I recently downloaded the Avast home version wanting to see how well it worked compared to a couple spy ware removal programs I am using.
I already have Webroot Spy Sweeper and Ad-aware SE Personal.
After installing Avast, I did a complete sweep and the results showed no spyware items.
The next day,I ran a sweep using each of the 3 spyware programs with updated definitions.
Webroot indicated that I had 6 “critical” items, Ad-aware indicated one and Avast, picked up nothing. I used the highest sensitivity setting with Avast for the scan.
Isn’t that strange that Avast would not pick up anything but, the other 2 programs did?
None of the detected spyware was quarantined until all 3 sweeps were done.
I’ve also discovered that when Avast is running, it will not let me download the golfchannel web site. www.thegolfchannel.com
If I turn off Avast, the site will download no problem.
So far, that is the only site I’ve had this problem with.
As I’m new using Avast, I’m just wondering what long time user have to say about this.
Thanks
We need more info to judge: the name and full path of the suspicious files, the name of the infection…
Could be false alarms of the others, could be just ‘cookies’… Some protection applications promisse more that can do… promisse they’re finding everything but, after all, just common and innocuous things…
But if avast! does not warn you about that you should have changed the default settings and entered in the Silent Mode in WebShield…
What did you do? What warning did you receive?
avast! is not a firewall to block downloads… it’s an antivirus…
Spysweeper and Ad-Aware are anti-spyware programs and avast! is an anti-virus program. There is some overlap between them (Trojan horses, especially), but avast! will not detect all spyware, and the programs you have will not detect all viruses.
Some AV’s license an anti-spyware product to use with their package; others try to detect spyware but don’t do a very good job. At the moment the best advice is to use the good free anti-spyware/anti-Trojan programs available in conjunction with your AV, even if it claims to detect spyware.
Free and effective anti-Trojan/anti-spyware programs:
Thanks for the replies to my post.
To Tech:
It would appear that the “critical objects” that the Ad-Aware scan detected are tracking cookies.
Not sure what the item was Webroot detected. Didn’t check into the name, I just automatically let the program quarantine anything it detects.
You have me curious about what you mean regarding the problems I had and still have in downloading the golfchannel site. Are you suggesting that I choose the silent mode in the Webshield and that will fix the problem?
Right now, all my settings are at the default settings when I downloaded Avast.
I receive no warnings when attempting to download the golfchannel site.
The site partially downloads and then stops.
To Freewheeling Frank
Thanks for the explaination and the web site suggestions.
i also have spy sweeper(the retail version)and ad-aware se plus(retail version) along with ewido and spybot and avast professional…as the other people were saying avast is a av program and others are for malware,spyware,adware.tracking cookies and etc.garbage…not one program can find it all…but you can have only one av program on the computer as they will conflict…and avast is the one and only one to have…have a good day everyone in avast world… 8) ;D
I have Avast & Ad-aware, but no SpySweeper. I just went
to your golfchannel site without problems, though it did
try to put 2 cookies on my computer ; so you are sure it is
NOT one of SpySweeper's "shields" causing the problem
or that their "shields" & Avast's "shields" may conflict !?
As to Ad-Aware ( & other programs ) there's "quarantine"
AND "delete/remove" and the usual advise is to place in
"quarantine"; however, for "tracking cookies" & "Alexa"
the quarantine should be bypassed in favor of "direct"
removal .
I also use Norton AV and the suggestion of conflicting AV programs possibly being the cause of the problem made sense. So, I shut down Norton but, was still unable to download the web site.
As far as Ad-Aware and Webroot Spyware also being a possibility for the problem, all I know is that I’ve been using those two programs for quite awhile now and have never had this problem. This problem has only begun since I downloaded Avast.
I even shut down Webroot and Norton at the same time and still get the same results. The version of Ad-Aware I have can’t be shut down unless it’s uninstalled. I guess the simple solution to this problem is to turn off Avast before I go to this particular site. But, I shouldn’t have to do that.
Now that I know Avast is mainly a AV program, I’m wondering this.
If my computer had a virus/Trojan Horse(I’m assuming it doesn’t because I’ve been using Norton since I’ve had the computer) before I downloaded Avast, would Avast detect it once Avast was downloaded and a scan done?
Sometimes… an innocent cookie of avast forums, Gmail, etc. is detected as a monster tracking cookie
No. I’ve said the Silent Mode in WebShield ‘disconnect’ the http traffic of that particular site automatically, avoiding the infection of your computer. It won’t ‘fix’ the problem, but prevent it.
I can’t figure out what were wrong at the first time :
I also had no trouble going to the golfchannel website. It loaded quickly and perfectly.
You will need to remove Norton completely from your computer to use avast! as Norton will foul the installation/operation of any other anti-virus program. Please read the post at the link below.
Note: After doing the above, you may need to repair avast! if you have XP as the OS … or … uninstall avast, restart your computer, install avast, restart your computer.
Hi trialuser :