecting so many users (do a web search and you'll see how many!) has not been addressed yet.