I tried doing a repair, but still can’t access the Microsoft Update Web site. I also tried uninstalling the web shield and reinstalling. Still the same result. I was using Avira antivirus prior to the installation of Avast. I have never used McAfee. I am using Zone Alarm for my firewall protection. I tried shutting down Zone Alarm and that did not help I might also add that I have installed Avast on another computer with the same configuration and on that computer like you I can access the Microsoft web site with the Web shield active. I might also add that I am using Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. I have tried resetting Internet Explorer to the default setting and I still have the same problem. There has to be something different between my computers causing Avast to block the Microsoft Update Web site when I log on to Internet Explorer. My automatic updates are working OK. Any further thoughts you might have would be appreciated.