Fix for WebShield download issues

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
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Edit:
A new version with the number 2014.9.0.2013 has been released yesterday (22nd Jan). All the problems that we were able to reproduce are fixed. In case you see more problems, please check that you are running the latest version first. Thanks a lot. And of course, we are very much interested to know about your experiences with 9.0.2013!
Thanks.
Lukas.

Hi guys,

several of you reported problems with downloads and general connectivity issues when WebShield is running. Especially on Windows 7 (SP0).

Luckily, we have been able to identify one of the possible causes and have prepared a patch for you. This patch is already online and should be downloaded automatically via the emergency updating mechanism.

Since we were unable to reproduce the same behavior in the test lab, my thanks go to LordAmi, who worked with us for a few days to isolate the issue and test all intermediate fixes. Thanks LordAmi!

We are not sure if it will solve all of the problems, but those of you who have experienced issues, please try it and report here.

The fix/patch is distributed on schedule and during certain events in the system (such as Logging in). It may take a while until all of you have the patch installed. In case you would like to make it quicker I recommend the following:

  1. turn of WebShield from avast UI ( Settings / Active Protection )
  2. restart the computer
  3. open C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Setup\Inf\x86 or x64 (based on your OS version) in explorer and wait a few minutes
  4. shortly after login you should see a new file created here with the name aswstm.sys.sum
  5. once you see it there, turn WebShield back on

To verify you have the patch applied, you may go to:

C:\Program Files\Avast Software\Avast\Setup\Inf\x86 or .\x64

You should see:
aswstm.sys - file version: 9.0.2011.265
aswstm.sys.sum - file size: 223 bytes

The same file (aswstm.sys) should also be in your Windows\System32\Drivers folder (use 64bit explorer to check this on 64bit builds).

If these files are present and you have just started WebShield again, you should be already running the updated version.
I would be very happy to hear about your experience with the patched driver.

Lukas

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aswstm.sys - file version: 9.0.2011.265
aswstm.sys.sum - file size: 223 bytes

I see !..and work fine! :smiley:

Thanks!

…I have one issue…AVAST not start after reboot…I must launch AVAST manualy…why?..
…once started work perfect…

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Thanks, Lukas. One minor addition – when shutting down WebShield in step 1, you should probably use the “permanently” choice, since with any of the others all shields will be reactivated when rebooting, which will probably defeat the purpose of shutting it down in the first place.

I haven’t noticed any major improvement, but I’d already done that “UseStreamFilter=0” work-around in the INI which did help considerably, and I suspect your new patch makes more or less the same change.

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Nope, I’m missing a trick somewhere.
Turned off Webshield. Permanently
Rebooted
Found the … Setup\Inf\x86 folder with contents in Windows Explorer
Waited “a few minutes”.
Nothing has appeared to change, no sign of the file descriptions you have mentioned
Turned Webshield back on

What have I missed which is stopping the patch from being applied?

This came about as a result of my being suddenly unable to download Yahoo Mail attachments as outlined in a current / parallel thread.

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Lukas, if we’re not seeing these problems (or we’re on Windows 8.1) I believe we do not have to patch right now, am I wrong?

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+1 Same here on W8 ???

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Hello!

I did as described above.
Now I see the updated files.
Sadly I have still the same massive problems with connectivity.
After a short time the sites won’t load anymore and the downloads stop.

I hope someone will fix this problem, so I don’t have to look for another anti virus.
Before doing the update to 2014 I was very happy with avast!!

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Interesting, i got this patch automatically. Haven’t done anything… :slight_smile:

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Hi Leo-Libero,
would you mind sharing more information, otherwise your hopes might easily be left unfulfilled.

Such as:

  • your OS version
  • does the problem disappear when WebShield is turned off?
  • do you have problems since 2014 was released in October or only after the recent R2 update?

Thanks.

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Hi Tech, the patch will eventually be applied automatically if you have the problems or not. :slight_smile:

Thanks for letting us know it’s working ok for you.

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For various reasons (not associated with Avast) I had to reinstall it last night. It seems that the patch was installed during my setting up. I was not having any problems with Avast and am still not. All sweet: :smiley:

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I’m on Win 7 64 bits (SP0). It seems OK now, I must test a bit more, but one site that doesn’t load works now.

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You should now turn it back on (UseStreamFilter) because this patch actually changes something in the driver to fix the issue. If the fix would have been so easy, it wouldn’t have required testing at all :slight_smile:

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hi
thank you
now works good

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To date no change to my previous report - the file listings in my Windows XP Explorer are as before.
I then had the bright idea of disabling inbound mail scanning, but attachments still appear to fail at the pre-download scanning stage.
Further thought was to disable Avast completely - at least for as long as it takes to download my attachments - and install MS Security Essentials instead until the problem has been resolved. But this is unknown territory for me [I just rely on Avast Free to provide the protection, no questions asked!]. Would it work and is it adviseable?

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PS: My layman’s understanding of a patch-fix is a file of some sort that is added to an existing program, via the internet, to get it to work better. In this case there is a slight problem in that I can’t download anything, so whatever I have or have not done it is hardly surprising that nothing has happened and the problem remains unpatched.
Would the / a solution be for Avast to send me the patch - as an attachment - which I could access via Yahoo Mail or via this forum from another PC, transfer onto a flash drive, and then install it onto this PC?

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I voted for " No apparent download issues, before or after ". However, I’ve tried to recreate aswstm.sys following lukor’s procedure without positive results. I’ve even waited 15 min, but the new file does not show. I will wait for the EmUpadate.

Does this patch ( procedure ) also apply for Windows XP_86 ?

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Nope.

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Hi Lukor!

I am using Win7.
If Webshield is disabled the problem immediately disappears.
The problem came with the last update (don’t know which) 2-3 days ago.
After installing avast! free 2014 yesterday I still had the same problem.
After editing the webshield.ini as told in the other thread today, everything seems to work fine again.
At least for the moment. :wink:

I hope you don’t mind my english, because I’m from Germany!

Regards

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Thanks Asyn. so no worries.