I have just installed Firefox 2.0.0.14. Previously I was using Internet Explorer 7. OS is XP-Home, SP2, all updates current. Web shield seems to be working correctly when using Firefox, the icon spins and Webshield scanned count seems to be incrementing correctly. I have not changed any Avast! settings since installing Firefox and the Webshield settings were and still are the default ones.
Is there some reason that I would need to follow the setup for proxies given in the Avast! tutorial about Firefox proxy settings.