Nothing Found After Alerted to Possible Threat

[PamJ]

Hello again!  Hope everyone is doing well.

I was typing in Word when I received an audible alert (siren included) saying a possible threat was detected.  I'm assuming it had to be avast! since that's the only resident scanner I'm using.  I immediately did a thorough scan with avast!--nothing detected. (Avast is set to automatically update.)  Made sure Malware Bytes and Super Anitispyware were updated and then did thorough scans with them.  Nothing.  Then I did a boot scan with avast!  Still nothing.

I'm always hook up to the Internet and I have Outlook check my Comcast and another web-based e-mail account every five minutes.  (I have clients that e-mail me work.)

No window popped up saying what the threat might be, like it did the last time I actually did have a problem.

Am I okay to assume all is fine? 

Thanks again!

Pam

I've really had enough rain for awhile here!

[DavidR]

If this detection was by the Web Shield, it would have offered only one option, Abort Connection, was that what happened ?

If so that 'should' stop it being saved on to your system as the web shield uses a localhost proxy (temporary location) to scan internet traffic before they are saved to your browser cache so you can view it in your browser. By aborting the connection avast drops that file and it doesn't get on your system, so it isn't unusual not to find anything in a subsequent scan; though it isn't wrong to do a confirmatory scan.

[PamJ]

Hi, DavidR!  I did not see any visual window pop up showing any option, only an audible siren and a "voice" saying that a possible threat was detected.  Now, I was typing pretty fast (it's my line of work!) so maybe it popped up and with my typing at the same time, I hit a key that closed it before I ever saw it (?).

[DavidR]

The alert if the web shield or standard shield would have remained on the screen. If however it was the Network Shield blocking a malicious site, this is a much more low key alert, with only a display in the lower right of the screen which goes after a while.

Check the Network Shield, Customize, Last Attacks and this will show the date and time os any attack, if this corresponds to the rough time of your alert then that was it and it too would block anything getting on your system.

Check the avast! Log Viewer (right click the avast 'a' icon), Warning section, this contains information on all avast detections (for the approx, date, time of the alert). C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashLogV.exe - Or check the source file using notepad C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\log\Warning.log
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When posting URLs to suspect sites, change the http to hXXp so the link isn't active (clickable) avoiding accidental exposure.

[PamJ]

This is odd, nothing in the log viewer for anything except under "Notice."  And the last attack listed for the Network Shield is from March 30, 2009.

On a side note, under Settings/Logging, it's set to "Notice." What's the setting here for?  Is there where it should be?

Thanks!

Pam

[DavidR]

It means all log entries down to Notice level will be recorded in the logs. Moving the slider down would cover even lessor important entries being logged.

So I can only assume that this alert wasn't from avast if there are no entries in the Warning section of the log or in the network shield last attacks section.

So what other security applications do you have ?

[Lisandro]

Moving the slider down would cover even lessor important entries being logged.

Not all the time they would be less important than. For sure, more verbose, but, sometimes, could help troubleshoot, specially for advanced users.