Using Verizon's Media Manager

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I am trying to use Verizon’s Media Manager.
In the Verizon help, it says "If you have personal firewall software installed… you will need to add the verizon media manager software to the firewalls exception lists to enable detection on the tv in your in-home network. It also says that Port 5050 is used to discover devices (UDP) and Port 18000 and 18001 are used for media streaming and play (http on TCP).

What do I have to do in Avast to comply with this?

Thanks,

steve

2

Steve,

You don’t say which version of avast! (free, IS, PRO, Premium) you are using and which firewall. Both pieces of information will help.

I also have Verizon Media Manager and use avast! Internet Security, so I use the avast! firewall. All I did was to set the default rules in avast! firewall to “Auto-Decide” and then run Media Manager. Doing it this way, the avast! firewall will automatically create a new rule for Media Manager and it then runs and connects with Verizon and my TV with no problem and no messing around with ports, etc.

If you don’t want to run the firewall in the “Auto-Decide” mode on a permanent basis, you can do the above and after the rules for Media Manager are created change the default rules behavior to “Ask”.

If you aren’t running the avast! firewall, then I would look into the settings of the one you are using and see if something similar to the above exists in your firewall.

Hope this helps.

3

Thank you Gandalf

I have Avast Internet Security.
I will try setting the default to “auto decide” and then try media manager again

steve

4

Hi Gandalf;

No joy. Set firewall to auto decide. Still get the same message.
Does this require a reboot?
Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
steve

5

Well, a reboot couldn’t hurt but I don’t think that it should be necessary. Exactly what “message” do you get?? Is it from avast! or from Media Manager?

As I had mentioned I also have Media Manager and avast! IS and everything works without a problem . . . .

Try the reboot and post what the message is . . .

6

To be more informative. There was not a rule established for Verizon’s Media Manager.
Is there any other setting in Avast that could be overriding the auto decide?

steve

7

The message is from my TV and says that either I do not have Media Manager on my PC, or it is not running.

False. It is running, and I am logged in to Media Manager

steve

8

Verizon’s “robo-helper” pointed me to a suggestion that indicated I should uninstall Media Manager and then re-install it. Will try that over the weekend since we have created slideshows in Media Manager that we will be using tonight and Friday night to show two groups of friends pics from the south africa trip we just took.
As a back up, I do have an hdmi cable and have successfully used it to display the slideshows on our tv.

Will check in next week with the results of the uninstall/install process

Thanks again,

steve

9

Steve - try this . . .

In the “Application Rules” window of avast! click on the button in the lower right that says “New Group”. Create a group and name it “Verizon”. Once you have done that click on the “new Application Rule”. Choose the Verizon group and then navigate to “C:\Program Files (x86)\Verizon\Verizon Media Manager\Release\VZVideoAgent.exe”. Allow this file to access the internet (probably both in and out). That is the way my avast! firewall rule was set up.

If that doesn’t work maybe someone else with more firewall expertise can help out . . .

BTW, did you try stopping the firewall in avast! as a test to see if it is actually the problem here??

10

Success. Not sure why, but it works.
A couple of years ago, when I got this laptop, I set up a “workgroup”. Totally forgot about it. Went into the workgroup and there was a set of options; changed a couple that seemed to be concerned solely with intranet access, presto, it works.

Thanks Gandalf

steve

11

Glad to hear you figured it out! Nothing beats the feeling of finally getting the better of a computer!! ;D ;D