Avast Free blocking my SSL (Private VPN) connection, how come?

[Zooropa]

Hi,

Ok so I have been using Avast for a while now and I'm really 'loving' it.
But I just discovered that it interferes with my 'Astrill' Private VPN service.

Here's my story. I contacted Astrill support to tell them that I cannot access any
website when I use their service. They asked me to uninstall my AV software but I said
I'm sure that is not the problem because Avast never gave me problems before. Then they gave me another solution which did not work.
Finally, they transferred me to their "Level 2" support team through e-mail.

So I though I'll try disabling Avast and see what happens. Well, guess what?
Everything works great when Avast is disabled. But I just don't feel safe. Now i know
that it's not a Firewall but how come it's blocking me from connecting?

I did a quick search and found out that I cannot set 'trusted apps' in Avast as it's not a firewall,
so how can I achieve this then? I wanna run both.
Any help\suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

-Vista 64bit, COMODO (Disabled), Avast Free 6.0.1289 latest update.

[ady4um]

First, delete all Avast related (service, UI, setup) firewall rules.

Reboot. When Avast tries to connect, your firewall should ask to build the rules anew.

If Avastsvc.exe is not added after that, add it manually to firewall rules.

If that's enough so to make it work, good.

If not, then close any other programs (specially those that are having problems to connect) and try:

Avast main GUI -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "... well known browsers only". Save and reboot (reboot not really necessary this time, but better for troubleshooting).

Test and report back.

[Zooropa]

First, delete all Avast related (service, UI, setup) firewall rules.

Reboot. When Avast tries to connect, your firewall should ask to build the rules anew.

If Avastsvc.exe is not added after that, add it manually to firewall rules.

If that's enough so to make it work, good.

If not, then close any other programs (specially those that are having problems to connect) and try:

Avast main GUI -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "... well known browsers only". Save and reboot (reboot not really necessary this time, but better for troubleshooting).

Test and report back.

Hi and thanks for the reply.

Between posting this thread and reading your reply I have already uninstalled COMODO.
So when you talk about Firewall rules you're talking about the ones in COMODO, right?
If not then even my Windows Firewall is disabled for months now already.

Yet the problem still occurs.
But when I try your second solution, (Avast main GUI -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "... well known browsers only") this works fine and I can connect!

But, is it safe?
and why I have to set that up if I don't have any Firewall installed anyway?
I'm a bit confused and I'm afraid that COMODO has left traces even after being removed.

Any ideas?
Thanks for the help!

[Asyn]

1. Between posting this thread and reading your reply I have already uninstalled COMODO.

2. But when I try your second solution, (Avast main GUI -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "... well known browsers only") this works fine and I can connect!

3. But, is it safe?

1. Nobody told you to uninstall your firewall.
2. Good.
3. Yep. (It's back as it was with earlier versions.)

[Zooropa]

1. Between posting this thread and reading your reply I have already uninstalled COMODO.

2. But when I try your second solution, (Avast main GUI -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "... well known browsers only") this works fine and I can connect!

3. But, is it safe?

1. Nobody told you to uninstall your firewall.
2. Good.
3. Yep. (It's back as it was with earlier versions.)

Yeah I know, but it's just that me and Firewalls are not exactly best friends if you know what I mean.
By the way, while having Avast running, do I really need a Firewall?

Also how come Avastsvc.exe is blocked by a Firewall rule even though I don't have a Firewall?

Thanks!

[ady4um]

The latest program update of Avast made some changes to improve the scanning of http traffic. By allowing avastsvc.exe in you (now gone) firewall, you would be allowing the new improved method of scanning. Just to be clear, it is not that "all" has changed, but only one little thing.

By changing that setting (the one I suggested), you simply went back to use the same methods that previous Avast versions used. This change is new, and some systems might have some conflicts. That's why the setting is there.

If you were safe before (and you were), then you are still safe now.

Now, Avast is a powerfull antivirus. If you are using the Free edition of Avast, then you should use some firewall, which takes care of another important layer of your security. At least use the default Windows firewall if you don't want any other tool.

[Zooropa]

The latest program update of Avast made some changes to improve the scanning of http traffic. By allowing avastsvc.exe in you (now gone) firewall, you would be allowing the new improved method of scanning. Just to be clear, it is not that "all" has changed, but only one little thing.

By changing that setting (the one I suggested), you simply went back to use the same methods that previous Avast versions used. This change is new, and some systems might have some conflicts. That's why the setting is there.

If you were safe before (and you were), then you are still safe now.

Now, Avast is a powerfull antivirus. If you are using the Free edition of Avast, then you should use some firewall, which takes care of another important layer of your security. At least use the default Windows firewall if you don't want any other tool.

Hey thanks for that, it was really informative.
You guys are really helpful around here, thanks

-One more thing though, are the "WEB Shield" and "Network Shield" important?
 i.e. can I disable one/both of them?

The reason I'm asking this is that I noticed that browsing and downloading is faster when
those are disabled. So should I keep them disabled? again thanks for your time!

[Asyn]

1. One more thing though, are the "WEB Shield" and "Network Shield" important?
2. So should I keep them disabled?

1. Yes.
2. No.