Network Shield is blocking sidebar.exe sites

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

On the last update Avast has started annoying Malicious URL Blocked reports for:

Infection Details

URL: www.google.com/finance/info?client=ig&q=^DJI,^IXIC,^GSPC
Process: file://C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
Infection: URL:Mal

and:

URL: www.google.com/ig/api?weather=01863
Process: file://C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe
Infection: URL:Mal

Both of these are Windows 7 desktop gadgets and they have been working fine until the last update. Gadgets are:

Market Report
Simply Weather

Avast Program Version 6.0.1203
Engine/virus defs: 110804-0, 8/4/2011 6:31:35 AM

This is EXTREMELY annoying! Please help!

Is there a way to edit the list of websites blocked by Network Shield?

2

welcome to the forum. it sounds like you have been hit by a malware that is not removde. i have have simler problems a few mount ago. i run a scan with spywareterminator and it find the bad guy a trojan, vundo sample. a side note there. to your problem: try a a scan with malwarebytes antimalware and see what it comes up with.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/

download install update and do a scan, don’t forget to remove what it finds a system reboot might be needed also.

second you could also try a boot scan with avast and see it avast could get the bad one

http://www.schmahl.net/avastbootscan.php

i also add spywareterminator as a second opition for if avast and malwarebytes antimaware should come back clean.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_spyware_terminator/

good luck and let us know on the progress or if you need more help.

3

mikael - I have to disagree. This is an Avast problem. I haven’t used my computer all day - the only thing that has changed is that Avast updated and I’m having the exact same problem as woodbri. I actually ran across this post searching for what it could be. I’ve had encounters (not on this computer or any of my own, but on a coworkers computer) with the Vundo virus, and it has never affected Avast like this.

In addition, there are no other symptoms of a computer virus. My computer is running quickly, there are no unknown .exe files when I check my running applications via Task Master, no other anti-spyware (I have Spybot, Malwarebytes, spyware blaster and spyware guard on my computer) are detecting anything. Vundo is a common, old virus - there is no way these programs would miss it.

Like woodbri, this ONLY started happening the moment that Avast was updated. For it to happen at the same time as woodbri, with the same problems, only after the update is telling.

Edit, since no one’s replied yet: I just did three full system scans with malware bytes, avast and spybot search and destroy. Nothing was found. This leads me to suspect that this is either a problem with the two sidebar sites (one in my case, its the google weather site, as I don’t have the other), or a problem with avast giving a false positive.

4

OK, so here is where I am now.

  1. ran an Avast quick scan - all clear
  2. ran an Avast deep scan - found an unrelated javascript file in browser cache that I deleted
  3. did not reboot when asked
  4. downloaded malwarebytes and ran quick scan and deep scan - all clear
  5. rebooted system

System seems to be good. My guess is that the update somehow broke Avast and that the reboot cleared whatever that problem was. I’m pretty sure the one deleted file is not related to the problem.

ArcherJP - do a reboot and see if that clears your problem also. Let us know.

Thanks guys!

5

woodbri - it worked.

::slight_smile: I can’t believe I forgot the oldest trick in the book: When in doubt, reboot reboot reboot.

Thanks for giving me a reminder. :slight_smile: