As I Booted Up My Desktop Computer This Morning… Something Very Strange Happened! :o
My Firewall… PC Tools Firewall Plus 1) Popped Up With Something Like… " OsdMaestro ( Osd.exe ) is trying to connect to the internet via - Avast Email Scanner "
Firewall Rules Not Being My Strongest Point… I didn’t know what to make of it ??? 2) So I Clicked… BLOCK
3) Then I Realised…
If I tried to open any webpage ( even my - Homepage ) via IE8 or Firefox - Couldn’t! - The internet kept cutting out
To Cut A Long Story Short… 4) I went back into my Firewall and found - OsdMaestro 5) Gave It… Connecting Allowed & Listening Permission Undetermined 6) I was then able to use the internet again : 7) Googled… OsdMaestro ( Osd.exe )
And found out that it’s something to do with HP Computers. ( The same as what my Firewall seems to show ).
Yes my computer is a - HP
But what would this OsdMaestro want with Avast Email Scanner ? ???
Plus…
I only use webmail anyway :-
Thanks In Advance!
Any software that uses the email ports 25, 110, 119, 143, will be monitored by avast email scanner (Internet Mail provider in avast 4.8) so it isn’t actually trying to connect using the email shield, just that it intercepts traffic on those ports so that it can be scanned and then hands it off so to speak.
Only using webmail is fine, but it doesn’t stop malware with its own SMTP client sending spam and that is why the avast Internet Mail provider still has a function and I would suggest setting it to High sensitivity.
which also mentions osd.exe, but there doesn't seem to be any email function.
Yep! … That’s why I can’t understand how the two fit together ???
The only thing I can think of - Long Shot! …
My Avast Sub runs out in February - So… Avast Sub Soon To Run Out + b On Screen Display[/b] :-\ =Oh! I Don’t Know! :-[ …Just Wild Guessing! :
What Do You Think? a) Do you think I’m OK?
OR b) Do you think that there is something to be worried about?
The computer seems fine :-\
Re : Webmail
Totally Paranoid About Email Malware :-[
I hardly ever open my emails anyway … Just … DELETE
Not unless I receive an email that I was expecting.
Thanks For Your Help!
PS. Re : The Link You Gave Me
That’s a very useful website 8)
So … I’ve bookmarked it for future reference ;D
Thanks!
I don’t use an HP (never have and don’t believe I will) system after my experience with an HP printer, brilliant printer turned into a pile of scrap when HP wouldn’t update the driver for XP. So I have no experience in their backend systems/processes. All I can say is to check the location of osd.exe and see if it is in the location mentioned in the link I gave.
The first block you made must have been on ashWebSv.exe (the web shield) and not osd.exe, that is the only reason I can think why you couldn’t view web pages.
The avast subscription close to running out would have nothing to do with that as avasts own notification deals with that from 21 days to go to renewal.
So what you have described seems at odds with what is happening, so I would say that it isn’t just one area in PC Tools Firewall Plus as blocking ashMaiSv.exe should have zero impact on ashWebSv.exe as they are for separate and different functions.
I would suggest you go into PC Tools Firewall Plus and find any avast functions, ashMaiSv.exe, ashWebSv.exe and delete the entry; now reconnect to the internet and browse, that should force the firewall to ask permission again, now try to collect your email and the same permission should be sought.
