Please don't get offended, as this is not my intention, but your last post didn't really answer much.
I mean, can't you check your settings?
I never get offended online, so there you go.
I didn't look too much into the avast! settings before posting this. I actually looked into it afterwards, and that made me look really dumb.
Well, then go ahead and review your settings -> updates. If your PROGRAM was updated (set to automatically update), then the firewall rules MIGHT need to be deleted so they could be correctly re-created (although your description of the problem doesn't fit 100% the usual case where this is needed).
I checked it, and I had already enabled it.
Again, please do your part. Review the "settings -> Status bar", and "settings -> pop ups".
Everything is checked in the Status Bar, and "0 web & network objects were infected and blocked", nor anything else suspicious in the monthly report at the Popups tab.
Those are not exactly the choices I would take. I mean that updating is not the same as "clean up first and install latest STABLE version only". JRE 7 is still considered not as stable, and you could still have other versions installed in parallel, so please re-read my suggestion about it.
By "updating to JRE 7", I meant removing JRE 6 and thereafter installing JRE 7.
As the problem persisted after installing another clean, completely different version of Java, I bally well presume that even though the version is "unstable", the problem lies elsewhere.
For Flash you should uninstall ALL versions and clean any remnants (Revo uninstaller + CCleaner as examples). Then reboot and install ONE version, the latest stable, for IE ONLY (for now, until the problem is solved). Also, no 32 + 64 bits. Only the one that actually needs to be there (and the adobe flash web site will let you know which version is correct if you use IE).
That is pretty close to what I did.
I removed all the previous versions of Flash, installed the 64-bit version, tested, uninstalled the 64-bit version, installed the 32-bit version, tested, shrugged, then installed 64-bit again.
No change whatsoever.
Uninstall Firefox. All versions you could have. Solve the connection problem with IE first. If your downloads work correctly with IE, and with no beta or special releases of any add-on / add-in / plug in / whatever... *then* you could try using the latest STABLE version of Firefox.
Pretty similar to JRE 7, The problem persisted even after uninstalling it, and installed a completely different build with no further changes about the issue.
As I'm not a complete moron, I did all that before looking into the antivirus.
Well, with all the extra / non - stable versions, you could also try avast -> web shield -> EXPERT settings -> "...well known browser only". This is not the best setting for daily use, but only for you to narrow down the problem. Now, this setting is only IN ADDITION to the previous suggestions. Once the basic tools are working, then we can improve it with those other additional browsers + plug in + add on + whatever.
No difference.
Anyhow, I were playing with the settings in there, and I found something rather interesting, I say!
If I were to go into Expert Settings -> Actions -> Suspicious, and select "Ask" in stead of "Abort connection", the error is slightly different.
In a YouTube video, normal behaviour while the "Abort connection" is chosen would be that the video cuts off and finishes the loading bar. However, if I chose "Ask", the loading bar would not finish and call it a day. The loading bar would stop, and the buffering "ring" would show, like when you lose your connection while loading. Is a dialogue box supposed to appear, perhaps?
I thought this would be interesting for people who are familiar with how avast! operates.
Irrelevant note: I also added firefox.exe to the exception list because I don't want to disable everything in order to watch YouTube videos...
Sorry if this didn't answer the question. I'll try doing another re-install as soon as that will become relevant.
You say this is happening in 2 different systems. Are both using the same connection? Simultaneously? Or these are 2 separated systems not using the same network (as, one in the office and one in your house)?
Please report back.
Well, the weird thing is: my laptop and my desktop are rarely on the same network.
My desktop computer is the one I use at my apartment.
The laptop is the one I use at school, going through their proxy servers.
Somehow, both systems got the same issues roughly at the same time. I am using avast! on both systems, along with Firefox and Skype. I can't find any other relation other than them being connected to the same network 2 weeks ago simultaneously.
Could this be caused by some sort of virus that avast!, Malwarebytes, and Toolwiz Care can't find? Because at the time both systems were on the same network, I was browsing the Deep Web on the laptop. I haven't found any indications that my security was breached, but it might have some relevance.
