With the newest update (Thur or Fri) my web browsers(IE and FF) no longer have access to the internet ???. Games and other programs can still get internet access. If I disable avast, I have no more problems with the browser.
Any fixes??
Thank you in advance.
fiziksguy
What else have you added besides a a simple vbs update?
I normally use an IE based browser and don’t have any problems with it since the last update.
I’m answering this while utilizing FF so it’s also not having any problems on my machine. 
Avast doesn’t block your internet access, it only scans.
Your FireWall is resposible for blocking internet access. I’d make sure that if you’re using one, that it’s set up properly.
Hope that helps
As Bob said avast doesn’t block but scans and alerts you if a virus is found.
The fact that by disabling avast things work, points to the firewall blocking an element of avast. The likely file being blocked is ashWebSv.exe (avast! Web Shield), ensure that your firewall (which is it?) isn’t blocking it.
As Bob suggested, it may be that your firewall is not giving the Avast Web Shield access to the internet. This might at first seem like Avast is blocking internet access but in truth it would be the firewall doing the actual blocking. If you have had a recent program update, this could be the problem. Please check your firewall settings. If this is not the problem, please post again.
Welcome to the forums.
OOPs … sorry David … we posted about the same time. 
Thanks for the info. I now have a fix, but still seems off.
I am using the nvidia firewall that came with the nForce 4 mobo.
If I start the computer, I can’t access the internet from the browsers. If I disable avast, I can access internet through browsers. If I disable both firewall and avast, and then reenable them, no problems (so far).
Thanks for your help, it led to an easy end around. 
Glad we could help, welcome to the forums.
I suggest that you find out more about your firewall, as I personally believe it is a low lever thing that provides basic protection (check out Shields Up at grc.com) and a third party firewall would provide more flexability and better outbound protection.
FYI … from nVidia’s website:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/security.html
Just to clarify things a little.
Thanks for that link CharleyO it sounds like full protection but then it mentions this at the bottom of the page.
NVIDIA Firewall technology may be used as a powerful baseline policy enforcer. For full protection, users should augment the protection of the NVIDIA Firewall with leading antivirus and intrusion detection software, which will help them achieve the best total PC security solution.Which suggests it isn't, and possibly more akin to a hardware firewall that would be built into a router, colour me confused ???
Yes, I noticed that also … which lead me to post the link.
I had used Zone alarm on my last computer, so I will go ahead and add that. Thanks for the helpful posts.
fiziksguy
Installed Zone Alarm firewall, and received this notice from avast:
"We have found out that the avast! WebShield module has compatibility problems with the ZoneAlarm’s privacy blocking features.
This may result in some web pages not loading properly or an inability to log on to certain sites (such as Yahoo mail etc.) We are working together with the ZoneLabs team to find a viable solution.
Meanwhile, we recommend turning off the transparent proxy mode of the WebShiels module which is known to be the cause of the conflict. You will still be able to use WebShield with ZoneAlarm by manually configuring your browser."
I clicked the auto configure box that comes with the message and POOF! no more probs accessing internet. ;D
Hope this helps someone else.
fiziksguy
Hello fiziksguy,
Thanks for posting the updated info regarding the problem you experienced and the solution. I feel sure it will help someone else.
Be sure to come back often, learn more, and maybe help others.