to check I just brought up my old Windows Me laptop which like your Win98 system uses a proxy to work with the Webshield. When in Firefox I click on the eicar link you posted earlier FF opens a new tab - I get a yellow and red popup warning above the systray followed by avast’s siren and popup window alerting me of the virus.
Are you using Google extension for Firefox for “safe browsing”? The page link you posted suggests that you are. I do not know if that is affecting your attempt to get to the eicar page.
Thank you very much for going through the trouble of checking this out for me on your Windows98 me system. At least I know it should work.
How can I check whether I am using Google extension for Firefox for safe browsing please ?
There may be some other proxy setting that needs to be filled.
I right-clicked on the Avas systray icon and selected PROGRAM SETTINGS > UPDATE (CONNECTIONS)
I clicked on the PROXY tab and a new window called Proxy Server Settings came up.
I selected the Select Proxy Server radio button. I typed in 12080 in the Port box but did not know what HTTP Address to type in. I then clicked on Test connection but after some time, it said that the test had failed.
Also do I need to specify anything in the Alerts section ?
That isn’t the correct proxy, this relates to the auto update process only, then only if you use a proxy to connect to the internet (I don’t believe you do). If you did you use a proxy to connect you would have to enter the proxy port that your ISP determines you should use, not the web shield proxy, as that I believe would cause your auto updates to fail.
You have to manually set the browser to use the web shield browser and that is port 12080. The update process is a whole different kettle of fish and is not required for browsing, so I would suggest you reverse the changes you made in the Program Settings, Update (Connections).
Thank you for your common sense reply, David. I wasn’t thinking !!
I am happy to say that Web Shield has finally detected the Eicar text file page. But only after I booted the computer once or twice, each time I shut the Eicar page down before shutting down the computer.
So hurray!! Thanks to all of you I now KNOW that Web Shield is able to detect a threat even when I am casually surfing the Web. It is just as well because the Secunia Software Inspector that Frank told me about I found does not cater to Windows 98 unfortunately.
And besides it only checks your computer’s software in order to alert you to update it. It does not shield you from malaware like Web Shield does.
Incidentally I love the wonderful ALERT WINDOW that Avast brings up.
I wanted to make a jpg of it so that I could download it with my post to show you all. With my system specs, can you tell me whether I can and if so how ?
On another note, every time I boot up, Avast keeps on popping a green notice at the systray saying that there is an upgrade. Any idea of how I can stop Avast having this pop up each time I boot up ?
Since the 1201 version seems to be geared to tweaking Avas to Windows XP, I do not see the point of upgrading. Would you agree ? Also I am not sure whether the 1201 has a Simple User Interface or not. I do like the Simple User Interface J
I wouldn’t agree, that the update is simply geared to just tweaks for xp and vista.
Whilst many new functions aren’t available because of the old OS used there are other function that are still available like the integration of the anti-spyware and any bug fixes, etc. for any security based software it is best to ensure you have the latest version if it has any security related fix, etc.
If you were not to update, the same would be true of the next and the next program update when you get to a point that it may no longer update as in the past there have been changes to how the updates are performed and that requires the program to be at a certain minimum version.
All versions of avast have the SUI as the GUI for the on-demand scans.
Thank you DavidR once again for very important information.
I successfully updated Avast anti virus program and made a virus scan.
Typically after the virus scan, something odd happens. The Quick Launch icons on the left side of the taskbar disappear along with the icons next to my Word documents in my Windows Folders.
This happened after virus scans in the previous version as well although the computer keeps on working normally.
Any idea how Avas anti virus program is causing icon disappearance to take place ?
How I can stop this from happening other than by restarting the computer ?
I decided to find out exactly how much Windows memory each program was using. And luckily Norton System Doctor could provide me with that information.
According to the Norton System Doctor, the amount of memory the following programs use is as follows :
Norton System Doctor 38 MB
Avast anti virus 16.6 MB
ashmaisv.exe 10.8 MB
ashwebsv.exe 9.31 MB
Avast simple user interface 14.4 MB
Word document 20.4 MB
When I opened Zone Alarm firewall program, the memory used up by Norton System Doctor program dropped down from 38 MG to 22.9 MB for some reason, but the values remained the same for the other programs.
The amount of memory used up by the new program was as follows :
Zone Alarm Firewall 9.29 MG opens up with vsmon.exe 15.2 MB
When I opened Firefox browser program, the memory used up by Norton System Doctor program dropped down from 22.9 MG to as little as 6.93 MB for some reason, but the values remained the same for the other programs.
The amount of memory used up by the new program was as follows :
Firefox browser 50 MB
I ran a virus scan with the Word document, Zone Alarms and Firefox shut down and after the scan, the Quick Launch icons remained there.
The only puzzle now is how come the amount of Windows memory that Norton System Doctor uses drops down so drastically but the amount that other programs use, remains the same.
Thank you DavidR for the vital clue as to how to avoid the icons disappearing.
The system resources is a little more complex than just the RAM used, but having more RAM available to the avast scan should help that anyway.
I have no idea on the reported drop in memory use of Norton System Doctor, that may simply be windows trying to reallocate its memory to other applications when RAM is low.
I just realized a twist to the above.
When Avast starts up at boot up, ashmaisv.exe and ashwebse.exe start running.
I have noticed that ashwebsv.exe program crashes for no apparent reason after Avast makes a virus scan. It happened another time when Superantispyware made its own scan. However, the Quick Launch icons remain there.
But if I press CTRL ALT DEL buttons, ashwebsv.exe is the only program in the list that is listed as NOT RESPONDING. Yes, the probable reason boils down to not enough RAM and or processing power.
Thankfully I found I can easily remedy this by ending this program and then re-starting it.
But it does not happen with ashmaisv.exe or the SAS program. Any idea why ?
You can either pause or Stop providers, right click the avast ‘a’ icon and select those you wish to pause/stop, stop is probably the better option, answer No to the persistence question or it won’t start next boot.
To restart these providers, left click the avast ‘a’ icon, this will display the avast on-access control, select the provider you want to start and click the start button.
Whilst running other security scans like SAS I would suggest you pause the standard shield provider.