Ever since the last Virus Database Update, I haven’t been able view
many websites that were no problem before Thursday 3/17/05. Being
able to get to this forum, yahoo.com, google.com and some others
with no problem, but getting only a blank screen when attempting
to visit cnn.com, eams.com, weather.com and other frequently visited
websites has been simply mind boggling to me. Talking to SBC DSL
support was of no help either.
But tonight, I had a rare brainstorm and decided to turn off Avast using
the system tray icon. And LO AND BEHOLD, every website I could think
of INSTANTLY rendered with no delay whatsoever. (Even the sites I
could visit over the past two days loaded slower than normal and very
“jerky”, if that makes sense.
Since running without Avast is like commiting Cyberspace suicide, I reactived
AVAST after satisfying myself that the program was blocking all these
websites for some reason. AFTER reactivation, all websites continued to
load instantly! But here’s another mystery that explains WHY reactivating
AVAST did not resume blocking sites again. At the top of the WEB SHIELD
Provider page are the words “This provider is waiting for a Sub System to
Start.” So, the Web Shield did not start back up when I turned AVAST back
on! That explains why reactiving AVAST did not return me to limited
web surfing.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION(s)… Since I don’t have any web pages listed in the
“Blocking” section of the Web Shield, why would it have that blocking effect
on so many websites when it’s running? And why would it not RESUME
automatically when I restarted AVAST? Sounds like some kind of resource
conflict, or perhaps I was targeted by a disabling Virus of some kind? Is there
a way to scan the Web Shield itself, or delete and re-download just that
component of Avast? Or, perhaps because it is so new of an addon to Avast,
there are still bugs in it? Since these web page blockings didn’t begin to
happen until the 0511-1 VPS was downloaded on 3-17-05, there has to
be a connection of some kind.
This was a long description, but it’s always better to err on the side of too
much vs. too little information and background. ANY THOUGHTS FROM
AVAST SUPPORT on my experience, or suggested fixes in mind? Thanks
in advance. -Bert Turner in Elgin, IL.
The virus database update should have absolutely no effect on the sites you are able to browse! If however you have also updated the program, then that may have an effect.
Unfortunately your long description is light on some helpful facts.
What is your OS?
What is your browser?
What firewall are you using? - Can you check that it isn’t blocking ashWebSv.exe - check the firewall logs.
Are you blocking cookies? - either in your browser or firewall (privacy)? - some sites simply won’t load without allowing them to deposit cookies.
Well, I had EXACTLY the same problem as DavidR. And it started last Thursday also! A very strange coincidence?
I did a clean reinstall of Avast 10 days ago, having had a flirtation with NOD32, and Avast! behaved perfectly during all web browsing.
However, last Thursday, it all went wrong and Webshield was at the heart of the problem. Firefox was OK for maybe 6 pages, then froze. Then trying IE, it was dead too.
My firewall is Outpost 2.5 and it showed that there were a whole bunch of active AshWebSv connections, one for each page that was stuck in the middle of loading. It was not being blocked … they had all just stopped communicating. The only thing to do was to stop the provider and kill off AshWebSv.exe from the Windows Task Manager.
So I patched Webshield as explained in several other threads here. Re-enabled the provider and …
all was OK for about 5 pages, then it all froze again! I KNOW that the patched version of AshWebSv.exe was being used because ProcessGuard warned me about the checksum change. So Webshield got disabled again. This was all last Thursday.
However, feeling rather vulnerable, I tried re-enabling Webshield last Friday (after a reboot of my PC). And, since then, it’s worked like a charm. No problems, except perhaps that browsing feels a little slower and sites with a lot of images load quite a bit more slowly.
So that’s my experience. I’m keeping an eye on Webshield and still start to get a bit panicky every time there’s even the slightest pause in loading a page :
Windows XP SP2
Firefox 1.0.1 / IE 6.0
Outpost Pro 2.5 (ashWebSv is NOT blocked)
Cookies not blocked in sites that froze - I’ve been browing them OK for moths.
I also still have this problem. I’ve tried re-enabeling web shield a few times. Still I can browse normally for 5 minutes, then everything locks up again
Winxp pro sp2
Zonealarm 5.5.062.011
Avast 4.6.623 with webshield patch
Hopefully this problem will be fixed soon. I had no problems with avast 4.6.618. Is there somewhere I can download this version of avast?
You are not alone, I am having the same problem but no matter what I do the only way to use the web I have to disable Avast. Not very good as I have just paid for three years service. I do hope they can sort this problem ASAP
For all those people having jumped onto ‘BertTurner’s’ thread, unless your problem is exactly the same as Bert’s (you should monitor the suggestions) then you should create your own thread, otherwise it makes it very difficult for those trying to help. The thread becomes confused with several different questions being asked and answered. It also makes it difficult for those who choose to use the forum search to return topics related to their problem.
As yet we are waiting on Bert’s answers, so it is not possible to say if your problem is exactly the same.
For those with ZA as their firewall, there are many threads on the interaction between ZA privacy settings (blocking cookies, etc) and web shield.
@Zloyde
Can you start a new thread and give information on your problem and give information about your system as the others have, thanks.
My OS is WIN XP SP2
My Browser is IE6
I’m using the standard XP Firewall with Default Settings.
I have Session and First Party Cookies Allowed. Third Party Cookies Blocked.
No Zone Alarm, or other Spyware program running.
In short, not one thing is different on my PC than it was
prior to 3/17/2005. The Avast program and support team
has been wonderful for the past 3 years of use, since I dumped
Nortons. I have no doubt now that the WebShield is the culprit,
but I’m also confident that it will be just a temporary glitch, because
you’re always on the ball in resolving bugs. Just thankful that
Disabling Avast and then Turing it Back On allows all pagest to
be viewed again. (The WebShield doesn’t come back on when
Avast is reactivated.) Thankyou and have a great day! Off to
church now. -Bert in Elgin, Illinois
The virus database update should have absolutely no effect on the sites you are able to browse! If however you have also updated the program, then that may have an effect.
Unfortunately your long description is light on some helpful facts.
What is your OS?
What is your browser?
What firewall are you using? - Can you check that it isn’t blocking ashWebSv.exe - check the firewall logs.
Are you blocking cookies? - either in your browser or firewall (privacy)? - some sites simply won’t load without allowing them to deposit cookies.
My goodness! Web Shield has caused a rain of terror upon us!
Ok, general information. The Web Shield is activated upon boot by default. If you turn it off, using the TERMINATE button, it will not enable by a merely starting the OAP module. You will need to go into the WS module and use the Continue command.
The Web Shield for some reason unclear right now “filters” too good! Some sites appear to it as “suspicious or dangerous” and it will not let them pass. This can be remedied by adding them to the Exceptions list within The WS module under Customize, or try disabling the “Intelligent Stream scanning” function under the Basic tab.
Zone Alarm has a separate problem because it interacts with Port 80. Search the forum for the solution.
You do not need to disable the entire Avast Resident Scanner if you are having surfing difficulty.
Just disable the Web Shield until the issue/s can be resolved.
Why remove ALL protection when only a small “limitation” is necessary.
The Web Shield is an excellent new feature but with all new things comes some “bugs” which everyone here and the Avast Team are working to resolve (as always. ;D)
Thankyou for the feedback, Techie101. After experimenting a bit more,
it seems that the webshield is trying to gain more control…
It’s now blocking my access to AVAST.com, even after I placed this
site/forum URL in the Trusted Sites section of IE Explorer. Sooo, to
post this message I had to TERMINATE Webshield… merely, Pausing the
Webshield Provider doesn’t do the trick.
First thing in the morning, I’m going to head over to work and turn off
the webshield. Our boss was having fits on Friday cause he couldn’t
access many insurance sites. He thought a nuke had went off
somewhere on the planet! ha ha. -Bert
Our boss was having fits on Friday cause he couldn't
access many insurance sites. He thought a nuke had went off
somewhere on the planet! ha ha.
;D
I have noticed also yesterday and today very slow loading in some sites, also this forum. Not sure if it is my connection, some viruses wild or what. But I disabled WebShield, and now surfing speed seems ok. Really mysterious.
Well, I just came back from the home of a friend who has exactly the
same computer, web and Avast configuration as I do, because I set
it up for her. I was able to access every website over and over again
with the Web Shield provider (and all the others) turned on. The
only difference in our two Configurations is the Interenet Connection
itself. She has SBC DSL PRO which is rated at 1.5meg per second and
I have SBC DSL Wimp, which is rated at 312Kbps. -Bert
I have exactly the same problem as Bert. I wouldn’t think the problem is in any way related to the capacity of the Internet connection though.
I have tried to clear the browser (IE) cache when the problem occurs. Sometimes it seems to help but it’s no sure cure.
Any prognosis from Techie101 or anyone close to the Avast Team?
Add me to the folks having problems with webshield. Wish I had checked here first but through trial and error figured it out. Two of my computers have been updated but one has not been rebooted since (its my server). That one has no surfing problems but the other exhibits the same 5 minutes of good surfing, then pages blocked as if my connection is down. But mail and all messengers work fine. Switching to my server for surfing works just fine so the connection is not the problem. FWIW I use Firefox 1.01 and had the same problem (tried my IE6 as well).
Disabled Webshield on this computer for now and I’m not going to reboot my server unless I have to so I can avoid activating the update!
WinXP SP2 with Avast Home v. 4.6.623 VPS 511-1
Both computers have Firfox 1.01 (no cookies) and IE6 (first party cookies)
Windows xp firewall
Linksys WRT54G router/comcast cable
