Woke up this morning to find that the majority of sites wouldn’t load, including the web access to my router (192.168.1.254). After pulling my PC apart, switching cables, switching ethernet ports, and switching modems, I finally tried turning off the Web Shield in Avast. Hey Presto, everything is working again.
I’ve no idea what would have caused this unless Avast updated itself overnight.
I appear to be running version 5.1.889 with Virus Defs 110125-1.
EDIT: HTTPS sites work, HTTP sites don’t. After some reading around on here, I’m going to uninstall 5.1.889 using the clean program and try 5.1.667 which seems to fix most people’s problems.
I suggest that you reset the router to its default configuration. This can be done by inserting something tiny like a paper clip end or pencil tip into a small hole labeled “reset” located on the back of the router. Press and hold down the small button inside until the lights on the front of the router blink off and then on again (usually about 10 seconds).
Since you may have exposed yourself to the Internet with the Web Shield off, I suggest that if Avast is not working properly that you run an MBAM (Malwarebytes) scan to check for malware to see if this is causing your problems:
· Download freehttp://www.malwarebytes.org/ (the blue button) for an on-demand scanner.
· Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
· After install, click update so you have latest database and program before scanning.
· Under Settings:
o General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o Scanner Settings: Check all boxes
o Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
· Once the program has loaded, select “Perform FULL Scan”, then click Scan.
· The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
· When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
· Click the “remove selected” button to quarantine anything found. You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
· The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
· Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply.
Let us know if resetting the router helps, and we will look forward to your MBAM log post. Thank you.
As part of my initial troubleshooting I ran a full scan of MBAM and there are no issues there. I’m hesitant to reset the router to defaults as I have a complicated Router, and it takes a good couple of hours to re-enter all my settings (QOS, virtual servers, voip settings etc). To be honest it’s obviously an Avast issue, as the problem goes away immediately after disabling the web shield, and reoccurs immediately after switching it on.
There are a few other people with the same problem on the front page of this forum section as well
For now, I’m going to ditch Avast (which I’ve used for the past 4 years or so with no issues at all), and hesitantly give Microsoft Security Essentials a go until Avast get these issues worked out with the latest versions.
When you uninstalled 5.1.889 using the Avast uninstaller tool, did you have any other versions of Avast on this machine in the past, and if so, did you also uninstall them at the same time?
If you are still having problems, even after doing a clean install of v.677 (which worked for you in the past), and you have installed another AV on the machine, it is possible that you have remnants causing issues. Have you put another AV on this machine then uninstalled it? If so, which AV and how did you uninstall it?
What other security software do you have on this machine?
The other option is to delete all items in your firewall (FW) related to Avast, turn off the FW then turn it on, and let it reset to allow Avast to reset itself.
A third option is to contact Avast here http://www.avast.com/contact-form.php?loadStyles and use the drop down menu for Technical Support. In the meantime we can continue to support you here on the forum. If you decide to go this route, let us know. Thank you.
