Hello everyone,
there is a new beta version ready - build 26.5.10941.
Release notes
What Is New
Cleanup & Performance
- Shredder Progress Look & Feel: The shredding progress view was refreshed so file names and progress numbers no longer collide, making the process easier to follow.
- Driver Updater Flow Improvements: Pre-update dialogs now respect “Do not show again” correctly, and event tracking around skipping, ignoring, and reverting driver updates has been improved.
Licensing & Accounts
- Modular Account Handling: Builds now fetch account and token details centrally in the service and expose them to all modules
- More Robust Trial & X-Sell Flows: Several internal changes improve how add-on products (like Driver Updater or VPN) are activated after purchase, especially in staged and portal flows.
Security & Core Protection
- Safer Anti-Exploit Decisions (ARM): Exploit detections on ARM now correctly attribute and act on the real malicious launcher instead of system apps like Calculator.
- Improved Anti-Rootkit & VPS Behavior: Engine updates reduce rare crashes and improve detection reliability, especially on ARM and long-running x86 systems.
- Firewall & Network Counters: New internal firewall counters measure incoming QUIC/HTTPS/HTTP traffic (allowed vs blocked) for better diagnostics.
- ANEN (Network Event) Telemetry: Network adapter and connectivity events now expose structured counters and send them through a unified telemetry path to help diagnose connectivity issues.
User Experience & UI
- Clearer Notifications & Dialogs: Several dialogs and tooltips were updated to match design copy (for example, Scam Monitoring tooltips, restart dialogs, and some email error messages).
What Was Fixed
Installer & Setup
- Secure Browser Installation from AV Setup: A rare failure where Secure/Private Browser would not install from the antivirus setup wizard has been fixed; a new network fallback ensures installation even on problematic networks.
- Offline Installer Text: When using offline installers, the progress text now correctly describes copying/extracting files instead of “downloading files.”
- Access Denied During Suite Update/Repair: Intermittent “Access is denied” errors while updating cobranding files in the suite installer were resolved by better handling of read-only and locked files.
- Temporary Proxy Settings Cleanup: If you cancel installation early, temporary proxy configuration files are now cleaned up correctly.
Firewall & Network
- Random Firewall BSOD (NetHub): A rare blue-screen crash in the firewall driver’s cancel logic was fixed, improving overall system stability when firewall features are heavily used.
- Thunderbolt Network Detection: On systems with Thunderbolt networking, new networks are now correctly detected and shown with an “ask” toaster, and the right profile (private/public) is applied.
- Draytek SSL VPN Connectivity: A problem where Draytek Smart VPN Client SSL connections only worked when the firewall was disabled has been resolved by adjusting default raw-socket handling.
- Windows 7 Public Profile Leak: On some Windows 7 systems, port scans could show open ports even in public/untrusted mode; handling was tightened to ensure ports remain closed in this profile.
- Firewall Removal during Clear Tool Run: When using the Uninstall Tool, the “Firewall” service is now properly stopped and removed, avoiding leftover running services.
Cleanup & Driver Updater
- Data Recovery Button Text: After recovering files, the main button again clearly invites you to “Recover more” instead of the confusing “View recovered files.”
- File Recovery Path Handling: Adding include/exclude folders for File Recovery now keeps the full disk path correctly, and edge cases where a folder name matched a drive letter no longer exclude the entire disk.
- Driver Updater Console Errors: When “Do not show again” is checked on pre-update dialogs, those dialogs are skipped cleanly on future runs without throwing errors in the background console.
- Driver Update Button States: After cancelling a driver update, the “Update” button now returns to an active state so you can retry without restarting the app.
- Strange Debug Text After Driver Updates: Stray debug characters shown on the Driver Updater status page after partial failures have been removed.
Identity, Breach & Privacy
- SafeCam “No Webcam Found” on ARM: On some ARM-based laptops, SafeCam showed “No webcam found” even while camera alerts worked; the camera detection logic was fixed to correctly recognize the device.
- SafeCam Illustration Overlap: An illustration in the SafeCam “App permissions” tab no longer covers important text when no apps are listed.
Smart Scan & Shields
- Smart Scan 0 Files Scanned: A case where Smart Scan would complete but report “0 files scanned” has been corrected so real file counts are shown.
- Deepfake vs Explorer Scan Toast: When deepfake listening is active, right-click “Scan with …” now correctly shows the Explorer scan toaster rather than the deepfake toaster.
- Explorer USB Scan Toaster: When you plug in a USB drive and choose “Scan for threats,” a dedicated scan for that device now reliably starts instead of doing nothing.
- Long File Path Display: Extremely long file or path names during scans no longer stretch or break the progress UI; they are smartly trimmed and remain readable.
- Mail Shield Blocking on Pending “Ask” Dialogs: Incoming email scanning no longer stalls indefinitely when another shield is waiting for your decision in a separate detection dialog.
UI & UX Polish
- Restart Required Dialog Size: The “We need to restart your PC” dialog now uses a more compact, consistent size instead of filling nearly the whole window.
- Protection Report “Gathering Your Data”: Protection Report now loads correctly instead of staying stuck on a “We’re gathering your data” message indefinitely.
- Tooltip and Icon Adjustments: Several tooltips and icons (for Scam Monitoring, AntiScam dashboards, and other tiles) were aligned with design expectations.
Remover / Uninstall & General
- Clear Leftovers: Running the Uninstall Tool now removes more leftover files under ProgramData and local app data, reducing clutter after uninstall.
- Installer Error 45011: A recurring “45011” error reported by installer was traced and mitigated so new installs complete successfully in more scenarios.
Download links:
Avast Free
Avast Premium
Avast Clear
Enjoy this beta!
We are looking forward to your feedback.
AVAST Team
