I just got the notice that my Avast subscription is coming up soon, so I need to quit procrastinating and finally fix a frustrating problem or else quit using Avast in favor of another product. I’ve been using Avast for many years and overall like it, so I really don’t want to resort to the latter.
The problem seems to have been going on since about last April when I updated program versions. Since then, unless I turn the firewall off, multiple sites become unusable. If I’m checking my email (webmail.earthlink.net), the site will just grind and then time out; if I’m trying to comment on a site like Slate.com (“Powered by Livefyre”), any site that uses Disqus, or the Atlanta Journal-Constitution site (ajc.com), just to name a few, comments will not load and/or my submitted comment will grind and time out or give an error. Google and Facebook work fine. A couple of months ago, I tried customizing various settings under the “Web Shield” and “Firewall” (and have been careful to return to the previous settings each time), but without success. I had made notes of the changes, but I’ve apparently misplaced them, so I’ll probably have to try things I’ve tried before.
Any suggestions on where to start, what diagnoses to run and/or settings to change? I’m standing by to post screen caps of my current configuration if someone lets me know what areas I should be looking at.
My setup:
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Avast
Program version: 12.3.2280 (build 12.3.3154.23)
Virus definitions version: 170104-0
Incorrect. The program update was what caused the issue, not me. I did not “mess around” with the firewall settings willy-nilly and had no reason to change them until this problem came up, and even then, I did it methodically after searching this very forum for suggestions. As I said above, I was “careful to return to the previous settings each time” I tried a suggestion. That means if someone said “try A,” I tried A, and when A did not work, put it back to the pre-A condition, then went on to the next suggestion. Each time I returned to the baseline settings and that’s where they stand. FWIW, I’m an aerospace engineer and operations analyst and regularly do multiple-excursion, multi-variate analysis and understand the importance of tracking (and backing out) changes.
Yeah, I understand uninstall/reinstall is a standard way to “fix” things. I like to use that as a last resort, though.
Well, the avast firewall doesn’t just block websites.
I’ve tested it and it doesn’t block the websites you mention.
I know that e.g. Disqus is blocked by add blockers.
I suggest you start looking in that direction.
Many browsers offer to start them in “safe mode” where no plug-ins are loaded.
I suggest to start your browser in “safe mode” and try to visit the sites that are now blocked and see what happens.
As for the clean installation, it is often the easiest/quickest way.
Ofcourse you can spend a huge amount of hours on troubleshooting if you want.
You are correct – Avast does not block the websites I mention. However, I did not say that those websites were blocked – I said those websites were being made unusable.
Good suggestion. Here’s a screenshot of Firefox restarted in “safe mode” with all add-ons disabled and with Avast firewall enabled:
If a site is not reachable on several systems using different connections etc, there is a problem with the site/(dns)server or the backbone of the Internet and not with avast.
Glad that I am not from earth, but the USS Enterprise ncc-1701 ;D
