Hello everyone,
there is a new beta version ready - build 26.4.10898.
Release notes
What is New
Installer & Setup
- Welcome and progress screens in the installer have been refreshed with updated text and a new animated progress bar that better reflects real progress, even when some steps are skipped.
VPN Experience
- Improved Mimic protocol behavior: Mimic-based connections now use a dedicated DNS address for more reliable connectivity on strict networks.
- Smarter internal VPN checks: A broad set of automated VPN tests (leak checks, kill switch behavior, reconnection tests, DNS spoofing tests and geo-consistency checks) has been expanded. These do not change the UI but help keep future VPN updates safer and more reliable.
User Interface & Navigation
- Import-settings dialog now opens as a normal window instead of always staying on top, so you can move it or switch to other apps while keeping it open.
- Consent and password dialogs were updated to follow current design guidelines (for example, button borders and error highlights), making them clearer and more consistent across products and brands.
Network & Web Protection
- DNS and web-traffic counters were added behind the scenes for Secure DNS, DNS-over-HTTPS and Web Shield. These help the team monitor how often different types of traffic occur and catch configuration problems faster.
- Mail scanning flows were updated so that email attachments are scanned in a way that matches how files are scanned elsewhere, while still allowing Mail Shield to show clear detection dialogs for infected mail.
Licensing & Telemetry
- Richer product category signals are now sent with license information so back-end systems can better understand exactly which products (antivirus, VPN, Cleanup, BreachGuard, etc.) are installed on a device.
- Client-side parameters for the new VPN experience (such as app version age and which dashboard cards you use) are now reported so in-product messaging can better match how you actually use VPN.
- Unsupported modules on a given OS are now explicitly reported, helping avoid activating subscriptions for modules that cannot run on that system.
What Was Fixed
Installer & Update
- Fixed installer progress reporting so that skipped sub-components (for example, already up-to-date virus definitions) no longer make the progress bar appear stuck around the middle of the install.
VPN
- Fixed cases where manually installed firewall integration with Ultra VPN could be lost after an upgrade; the firewall stays active across updates.
- Fixed a problem where changing VPN locations after a dropped connection with kill switch enabled could fail; location changes are now allowed when smart DNS filtering is active.
- Fixed internal VPN error handling so that certain canceled location-discovery requests are no longer logged as hard errors, reducing noise in logs.
Firewall & Network Protection
- Fixed an issue where firewall rules for some background-only installs could leave part of the application in a broken state; firewall configurations are now applied consistently even when only a subset of modules is installed.
- Optimized how firewall applications and their rules are read and reported, reducing delays when loading large rule sets.
- Fixed system DNS-over-HTTPS detection on Windows 11 so Real Site protection can correctly see and handle secure system DNS traffic.
Web, Mail & Secure DNS
- Fixed a regression where local HTTP block pages in some Gen Family configurations triggered new Chrome “local network access” prompts; the local server now uses a flow that avoids repeated prompts.
- Fixed several issues around DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS classification so that diagnostic counters match behavior and system DoH settings are honored more reliably.
- Adjusted Web Shield and Mail Shield flows for scanning email attachments so that large or special file types are handled consistently with other shields.
BreachGuard & Privacy
- Fixed a race condition in BreachGuard where time synchronization could block the app from starting on some systems.
- Fixed log messages where a missing BreachGuard scan result was incorrectly reported as an error even when no scan had yet been run; these are now treated as expected “no data yet” states.
- Fixed missing licensing integration in BreachGuard standalone, so license queries from the app can now return proper information.
Cleanup & Driver Updater
- Fixed several Driver Updater issues where:
- Results could be incorrect after an involuntary scan.
- Results could disappear immediately after license activation.
- “Retry” buttons in error dialogs did nothing after you fixed disk-space or offline conditions.
- Fixed multiple layout and icon issues in Cleanup’s app-uninstaller views and related tooltips.
- Fixed various console warnings and search problems so that Cleanup and Driver Updater features are now searchable from settings.
User Interface & Experience
- Fixed multiple issues in Antivirus UI, including:
- Empty quarantine layouts not clearly explaining that there are no items.
- Consent and password dialogs with incorrect borders or error highlighting.
- Fixed an issue where GUI resources could be downloaded into multiple identical folders; the client now avoids downloading duplicate resources.
Licensing, Activation & Commerce
- Fixed a crash in dynamic pricing startup when a web service returned HTML instead of JSON; responses are now validated before parsing.
- Fixed duplicated antivirus entries being sent in license information during some migration flows; only the correct entry is now reported.
- Fixed several licensing-flow problems, including:
- Duplicate “change policy” calls after license transfers.
- Missing back-off behavior when some calls fail and are retried.
- Increased activation time when a certain feature flag was enabled.
- Missing license data for BreachGuard standalone.
- Improved how unsupported modules on a given OS are reported to back-end systems, so licenses are not allocated for modules that cannot run (for example, some modules on ARM).
Core Service, Stability & Tools
- Fixed rare crashes in the core service related to event routing shutdown races.
- Improved how the installer handles missing or non-responsive UI processes so that it exits with a clear error instead of hanging indefinitely.
- Fixed rare failures in clear/remove utilities where setup files couldn’t be opened and removal stopped unexpectedly.
Download links:
Avast Free
Avast Premium
Avast Clear
Enjoy this beta!
We are looking forward to your feedback.
AVAST Team
