Like a number of other users hereabouts I’ve recently found that I couldn’t get to the Internet on port 80 immediately following a recent update, nor could I use my SMTP server.
Using the maintenance/redirect-settings in Avast5 I found that if I cleared the various ports, everything was back to normal.
I have this problem on two out of four (XP-pro SP2) computers, which have never had any other protection at all installed (and Windows firewall etc is turned off). The two that did work had the previous version of Avast5 (the two that don’t work have 5.0.677).
And then this afternoon I updated the other two machines and lo-and-behold, I now have the same problem with them.
It is not a Winsock problem, and I’ve tried everything listed hereabouts, but the problem persists and it seems to be clearly related to 5.0.677 but, since not everyone has been affected, it must be veyr configuration-related.
Is there any way of rolling back to the previous version to at least allow me to operate the computers without having to disable the Web shield?
What you have done in a long winded way is disable the web shield, although it will be running it won’t be scanning as there is no redirect into the localhost proxy to scan the http port 80 traffic.
At this stage I’m not even sure what I’ve tried as I’ve been through so many different hoops, including reinstalling Avast, running ERD on my system files, clearing caches (although it affects all users, so that’s not likely to be the problem), resetting the Winsock stack etc.
Of course, non-standard ports work as they not re-directed, but anything redirected doesn’t work.
A comment by someone else with this problem has prompted me to look at Google Chrome, and it almost works. It seems to get the first part of the HTML file but then is fairly well guaranteed to fail.
My question was whether there was a way to roll back to a previous version of Avast as I’m fairly well convinced that a change in 677 has fallen out with something on my system (and it does seem that I’m not alone). I could uninstall Avast and reinstall a previous version, but where can I find a previous version?
What is your firewall ?
Does it allow avastSvc.exe internet access ?
If it does delete the entry for it and reconnect to the internet, this should force the firewall to ask permission again.
What is ERD ?
The problem isn’t browser dependant as the web shield works for most main line browsers.
Rolling back to an earlier version isn’t going to resolve your problem, not to mention I believe there might well be security fixes involved in recent avast versions. So for the time being I would suggest trying to resolve the problem on your system.
It is possible to get old versions from Filehippo.com, but this isn’t something that I would recommend, since it applies to both the web shield and email shield it seems more like firewall blocking.
I have no firewall other than Windows XP’s, and that is turned off. There’s a firewall on the router, but that cannot be the problem of course.
It’s something that anyone working seriously with Windows systems will have. It’s Microsoft’s “Emergency Repair Disk”, which is XP on a CD which loads and runs completely on its own and allows diagnosis and repair of a Windows installation.
Well, I rolled back and it DID resolve the problem (at least on one laptop, I haven’t tried it on the other computers yet). On the laptop I found the installation file for an older version (5.0.594), uninstalled 677 and installed 594, and now it all works just fine.
At this stage I think I’d rather have the risks of no security fixes than no internet protection. At least until I can figure out what interaction between my systems and 677 is causing the problem.
Although the underlying problem may not be browser-dependent, its manifestation could easily be if the problem is interfering with (but not totally blocking) things.
Have you considered upgrading SP2 to SP3 since this presents a huge security hole in your machines?
Also, you may want to add a third-party firewall (FW) since the XP FW is only 1-way protection and is very ineffective. FW’s that have been compatible with Avast according to users are Online Armor (free and Premium), Outpost (free and paid), Comodo (free and paid - no antivirus), and of course Avast IS.
Soon the new Avast 5.1 will be released. It does not sound to me like it is an Avast issue, but more of a MS or hardware issue. In the meantime, consider upgrading your software to plug up those security holes. Another site to check out is the free Secunia Software Inspector http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ to see if your software is up to date. This site will give you the vendor’s direct download to the link if needed. Many of us here use this to scan our machines weekly since software changes so often.
There are local reasons not to upgrade to SP3 at this stage.
I’m also not a great lover of 2-way firewalls.
I’m absolutely certain it IS an Avast issue, but like most computer problems (and I’ve been diagnosing complex computer problems for 40 years!) it isn’t just an Avast issue. It’s more likely an interaction between Avast and my systems (although I’m struggling to find a likely culprit in the other systems that would have suddenly caused this problem the moment I upgraded to Avast 677).
It’ll be interesting to see what happens when 5.1 is released.
It shouldn’t be too much longer for the new release from what I understand. Let me know if you need further assistance. I hope things work out for you.
I think that’s hyperbole. But I also have some key applications that don’t work on SP3 so moving to SP3 would be like ending up not being able to walk at all.
It’s all down to sensible risk management, and often firewalls and AV software are there for those who don’t understand the risks and/or can’t manage them.
In any case, I di have a firewall in the router that is more than adequate (and not intrusive).
I remember core storage, acoustic delay line storage and drum storage. And a computer that had a single transistor in it (to drive the delay-line monitor probe speaker
It’s hyperbole because the vulnerabilities (the vast majority of which are risk-manageable anyway) do not advertise themselves to everyone. They’re only discoverable by intent.
As for apps that don’t run under SP3, you’ll be surprised how much niche-ware doesn’t (some has been updated, some hasn’t, and I’ve a couple of home-brew programs that don’t work under SP3). And one of my laptops simply blue-screens with SP3 because there’s an issue with the (fairly old) BIOS, for which there isn’t an update.
Anyway, this does seem to be moving from the issue into advocacy.
I’ve now reverted all my computers to the previous Avast, and they’re all behaving themselves now. So the problem is solved, for now.
