No Web/Email access when avast is on

[bearmed]

I am new to Avast and to this forum and I couldn't find no answer to my problem via search.

System: Win XP SP2
I installed avast 4.6 Home edition (updated both program and base). When I turn on Web Shield I can't open any site in my Opera browser (8.52 for Win) - even avast.com
When I turn on Internet Mail - my mail program (The Bat) can't connect to any of the servers to check mail. The (a) in the tray is not spinning.
When I turn those off everything works fine - both Opera and The Bat function the way they should. I was looking to the settings and changing them, but to no effect.

[liljoe]

do you have zone alarm or any other firewall installed that might be blocking outgoing access?

[bearmed]

do you have zone alarm or any other firewall installed that might be blocking outgoing access?

Nope. It is clean Windows XP SP2 with its firewall turned off. And neither incoming nor outgoing of mail is working.

[alanrf]

bearmed,

welcome to the avast forum.

Let me first give you our standard warning that running without a firewall is like leaving home with all the windows and doors wide open ... come one, come all.

Moving on to your immediate problem ... I know you said this is a clean Windows XP SP2 system ... but (there's always a but) did you install any other antivirus software (even if you uninstalled it) before you installed avast?

[bearmed]

bearmed,

welcome to the avast forum.

thank you

Let me first give you our standard warning that running without a firewall is like leaving home with all the windows and doors wide open ... come one, come all.

Well, excuse me, but isn't one of the functions of avast is firewall or something of this kind?

Moving on to your immediate problem ... I know you said this is a clean Windows XP SP2 system ... but (there's always a but) did you install any other antivirus software (even if you uninstalled it) before you installed avast?

Nope, I was unstalling the avast right after the clean installation of the Windows. Besides, to the best of my knowledge, should such thing happen, avast is usually gives a warning about such things.

[bearmed]

there is another thing - I am starting to suspect that the Windows XP SP2 firewall is still working - are there ways to tune it to let the avast working under it without both of them having black eyes and bloody noses, so to say? if this part was discussed on the forum already - please point me to the URL - 'cause I seem to keep overlooking it...

[alanrf]

avast is not and does not claim to be a firewall.  You need a to install a specific firewall product.

No, there are certain instances in which avast can detect and warn about the installed presence of other antivirus products, but the remains of other other products can, even after they have been officially "uninstalled", impair the function of avast (NAV being a well known example).

The Windows firewall does not, to the best of my knowledge, prevent outbound access so it is not likely to be the cause of the problems you are encountering.

[Lisandro]

My mail program (The Bat) can't connect to any of the servers to check mail.

Do you have installed the avast plugin for The Bat? The Internet Mail provider could be interfering (although it shouldn't).
Into Control Panel > Add/Remove programs > Change will show you if the plugin is installed.
The same as Alanr posted, Windows XP firewall disabled could not block you to send/receive mail.

[bearmed]

2alanrf:

avast is not and does not claim to be a firewall.  You need a to install a specific firewall product.

Please, I am foreigner to English but not foreigner to thinking.

Excerpt from the page http://avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html :

A new resident protection module was added to avast! 4.5: the Network Shield. This module provides protection against known Internet worms/attacks. It analyses all network traffic and scans it for malicious contents. It can be viewed as a lightweight firewall (or more precisely, an IDS (Intrusion Detection System)).

I don't say that Win XP SP2 firewall blocks my mail and web traffic - on the contrary it does work except  when the avast Web Shield and Internet Mail Shield are up (working). Now having Internet Mail Shield on does not prevent web traffic (opening URLs in browser) and Web Shield when on is not intefering with email communication. Looks like each of them successfully fights the traffic they have to monitor for viruses - I mean Opera "plays dead" and The Bat "plays dead" when corresponding shields ARE working.

[CharleyO]

***

I guess it would be best at this point to wait until one of the Avast team members replies to this post so that ......

It can be viewed as a lightweight firewall (or more precisely, an IDS (Intrusion Detection System)

...... can be explained properly as Awil means for it to be understood from their webpage.


***

[alanrf]

Well, a light firewall is like light beer - it does not satisfy. 

Thank you for drawing our attention to that "claim" in the avast description. 

I suspect that few if any of the avast supporters in this forum would propose to anyone to use avast as a firewall.  I hope that the avast team will give serious consideration to rewording that part of the product description.

I stand by the recommendation that you seek out a real firewall product. 

[Lisandro]

Thank you for drawing our attention to that "claim" in the avast description. 

avast NetShield BEHAVIOR like a light firewall.
avast is not a firewall. Maybe the explain in few words the NetShield behavior they took this way... Maybe avast team should consider reviewing this.
For sure, users should use a real firewall application besides avast.

[bearmed]

All right, we dealt with the firewall matter and claims. Thank you all for your input.

How about the main questions - when avast! Web Shield is working, no web browsing is possible, when Internet Mail Shield is working, no receiving/sending mail is possible.

Thank you again for your patience

[mengen27]

Hello,

It seems that I have the same problem.
I was searching the net for an answer (Google addict ..) but didn't found a clear one.

I use Avast home edition, which is a good product indeed  .

Sometimes, not all the times, it is locking my internet access, even the homepage of my Internet provider, www.free.fr (yes, I'm French  ).

I have to deactivate the Web shield to open the homepage ...

XP firewall is not active, SP2 is present, I'm connected after a Netgear RP614 V2.

The lock can also appear when opening :

1°) advertising links coming from "regular" companies,  like www.vente-privee.com or www.cdiscount.com.

2°) access to hotmail mailbox via the mail icon of MSN Messenger. 100% locking any time.

I'm suspecting "advertising" messages on the web pages but I can't see any options about deactivating something in Avast.

I did not notice this problem with the previous version of avast .

Prior to Avast, I was using Norton 2005 but I uninstall it last year, laborious work ..., it seems that Symantec doesn't want it to be uninstalled ...

Hope this will help your quest ... and mine also 

[Lisandro]

I have to deactivate the Web shield to open the homepage ...

Besides the possibility of NAV trashes are blocking a good avast installation, I do recommend the uninstallation, boot, use the avast unistall tool, boot and install again.