No automatic updates under proxy (manual update ok)

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

My problem is pretty much the same described in this topic. To summarize:

  • proxy without authentication, access is granted by source IP (so it’s not a service credentials issue)

  • Firefox & IE work ok with automatic or specific proxy settings

  • avast settings:

http://xs303.xs.to/xs303/06283/avast-proxy.png

  • manual update always works, no matter if using automatic or specific proxy settings
  • automatic update never works, no matter if using automatic or specific proxy settings

I did some packet capturing with ethereal, and my conclusion is avast is ignoring the proxy settings for automatic updates. Here is a packet capture with automatic update running in background (10.100.50.20 is the local machine and 10.100.50.1 is the all-in-one gateway/proxy/dns):

http://xs303.xs.to/xs303/06283/automatic-update.png

And here’s with manual update:

http://xs303.xs.to/xs303/06283/manual-update.png

So, clearly, the automatic update is trying to connect directly to the download servers instead of using the proxy automatic or specific settings.

Any ideas?

Thanks

2

I’ll suggest the same as I’ve done by IM:

  1. Make sure your browser is not set to “Work Offline” (this option is generally in the File menu).
  2. Switching the proxy settings from “Auto-detect” to “Secify proxy server”.
3

Well the auto detect using Internet Explorer settings, might work for manual updates.
As Tech mentions, what happens if you tick the specify proxy server option and enter the proxy information, that should then also work for auto updates and stop avast going directly to the download location.

4

I had the same problem, and tried everything I could; I entered manualy; I left it to get IE settings; with or without password (depends on setting). While testing, I got Correct. But the minute it starts updating, it can’t connect; I don’t touch anything, just do manual update from rightclick menu, and it works.
Right now it gets through http://apserver.sourceforge.net/.
NTLM Manager acts like a proxy server to all apps WITHOUT AUTHENTIFICATION; itself it authentificates to NTLM ISA proxy server, and passes traffic through.
This makes me think that there is problem with passing username and password to proxy when doing automatic backups, because on manual it works; also, when on proxy without authentification, it also works.

Ivan.

5

Guys, I did tried every possible configuration settings, and that included specifying the proxy properties manually, instead of automatic detection. As I said, automatic updates never worked no matter what proxy settings I had set, however manual updates always works also no matter what proxy settings (apart from the “direct connection” setting, obviously).

From my point of view, it is just ignoring whatever proxy setting is there.

Does anyone here had that fully working? I mean not just using a proxy, you have to be sure clients on the LAN were really unable to get to the internet thru the gateway/firewall and could only have internet activity using the proxy.

6

You’ve got the *@#$! ISA proxy with NTLM authentication, right?

If it’s the case, you may want to play with the user credentials of avast! updating service. Local service is not allowed to go thru proxy.

7

Thanks for reply, but no, I’m using the Squid proxy and no authentication is required. Access to the proxy is granted only by source machine IP.

8

I have 2 proxies, one is ISA NTLM, and other is regular linux proxy. ISA NTLM requires domain\user and password, and other one has defined username and password not conncted with domain. If I configure either one of them through IE or manually, when I test connection, it passes; it fails when automatic updating. Manual update passes.

(I am techie, so I couldn’t misconfigured it) :wink:

When there is no need for U/P, automatic update works flawless; when there is U/P, it fails - this is the situation on my machine.

Ivan.

9

I see, but I can tell you, I’m sure there’s no need for user or password on my setup. If the client is on the allowed subnet, then access to the proxy is granted.

So, it looks like the only real solution is manual update?

10

Seems so… at least, for you.

Ivan.

11

hlloyge:

The difference between ‘real’ update and ‘testing’ is in the windows username. Testing is run in your user’s context. Update is run thru the service, running under LocalSystem account. You may try to tamper with the service’s credentials in order to get it work with network and in the same time to have enough rights to write to all avast directories.