How to silence Network Shield on Avast 5?

[Navvy]

Network Shield keeps popping up a warning about an exploit, and giving a voice message.  The statistics page shows no infections, so I can't tell what the problem is about.  In one case it popped up while downloading a Windows Update, and the update failed.  There are no exclusions permitted on the network shield, but I've now added the Windows Update server URLs to the web shield.

I don't want to disable the Network Shield protection, but I don't want lots of popups and voice warnings - especially when they just tell me it has been blocked and there is nothing I can do about it.  Other popups are useful ro informative, but the network shield is just like having a firewall that pops up for every intrusion and can't operate silently.  Do I have to shut off all alerts just to silence the network shield?

Edited to say that I'm using Vista SP2, and just installed Avast 5.0.418.

[DavidR]

That is the point it is blocking the exploit attempt so it shouldn't be on your system.

The fact that you are downloading a windows update is neither here nor there as the exploit attempt didn't come from there. Many, many years ago I got hit by the blaster worm (avg was my AV then) when at windows update trying to get XP updates after installing it I doubt that MS was infecting my system.

I presume this was a DCOM exploit attempt, which is both random and speculative. Random in that it isn't targeted at your system but a randomly generated IP address, commonly from an infected system of someone on the same ISP as you. Speculative in that if your system/OS is fully up to date the exploit/vulnerability has been closed, that doesn't stop them trying. So their random nature should meant that they won't continue to hit the same IP that you are using.

Your firewall really should be stopping this before avast's network shield, what is your firewall ?

[Navvy]

Firewall is just the Windows Vista Firewall, since I removed McAfee to install Avast.

It is a series of DCOM exploits on port 135.  I can't remember what (if anything) I did on my XP machine to block 135.  That machine is running Avast 4.8 with a Network Shield which seems to be silent.

How can I recommend that a relative pays for Avast just to silence its firewall?  They will just tell me to get rid of it and put McAfee back.

[Navvy]

Found the loophole.  Unticked the exception for File & Printer Sharing, and now Shields Up reports stealth mode on all ports.

[DavidR]

avast doesn't have a firewall in either the free or pro version (only the suite version), the network shield isn't a firewall but it monitors common ports used for exploit.

As you now see the vista firewall effectively lets the traffic through port 135 (with file and printer sharing) and the network shield acted as it should as a back-up in blocking the exploit attempt.