Nothing seems to have changed

[AiNt]

Hi.. This evening I decided I'd like to reinstall Avast. I'd moved away from Avast more than a year ago because I became frustrated at not being able to resolve a problem whereby Avast prevented me from browsing the internet. Numorous good natured folk offered me various explanations, mostly blaming everything but Avast. Eventually I uninstalled it, switched to a rival product and immediately my problems went away. I have missed certain aspects of the protection Avast offers which is why I have returned to it. And yet sure enough as soon as the installation is completed etc... I'm unable to browse the internet. Just to get to this forum I've had to right-click the toolbar icon and disable shields for an hour.

Before the kind folk on this forum leap to insist that there are numorous references to other posts here with guidance to assist me, I'd like to point out that I've already spent almost an hour looking for a simple explanation and possible solution. Perhaps some might consider me impatient but I am unprepared to continue fishing for a fix.

So.. does anyone actually know why it is that having installed Avast I am unable to even get to my regular google.co.uk homepage without first disabling the shields? If someone really does know, would they be kind enough to tell me howto work around it?

[Tarq57]

Please post information about the computer specs, the OS (including service pack), the previous antivirus (and steps used to remove it) and any other security programs - especially firewall - installed.

Re your internet connection: Is it cable, dial up, do you use a proxy server etc?

[AiNt]

Hi, thank you for responding so quickly.

XP SP3
Athlon XP3200+ 2GB ram
Avast! v6.0.1091
Online Armor v4.5.1.431
Ethernet connection to ADSL+2 Router

I uninstalled Microsoft Security Essentials using Add/Remove Applications within Windows XP control panel. I'm not using any other types of security software. I dont use a proxy server.

[sded]

If you haven't done so already, go to Online Armor/Options/Exclusions and exclude the Avast Software folder and then reboot.  There are still some issues there as both programs evolve.

[AiNt]

hi sded, thank you for responding.

Ok, i've done that, no change.

[sded]

If you don't mind a little uninstall/reinstall exercise, users have actually fixed some similar problems in the recent past by changing the order and method of installing OA and Avast! together.  It may not solve your problem, but has worked for others and ended up with both programs working well.  To see if it works for you:
1.  First save your OA settings.  Then uninstall both OA and Avast!  This will leave you with the Windows Firewall but no AV, so you may want to disconnect from the internet.  Use the Avast! uninstaller at http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear6.exe  Boot between each uninstall, twice after OA.
2.  Reinstall Avast!  See if you can connect to the internet.  Your configuration will be Windows Firewall + Avast!
If you can't, whatever the conflicts are, that is not your problem
3.  Reinstall OA in any case, since others may have better suggestions.  (You may want to download the latest version 5 at http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/oa/ )  .  During the setup, exclude the Avast! folder as before.
The Avast!/OA configuration works well for most people,even with XP, so

[AiNt]

Thanks for this, I've printed it off and i'm going to take a shot at it later today, it's like 04:15 here. I appreciate the help whatever the outcome. I'll post the result when i'm done

regards..

[CraigB]

You should probably go to here http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/ and get the removal tool for mse to get rid of the left overs before you reinstall your av too, you can also find other uninstall tools there for any other av's you may of had in the past, once done removing please follow sded's advice.

[SafeSurf]

You should probably go to here http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/ and get the removal tool for mse to get rid of the left overs before you reinstall your av too, you can also find other uninstall tools there for any other av's you may of had in the past, once done removing please follow sded's advice.

I'll make it easy for him.  Here is the MSE Uninstaller tool:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2435760/, then reboot your machine.

You may also want to run a cleaner in between uninstalls like CCleaner, a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool.  There is a Slim version available as well at http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds – 4th option down.  It removes unused files (cache, temporary Internet files, etc.) from your system, allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.  It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. 

Then you go on to the information posted by sded.

I use Avast and OA with XP and use the exclusions without any problems.

To exclude OA in Avast:

·   Settings > Exclusions > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
·   Real Time Shields > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.
·   Behavior Shield > Expert Settings > Trusted Processes > Add > search for Online Armor and click on the box to the left of it and add it, then click OK.  Also change action to take in Behavior Shield to “Ask.”

To exclude Avast in OA:

·   Open the OA GUI > Options > Exclusions > Add > click on the pop-up window and find C:\Program Files\Avast Software\.

·   When you reboot OA, after the Safety Wizard, OA goes into Learning Mode, make sure all Avast shields are left on and leave everything alone until it is done.

·   Reboot your machine again; OA requires two boots.  After this second reboot, you may get a pop-up asking you if you trust Avast (if you didn't put the exclusions in already).  Answer the pop-up as "Trust Always" and "Remember My Decision" and you should not get any more pop-ups.  Answer incorrectly and you will get future pop-ups. 

·   Open the OA GUI > Programs > untick "Hide Trusted" so that you can see everything > look to make sure everything from Avast is not "blocked" (red) or "ask" (yellow).  If it is, right-click the item and change it to "Trust."  Reboot.

·   Open the OA GUI > Options > Backup/Restore > Save your settings once you have everything the way you want it.

Let us know if you have any questions.  Thank you.

[sded]

Doing an MSE cleanup at the same time you remove Avast! is a good idea-just in case.  If you can get everything working with just Avast! running (Step 2), then the exclusions can help keep things working correctly.