Network Shield keeps blocking a good website.

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
21

Hi,

It is apparent that the detection by Avast! was correct. It provided the protection you needed when you needed it.

Do not blame Avast! when it is doing its’ job. Be glad it does. Question now is, if past history is any indication, why have this on your system?

22

Hmm interestingly, on today’s 18:30 hrs Quick Scan, Avast has detected PUP see attached screenshot of file in Chest. In 2+ years of using this toolbar (to collect points towards money off shopping) I’ve never had problems with it. But then doing the arithmetic, its worth next to nothing! ::slight_smile:
Perhaps I ought to submit to Avast anyway.

23

Well the point is that it is a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) - See http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci1066761,00.html. Not included in this definition are tools which can be used for good or evil, some have been legitimately installed for a specifically good purpose, but could have been unknowing installed for a malicious purpose.
Not all antivirus programs scan for PUPs and avast has it turned off by default (an exception being the boot-time scan).

So if you get this on a Quick scan you have been tweaking the avast settings without knowing what the impact might be.

24

Good remark by DavidR, and right he is there!
Beacause tweaking the settings without an informed advice is bad practice.
An av solution is a program with a purpose and all parts of it have their purpose (pup detection, shields, etc. etc.)

polonus

25

Ah yes I see the association with Spyware in the link you provided DavidR. Interesting.

Yes it does look as if I’ve been tweaking the scan settings as PUP is ticked. Not that I recall doing it! Do you advocate turning this off back to the default setting? Actually I did a Boot time scan today (which was clear) then re-enabled the toolbar then did the Quick scan as I do every day. Think I might actually give the Toolbar the heave-ho. It earns 100 points per month equivalent to £0.5 in a Supermarket. Drop in the ocean when compared to grocery price rises!

26

The main problem with enabling PUPs is you have to have a degree of knowledge of what you have installed on your system, what it does and why it might be considered a PUP to be able to make any informed decision. I believe that is why PUPs are not enabled in the regular on-demand scans.

  • With a resident on-access antivirus like avast, the need for frequent on-demand scans is much depreciated. For the most part the on-demand scan is going to be scanning files that would be otherwise be dormant or inert. If they were active files then the on-access file system shield would be scanning them before being created, modified, opened or executed.

I have avast set to do a scheduled weekly Quick scan, set at a time and day that I know the computer will be on. If for some reason my system wasn’t on, no big deal I will catch up on the next scheduled scan.

Now if you know why you installed this toolbar and the fact that it will be gathering information that is used for marketing purposes by the vendor. This may also be used to deliver targeted adverts, this is why many toolbars are considered ad/spyware.

27

The real lose is not the “100 points per month equivalent to £0.5” but the lose of your personal information using such toolbars. It doesn’t matter what toolbarservice.freecause.com might tell you. Think about this:
How do you think they know what offers to present to you?