Avast web shield preventing Internet access

Hi. My 1st post.
Just recently my free Avast AV’s Webshield feature has started blocking any attempt to access the Internet.
The browsers(tried both Chrome and IE9) just time out. After I go in to the GUI and STOP the webshield,
access returns as normal. Here’s the strange part. I totally uninstalled, then reinstalled the program. The
access problem remains! What could be going on here? My OS is Windows 7Ult. SP1.
MAKKO

do you have a firewall with outbound protection?

No, I have no third party firewall, and I always have the Windows firewall disabled.
I downloaded the avast uninstaller tool, used it, reinstalled avast free, and was finally
able to access the internet with webshield enabled. Problem fixed, but not solved, because
the cause of the problem is still a mystery. Oh well. I’m just happy to have webshield protection
again. But I’d still like to know what caused the problem.
MAKKO

But I'd still like to know what caused the problem.
computers work in mysterious ways ;D

what AV did you use before avast?
have you run a removal tool to clear any leftover files that may conflict ? http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/