After the auto upgrade to current version 4.7.892, my browser always strangely can’t access internet. To figure out it’s due to Avast antivirus is hard. When I turn it off, all web browsing using Firefox can get thru suddenly normally. When the sudden failing access internet via FF browser, using IE to access at mean time will be failed too. This seems http port is locked by Avast. Pausing specific Avast Provider is useless, unless stopping the whole On-line Access. I now need to stop Avast whenever browsing, otherwise browsing is in pain. Wish there’s an option from Avast to reverse downgrade to the previous version manually for getting rid of issues anyway. I now need to turn off auto update Avast engine for any further upgrade automatically. 
Program updates are essential to keeep security programs fully up to date.
What you are encountering almost certainly is your firewall (which is ?) blocking and updated process in avast, ashWebSv.exe, check your firewall allows access for the Web Shield provider.
This is a common forum question.
i’ve been using avast home for a very long time and the auto update works fine as usual. I’m using Kerio PF which had enabled avast different modules to have its auto updates like what you mentioned avast and ashWebSv.exe.
Are you referring to browsing speed (normal) or Internet access, that with WebShield you can’t access the Internet?
On http://www.filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/ you have old avast versions… but I think the problem is on Kerio… are you using the free or the paid version?
If you disable Kerio, what do you get?
My concern wasn’t that auto updates weren’t working, but that you were considering stopping them.
I now need to turn off auto update Avast engine for any further upgrade automatically.
Find the entry for ashWebSv.exe - Web shield on Kerio and delete the entry, then connect to the internet with the web shield provider enabled, that will force Kerio to ask permission again.
Hi, thanks for the opinions given, but things are going as what I mentioned.
I’d enabled “show detailed info on performed action” to see the web browsing details from Advanced tab of Web shield. Whenever webpage can’t be loaded suddenly, no details can be seen or the Avast icon won’t rotate. I disable Kerio free PF, but webpage still can’t be loaded and no details shows up by Avast. Avast web filtering seems blocking all http access at this moment. I then use IE to load a web, and symtoms are the same. When I stop web shield, all webpages can be loaded at once.
I’d removed the entry from Kerio for web shield, and recreated it, but symtoms are the same. I’d uninstalled the newest Avast, and reinstalled the previous old version v4.7.871, but symptoms are the same. I don’t know how many versions I need to keep downgrading for further tests…
None… downgrade is not a solution…
Can you please activate logging in WebShield?
- Edit \data\avast4.ini file
- Find the section [WebScanner]
- Add the line:
EnableLogging=1 - Restart Web Shield in XP (terminate and start again) or whole PC in case of Win98
- Browse (trying to access some webpages)
The log file are \data\log\ashwebsv.log and ashwebsv.ws.
They would be accessible when WebShield is terminated again.
Post them here or send by mail to rypacek (at) asw.cz
After that, disable the logging to avoid a big log file.
The ashwebsv.ws is 0 byte file size, while due to having visited paid newspaper sites, I’ve cut out last around 6 minutes log of ashwebsv.log to email you. The last failed visited page is varied under experience in this case.