Avast can't scan incoming POP3 mail error

I’m using WinXP, SVC Pl 2 and Comodo 2.0 Firewall. I have removed every scrap of Norton IS and Spycatcher Express. Avast does not show in my Security panel but I know it is working so I guess I don’t mind about that.

As a new user I’m very confused about the mail wizard but I suppose with the latest version of Avast I don’t need it. How to deal with mail problems then like the above error 10049. Everything else is working fine and it does scan outgoing mail so I’m happy with that.
Please advise what to do.
Donna in AR

You don’t need the Mail Protection Wizard because you are using XP and the Internet Mail proxy is transparent. This isn’t something to do with the latest avast version but which OS you are using.

What is the complete error text or post a screenshot of it ?

Besides WinXP and Comodo Firewall, I use Outlook Express mail and occasionally Yahoo mail but mostly OE. I am on Comcast cable and
I note that incoming is through mail.comcast.net (POP3) and outgoing is smtp.comcast.net I do have a password on file in OE to enter
the Comcast server. Could this be the problem? I haven’t a clue to fix that unless I call Comcast—sigh…

I can do a screenshot with WebCapture but the message only appears on boot and it really can’t be manipulated long enough to get
that device into action. The total message is: Avast can’t scan or protect incoming POP3 mail. 10049 Error
Thanks for your patience,
Donna in AR

The total message is: Avast can't scan or protect incoming POP3 mail. 10049 Error Thanks for your patience,

I have seen this message in the forums before and it has usually been in relation to having another AV installed or remnants that are also checking the email. The fact that the outbound email is OK tends to support this a little as many AVs don’t scan outbound email so that might not be effected. The fact you had Norton IS might even if you tried hard to remove it some remnants could still be there. Also the fact that it only appears at boot I would think is significant to the above.

A link worth looking at, which is a program removal tool that can remove the remnants of a number of different Norton Programs:
Removing your Norton program using SymNRT

Also check this topic http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=23916.msg196817#msg196817 it could be similar, so check and ensure that 1) your email account settings are correct, 2) that Comodo allows access to ashMaiSv.exe (this however, should be OK otherwise you wouldn’t be able to send either).

Is ashMaiSv.exe running in Windows Task Manager ?

I had not had to go into Comcast forums in a long time. The problem may be that their server scans the mail before it leaves with an
antivirus. The advice was to disable one’s private AV because it is not needed. I can’t buy that.

If this is the problem why didn’t NIS have the same difficulty or did they just not scan incoming mail and didn’t say so.
Donna

Sorry I forgot to thank you for the links you provided. Yes that is the message and if it is not a Comcast problem then most likely it is
a glitch between Avast and Comodo. At present, I just took all of the ash application settings out of Comodo apps and will allow one by
one to see if that will remove the error.
Donna

I don’t buy the “you don’t need to scan your email because we do” comment either. Also their email scanner is on their server and not your system (unless they also give you some security software to install), so it shouldn’t be what is causing the problem.

I’m not sure that Comodo is the issue otherwise it would also have an impact on sending email and not just receiving it if ashMaiSv.exe was blocked.

  1. check your account settings for pop3 server settings, etc.
  2. checking comodo won’t hurt, but not confident it will resolve this.
  3. check through the complete topic in the forum link I gave as there are other reference links in it also.
  4. if steps 1, 2 and 3 prove fruitless then check out the Norton Removal tool.

No problem, glad I could help, welcome to the forums.

Comodo works perfectly with avast!
Into the firewall settings, the following programs should be allowed to connect:

C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe (avast! Web Scanner)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe (avast! e-Mail Scanner Service)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Setup\avast.setup (avast! Update executable). This is a temporary file that just appears when an update (check) is about to launch, and disappears again afterwards.

Don’t need rights to connect:
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe (avast! antivirus service)
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe (avast! Update Service)

All the Avast settings are in place to run on Comodo. I ran the Comodo exe. scan again to get all apps and re-booted. Thought I had fixed it but not so as the message appeared later and when I checked a test e-mail there is no incoming scan.

I did find some issues between Avast and Comodo but running the scan was supposed to resolve the "can’t scan incoming mail"issue.
It has not worked for me. This error has also appeared in the Comodo forum.

Norton removal tool was used earlier plus I worked on all hidden files. I don’t think there is a shred left!

It could be Comcast but all my mail settings look ok. The port numbers might be in question but when you look at their forums
it looks like different ports for different folks. Oh well! Don’t know if it can be an SSL issue. I’m pretty much back to square One.
Donna

If it were an SSL issue, that wouldn’t present itself at boot only when you tried to send or receive email.

Does Comodo have an email checking function (my Outpost Pro firewall does, which I have disabled) ?
If so disable it.

What POP3 and SMTP ports do you have to use and does comcast insist you use SSL ?
Though that shouldn’t have a relationship with this error.

No e-mail checking on Comodo that I can find.

Default ports on OE are out=25 in=110. I think those are default.

I did go back in and on Comodo created the Avast apps as TRUSTED. Don’t know if that will make a difference or not.

You know now that I think about it, I’m not sure that Norton did incoming scans but they too always did outgoing mail.

I guess the only way to find out what is causing this is to uninstall Comodo and turn on WinXP temporarily to see what happens.
I guess what I am experiencing now is why I’ve used Norton products for years–then they worked together–now NIS is so
huge and its tentacles are so large I’ve lost what I invested in NIS 2007 unless I go back to it and I can’t face that even though
everything worked together. I dropped it because of corrupted files that caused a shutdown problem–two of those blasted
error messages. In the day before firewalls we never had so many glitches and generally whatever you loaded worked. Now it is
so hard to find apps that work together and or with your ISP as well.

I am a long time Comcast customer and user of avast. Your Comcast settings are just the same as mine and that is probably not the issue here. Can you receive your email successfully from Comcast?

Norton did (at lease when I used it) scan incoming mail - scanning outgoing mail is far less important to anyone - the point of almost being useless.

This error seems to suggest that avast cannot set the low level intercept it needs to intercept calls to port 110 because something else in your system is blocking it. As the other folks have said this is usually the remnants of another antivirus program but it could be something else.

Are you running any anti-spam filtering product for your email?

Just checking …

Did you run the most up to date Norton Removal Tool (2007 version from the link posted by DavidR above)?

I’m sorry to be such a pest with this problem but it is driving me mad. After searching this forum and the Comodo forum, I still believe the
problem lies with Comodo blocking in some way but I’m just not sure.

On various forums I noted that people were getting Avast cannot protect news, cannot protect incoming mail etc. like it is some kind of bug
but no one had any solutions.
Donna

Yes when I had to update Norton out of the box I knew i was in trouble. i received about 12 pages of directions from tech support
and that included the latest removal tool which I did run before I loaded Avast or Comodo. I do know now that Norton will kill various commands on your PC as in the Security Center, thus mine does not show Comodo at all. Who knows what else is taken out. I uninstalled
on Control panel and then ran the removal tool and then took out the Symantec Shared folder manually as well as anything I could find
that had Norton or Sym in its makeup.
Donna

Sorry to disappoint you but if comodo were blocking ashMaiSv.exe you wouldn’t just be unable to receive email you wouldn’t be able to send either. It can’t be that selective unless you have somehow created a custom rule blocking ashMaiSv.exe inbound access, which I doubt.

If you can give us any links as this isn’t something that we are hearing of in these forums, all are basically related to remnants of or other installed AV or security applications.

The problem is usually related to registry remnants, virtual device driver, legacy keys.

Such as HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_xxxxxx where xxxxxx is the legacy key That could be Norton, Symantec or even NIS, I don’t know what device drivers are installed of might be left behind.

David,

since avast cannot set the intercept at startup then ashmaiSv.exe will not be playing any part in receiving mail at the moment since it is the intercept that redirects the port 110 call to ashmaiSv.exe.

Donna,

can you confirm that you are, in fact, still receiving your email in OE?

If you are then it would be interesting to know just what the avast intercept blocker is doing when you are getting your mail.

Are you at all familiar with the diagnostic programs called Hijackthis or TCPView?

That may well be the case but I can only assume that Donna can send email as she hasn’t mentioned anything about not being able to nor has she corrected any of my assumptions that outbound email is working. So I have to assume that at least that part of the intercept is working. But, you know what they about assumption ;D

David,

very true indeed. I have never heard though of an avast message saying that it would not be able to intercept SMTP mail … so this may be a generic message. Perhaps the avast team could enlighten us.

If Donna is familiar with Hijackthis or TCPView we may get some insight into what may be causing the block.

Yes both of those applications could reveal the activity, HJT possibly better to show registry entries that may not be running but being detected by avast.

@ Donna
Program & Tutorial - Also useful as a diagnostic tool - Download HiJackThis.zip HJT has now been sold to Trend Micro inc. but the 1.99.1 version should still be available here or at one of the download sites.

Ignore any 023 reference to avast processes, this is a hiccup in the HJT 1.99.1 (especially missing file entry for avast), if you need any help with any of the analysis let us know.