I’ve had Avast for over a year and never had a problem until now. I think on a recent update the problem started where I can’t use the internet. I have to stop Avast to surf the web. I know this is a problem that has been posted before but I’ve never found out exactly what to do to fix the problem. I’m using IE and Windows XP. Any info will help.
Same old song, same old answer, if you have had a program update then it is likely because elements change that you firewall (what is it) blocks ashWebSv.exe, does it allow access for this file ?
You don’t have to completely stop avast (that leaves you vulnerable), the Web Shield provider can be paused or terminated, if that restores access it is likely the firewall is blocking it.
What errors are you getting, copy and paste the error ?
I’ve paused the web shield provider and I still can’t get to the internet. The only error I get is The Page Cannot be displayed. How can I tell if my firewall , Windows Security Center firewall, allows access to this file? I’m stumped and getting low on patience. Any help will be appreciated.
Well the windows firewall doesn’t check outbound connections but it does have Exceptions that normally has ashWebSv.exe in there, Control Panel, Windows Firewall, Exceptions.
Can you try a different browser, like firefox or opera and see if that makes a difference.
Can you try not just pausing the Web Shield but Terminate it and when paused the web shield proxy still passes trafic through it (I believe) but nothing is scanned.
I now have ashWebSv in the exceptions (no .exe, does this make a difference?) also have Mozilla Firefox in the exceptions. Pausing or stopping Web Shield and even stopping on access protection doesn’t work for Firefox. I always get The Connection Timed Out. For Internet Explorer pausing the Web Shield does not allow me access to the internet either, however, stopping Web Shield does allow access. Does any of this make sense?? What now? Thanks for trying…
Well both browsers should act in the same way as avast would treat them no differently, it is browser independent, it doesn’t care what browser you use (within reason, some obscure browsers aren’t on the supported list).
Yes the .exe makes a difference, when you select Add a program you should click the Browse button and navigate to the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe file or cut and paste the path I typed into the window (assumes you installed avast into the default folder).
Are you sure you don’t have a hidden firewall anywhere, what other security software do you have ?
Some motherboards like newer versions of ‘Asus’ I believe have an incorporated firewall.
Have (or did) you another AV installed in this system, if so what was it and how did you get rid of it ?
Went to Windows Add or Remove programs. Removed Norton Spyware Scan, AVG, and Dynamic Security Agent. Don’t know which one was causing the problem but everything is back to normal. Even Firefox is working. Avast did an automatic update and I am happy. It was my fault creating a conflict and nothing to do with Avast. Avast is great and your patience with answering these redundant questions is remarkable. Thanks for your help.
Norton is my pick for the usual suspects.
Though if it was AVG anti-virus (not AVG anti-spyware that works fine with avast), two resident AVs can conflict and could cause some really weird issues. Having two resident AV scanners installed is not recommended as rather than provide twice the protection it can cause conflicts that could leave you more vulnerable.
I have never heard of the Dynamic Security Agent before but if it is an AV then dynamic could mean resident and the same conflict issues could be possible. After a google search it would appear that this is a ‘behaviour style blocker’ http://www.privacyware.com/dynamic_security_agent.html So that could have contributed to or been the problem as I would say it is easy to block something when it pops-up a warning and you don’t fully understand what it is. also see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2040867,00.asp.
Glad that I could help, a belated welcome to the forums.