avast! Knowledge Base article 22 states:
"If you are using ZoneAlarm with Privacy Control turned on, ZoneAlarm's cookie blocking feature currently does not work properly with WebShield's transparent proxy" and "it is necessary to bypass the Web Shield's transparent proxy and set things up manually."
The following explains how to achieve compatibility between ZoneAlarm's "Privacy Control" and avast! 4.8 and how to avoid any possible incompatibility between ZoneAlarm's "Privacy Control" and avast! 5.0. This discussion will be of concern to you only if your ZoneAlarm product contains the "Privacy Control" function and only if you have that "Privacy Control" function turned ON. If that's not the case, this particular conflict between avast! and ZoneAlarm will not arise. While this information may only concern a relatively few users, for those that it does affect, it does have some degree of importance.
Links to cited or related avast! Knowledge Base articles:
KB article 22:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=22KB article 296:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=296KB article 19:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=19KB article 297:
https://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=297Windows 95/98/Me (and avast! 4.8):
avast! Web Shield's "transparent proxy" does not operate under Windows 95/98/Me and, thus, the foregoing conflict with ZoneAlarm will not arise. In order that web traffic is directed through avast!'s Web Shield, manually set each of your browsers' proxy server settings to "localhost" (or 127.0.0.1) and port 12080. For more on this, see avast! Knowledge Base article 22. See also pages 62-63 of the avast! 4.8 Home Edition User Guide (Web Shield settings). If you actually do use a proxy server, follow the instructions in avast! Knowledge Base article 296.
Windows XP (and NT/2000/Vista and 7 too . . . ???):
With Windows XP, the procedure to achieve compatibility with avast!'s Web Shield is a two step process:
First, you need to disable the Web Shield's "transparent proxy mode".
Next, you need to manually configure your browsers' proxy server settings (so that web traffic is directed through avast!'s Web Shield).
The following covers both version 4.8 and version 5.0 for the reason that, to date, avast! has provided no information (that I've been able to find) as to whether or not this recognized and previously existing conflict affecting version 4.8 either (A) has been fixed in version 5.0, or (B) continues unchanged in version 5.0. Given the lack of information as to whether the conflict continues, a person who is also running a ZoneAlarm product with "Privacy Control" turned ON may decide, out of an abundance of caution, to set up version 5.0 in the same manner as version 4.8, in order to completely avoid any possibility that such conflict might occur. As near as I can tell from this user's standpoint, Web Shield's "transparent proxy" appears to work the same in version 5.0 as it did in version 4.8.
In version 4.8, disabling the Web Shield's "transparent proxy mode" is achieved by inserting the line
ZoneAlarmCompatibility=1
into the [WebScanner] section of avast4.ini. Such change to avast4.ini can be achieved in either of two ways:
(1) If ZoneAlarm is installed on your system at the time that avast! 4.8 is installed, an "Incompatible software detected" dialog will pop up during the avast! installation. Click "Yes" and ZoneAlarmCompatibility=1 will be written into avast4.ini. Or,
(2) avast4.ini can be opened and such line can be either added or edited. [In order to be allowed to "save" such change to avast4.ini, first go to Settings > Troubleshooting and check "Disable avast! self-defense module".]
In version 5.0, disabling the Web Shield's "transparent proxy mode" is achieved by inserting the line
ZoneAlarmCompatibility=1
into the [WebScanner] section of WebShield.ini (which is found, by default in Windows XP, at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Alwil Software\Avast5\). [In order to be allowed to "save" such change to WebShield.ini, first go to Settings > Troubleshooting and UNcheck "Enable avast! self-defense module".]
Once the "transparent proxy mode" has been disabled, manually set each of your browsers' proxy server settings to "localhost" (or 127.0.0.1) and port 12080 (so that web traffic is directed through the Web Shield). For more on this, see avast! Knowledge Base article 22. See also pages 62-63 of the avast! 4.8 Home Edition User Guide (Web Shield settings).
If you actually do use a proxy server, follow the instructions in avast! Knowledge Base article 296. Although I haven't been able to check this out (since I don't use an actual proxy server), it would appear that one should, in this situation, follow the "Windows 98/Me" procedures in KB article 296 (substituting WebShield.ini for avast4.ini), because the "transparent proxy mode" has been disabled (causing Web Shield to function as in Windows 98/Me). Note also that the "Redirected HTTP ports" options, mentioned in the User Guide and KB article 296, are now, in version 5.0, located at Settings > Troubleshooting.
The foregoing discussion is based upon installing avast! Home Edition 4.8.1335 and avast! Free 5.0.677 on Windows XP SP-3.
