Cannot open large and complex web sites with Avast Free

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I use Avast/FireFox on my XP and Windows 7 32 bit systems with no problems. However,

I have major problems with AVAST/FireFox on my Windows 7 64 Bit system. When I try to

connect to large and complex sites, like Comcast.net or Verizon.com, using FireFox I

get hangs, no connect, etc.

The problem does not happen if I turn off AVAST Web Shield (Settings > Active

Protections > Web Shield > OFF). If I leave Web Shield ON and uncheck all the Web

Shield Customize options, I still have a problem.

Please help me solve this problem.

2

I had no issues getting to those two websites.
What add-ons do you have in Firefox?

3

Response tp Para-Noid

I had No Script 2.6.9.6 Add-on to FireFox. However, it did not fix problem after I disabled it.

4

My bad, I should have asked this before…any problems when connecting to other websites?
Also I would never disable the web shield for any reason.

For what it’s worth, I have no problems accessing cnn, bbc, espn or any other website.

5

Response to Para-Noid

I have retested this and found I have problems with most all websites. I
also do not want to disable Web Shield but I have no other option until I
fix this problem. Also, I don’t have a problem with my XP or W7 32 bit
systems.

BTW, thanks for your responses to my problem.

6

Try a repair…Control Panel>Uninstall a Program>double click “avast”>click “repair”>reboot.
Note: you may need more than one reboot.

7

Response to Para-Noid

I did the Avast Repair - still does not fix problem

8

What happens when you use IE or Chrome?

9

Did you reboot your computer after doing the repair ???

10

Response to Para-Noid - IE works

Response to Bob3160 - Yes I did reboot

11

Try a clean install…

Download and save Avast Uninstaller
Download and save your choice…
Avast Free
Avast Pro
Avast Internet Security
Avast Premier
Run uninstaller from above. You will be prompted to reboot into safe mode…click “yes”.
Reboot.
Install avast choice from above.
Reboot and either register or insert license.

12

Response to Para-Noid

I did the Avast uninstall/reinstall you advised but problem not fixed.
Also, I did uninstall/reinstall FireFox ver 34.0.5. using Win 7 uninstall.
I’m not positive this deletes all old FireFox stuff.

BTW, I noticed you have a Inspiron PC. My PC is a Dell Inspiron 15R 5521
Laptop with Windows 7x64 SP1 (purchased 8/30/2013). Is this comparable to
yours?

13

There are similarities. However not enough to make a difference.

Try making exclusions for those websites…
GUI>Settings>General>scroll down to and expand “exclusions”>select “URL”>create exclusions.

14

Response to Para-Noid

I’ve tried Avast URL Exclusions and it didn’t work. I also had problems with MSE not installing or updating in the past (that’s why I switched to Avast). I think I’m at the point where I have to start over and reinstall Win 7x64. I don’t like to do this because it’s a big effort for me.

In any case, this will take me several days to complete. I will let you know if this works. Thanks very much for your help on this.

15

Important uninstall or disable MSE!
Any other security software you have now or ever had?
If uninstalled how was it removed?

See http://www.howtogeek.com/173291/goodbye-microsoft-security-essentials-microsoft-now-recommends-you-use-a-third-party-antivirus/

16

This is from one of those flashes of intuition that, far too often, turns out to be way off target and totally useless. So my apologies if that’s the case here, but I thought it might be worth checking into.

Since your problem seems to be associated with “large and complex” sites, by any wild chance is/are your browser(s) exhibiting this problem capable of (and set up for) pre-fetching multiple links it finds on a page? I doubt if this would affect modern systems much, since they’re much faster (and have far more resources) than older-generation systems. One way to check this might be if you can find a “site map” page, which should (theoretically) give you a worst-case scenario situation because of the multitude of links there.

17

Response to Para-Noid

I reinstalled my W7 64 bit system, FireFox, Avast, and a few other programs and the problem seems to be fixed. I think the problem may have been due to past software that was not completely uninstalled.

Thanks for your help and also for the MSE issues you provided. I think I will stick with Avast for now.

18

Sorry you took the long road but at least you can now surf once again. 8)
In the future whenever you uninstall anything it’s always best to use the vendors removal tool.

If you have any other complications please come back. We are always here 24/7 to help. :slight_smile:

May I suggest another tool most of us use is CCleaner from Piriform.
Here’s the link https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download