I get box message “the avast mail shield encountered a problem with the secure connection to your mail server. you may need to configure the ssl scan feature manually”. All that offers me is to shut off scanning ssl mail. It does not tell me which mail account it is triggering on. Win 8.1 current. Thunderbird. EDIT: all mail works fine. But it keeps giving me this message, perhaps once a day.
No advise possible without details on accounts settings and email providers in question.
settings: email: one is gmail (SSL) other is my site (no SSL) It doesn’t tell me which one it is flagging. It allows me to export a certificate, but TBird says it already has it.
settings: avast: whatever it defaults to on instal. New to 2014. Problem started with 2014.
Again, we need to see the screenshots of the TB settings. Impossible to advise otherwise.
how’s this?
The Gmail one looks OK. Must be the unsecured one then. Check the Avast mail shield SSL settings, probably avast tries a secured connection in a way the POP3 server does not understand or you have some leftover manual config there from older versions.
“scan ssl connections” is checked. or did you mean something else? Leftover settings where?
anything?
You know, people normally need to get some sleep as well… 
Does the POP3 server support SSL, TLS or anything like that? Kinda hard to test without having an account.
SLEEP??? sorry.
No. I am told to log on the way I do, per their instructions. Else it won’t work…
uh. it’s still doing it… :
Never mind - I changed back to 7.0.1466, and also back to Win7 ;D
I had a simliar problem … it turned out to be the security setting … avast has problems with STARTTLS
imap.mail.yahoo.com --------- port 465 … security SSL/TLS Full Success
mail.weblinksonline.co.uk — smtp port 465 … security START/TLS No Avail
change to security SSL/TLS Full Success
mail.weblinksonline.co.uk — smtp port 465 … security SSL/TLS Full Success
smtp.live.com ----------------- smtp port 465 … security START/TLS No Avail
change to security SSL/TLS No Avail
change smtp port to 25 and update Avast mail settingsNo Avail
removed port 25 from avast smtp mail settingsNo Avail
change change to security back to START/TLS avast mail settings Full Success
smtp.live.com ----------------- smtp port 25 … security START/TLS (port 25 not declared in Avast mail smtp settings) Full Success
Conclusion
Avast mail scanner does not work with security START/TLS
smtp.live.com needs security START/TLS
Set security to SSL/TLS and if the server does not work with that then set its SMTP port to 25 and do not declare the port in Avast smtp mail settings
*edit typo *
Kinda hard to have a meaningful conversation when someone makes comments “Check the Avast mail shield SSL settings (…) or you have some leftover manual config there from older versions” and fails to clarify (what did you mean? leftover settings where?).
Identical problem here, also after upgrade to Avast! 2014. One account only: Gmail, IMAP mail server using port 993, SSL/TLS, SMTP using port 465 (generally, I would recommend against using port 25). Obviously Avast! bug which will be fixed. Pity about people asking irrelevant questions and contributing little. What to do? Disable Avast! Mail Shield until permanent fix released or downgrade. Yes, I know, it is a free software. Yes, I know, it is my first post here.
I am having the same problem with Win7 SP1 and Thunderbird 24.1 (imap accounts) since upgrading to the latest Avast. I have used Avast for 10+ years without problems
I get ’ the mail shield encountered a problem’ message but mail is being scanned ( I looked in the message source for the Avast tag). This only happens for me after resuming from hibernation, so the network is probably not yet re-established, could this be the cause of the problem ?
I agree with the others who say this message is not very helpful at indicating the cause or solution to the error.
Otherwise, thanks Avast team for all your hard work.
The same problem started for me when I upgraded Avast! today.
Win 7, Thunderbird 24.1.1, IMAP with Google Mail, SSL/TLS - is that enough information?
Don’t want to turn Avast! off, but I am not getting email now.
Thanks.