Hello,
This morning, Avast Network Shield blocked access to Maxsecure website. This is the domain of the Spyware Detector and is perfectly safe. This is what the log said:02.01.2009 10:09:02 Network Shield: blocked access to malicious site dns://www.maxpcsecure.com [ C:\PROGRAM FILES\SPYWAREDETECTOR\LIVEUPDATESD.EXE ]
I created an exclusion by adding: C:\Program Files/\SpywareDetector. The folder SpywareDetector also contains Liveupdatesd.exe. Is this action sufficient to prevent this from happening again or must I do something else to enable Spyware Detector Live Update to perform its function? I just tried the live update tool but the same message came up again.
So…my question is now: What can I or you do to ensure that Avast does not block access to www.maxpcsecure.com? Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
I can attest to the blockage. Just opening this post set of a warning.
WOT doesn’t like it either hXXp://www.maxpcsecure.com/ this site is rated as dangerous.
Try a search on SPYWAREDETECTOR with WOT enabled on your google search and WOT flags lots of untrustworthy sites.
I noted that WOT flagged this site as dangerous. However, the Spyware detector website is not flagged. WOT says that it is good. I rather suspect that it has to do with Avast. Avast has until this morning when it automatically updated always permitted Spyware Detector to update. Now it suddenly blocks access to www.maxpcsecure.com where it updates from.
Well avast and WOT are two entirely different and independent things and the reason in giving WOT as an example was simply to show avast wasn’t alone in its suspicion of the site you tried to visit.
A Scandoo search gave interesting results.
IMHO, till avast! removes the blockage, it’s a website I don’t need to visit. 
Sorry.
I have had spyware detector from Max Secure for more than a year. I recently renewed the licence. Avast has always allowed the automatic update feature of spyware detector to do its job. Why should avast suddenly decide to block access to the update site? Avast also lets spyware detector do all its active monitoring. I am flabbergasted here. I have seen negative comments on the net in respect of maxpcsecure.com but also exoneration from suspicion that it is a malicious website by Spybot according to a forum entry. What am I to do?
It could be a recent signature added to the virus database… Maybe a false positive.
This recent signature was added only yesterday morning my time. To the best of my knowledge, www.maxpcsecure.com is a well established site and it has never caused me problems in the past and neither did Avast block it until yesterday. Could that signature be removed, because my anti spyware software now does not update.
Hi, avast doesn’t block http://www.maxpcsecure.com/ for me . Maybe virus defs are updated. ???
Most certainly updated defs, though WOT still doesn’t like it.
avast did not block it, but WOT does not like it…
Oops, David posted before :-[
Tech,
Once WOT get’s a bug up it’s as… it’s hard to get them to correct it even when they or WRONG.
You’re right… seems FUD.
Thanks for all your input. I uninstalled Spyware Detector and reinstalled it after freshly downloading it from Max Secure. After that, I did a live update and to my surprise, Avast let me do this. I subsequently tried to visit www.maxpcsecure.com and again Avast does not now interfere. WOT does interfere, but I have added at WOT comments in favour of www.maxpcsecure.com and now find that this site opens straight away when I try to visit. WOT still warns that this site is dangerous, but bear in mind that this rating comes from individuals who for one reason or other have perceived a problem which may or may not be related to said site. Never mind, all is well for now and I always appreciate the speedy responses from members of this forum.
I would have though that it would have taken more than a few people to sway it that much, which lessons the value of WOT to a degree.
It does however allow you to white list it so you can get past it and as you have done submit your own report.
I have noticed WOT false alerts with more frequency now… troubleshooting forums, sites for freewares, etc. Difficult to trust with so many false positives just based in user opinions.
Does anybody knows a substitution for WOT with Firefox?
Well there is Finjan SecureBrowsing ,It is more of a URL scanning thing as you know.
It seemed to cause a hang more or less in Firefox. What gets me about WOT is someone orders a set of RED jalapeno boxers from a site,they ship a pair of GREEN Jalapeno boxers,and the site gets a red
circle,as if it were downloading malware.
Thats a inherent problem to the comunity based stuff.
The threatfire guys admit as much,when they allow you to opt out of the community based thing and still get updates with the paid version.
I agree with the above that some websites have been “rated” by only a very few individuals. We all know that, no matter where you go and how you go about things, there are always people who find fault. Often the fault might lie somewhere else but meanwhile the site has now turned into a malicious site. Food for thought.