@ KN1957,
So if I understand you correctly, your machine is not acting right now and this happened all of a sudden. But is this for both machines or just one? Are you on a network or did you share any removable media between the two machines?
Here is a thread recently posted by an Avast Team member (Lukor - Post #8) regarding the Web Shield and third-party FW:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=65284.0 that may help you resolve your issue if it is your FW causing your issue.
However since your machine is acting differently, I'd like to also rule out malware with Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (
MBAM).
· Download
free http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for an on-demand scanner.
· Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
· After install, click
update so you have latest database before scanning.
· Under Settings:
o
General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o
Scanner Settings:
Check all boxeso
Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
· Once the program has loaded, select "Perform
FULL Scan", then click Scan.
· The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
· When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
· Click the “
remove selected” button to quarantine anything found. You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
· The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
·
Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply.
Next, please make sure your Avast definitions are current and run a
Avast Full scan. If an infection is identified, put it in the Virus Chest where it is safe (do
NOT delete it).
After this, run an
Avast Boot-time scan. If anything is found on your Avast Full or Boot scans, please post the results with the exact spelling of the infections or if possible a screen shot of the Virus Chest as well. But remember to cut and paste your MBAM scan as well.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.