Web Shield blocks everything

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

Recently did a fresh Windows XP install (after formatting the harddisk), upgraded all Windows components (but not Internet Explorer 7, I kept IE6), installed Avast, and now I can’t browse any websites anymore.

Internet Explorer just keeps showing the “This page cannot be displayed” page.

I manually added ashWebSv.exe to the (Windows) Firewall, but this didn’t help. Disabling the firewall does not change anything. I filled in the proxy server info in IE (address: localhost, port: 12080) following another document I found, but this didn’t change anything either. The only thing that helps is terminating Web Shield.

I read in another forum post about making a Web Shield logfile. I did this, loaded a website, and this is the whole contents of AshWebSv.log (AshWebSv.ws is a 0-byte file):

4/26/2008 11:17:28 PM,"","","",HTTP Status: -1,0,0,0,0,0,0,Unknown process,PID: 0,CON: 127.0.0.1:12080->127.0.0.1:1179 <--> :0->:0,SEQ: 0
4/26/2008 11:20:42 PM,"","","",HTTP Status: -1,0,0,0,0,0,0,Unknown process,PID: 0,CON: 127.0.0.1:12080->127.0.0.1:1180 <--> :0->:0,SEQ: 0
2

Really strange in a clean Windows installation.
Windows firewall shouldn’t be a problem here.
Do you use any proxy?
How do you connect? Using a router?

3

There’s a modem at 10.0.0.1, followed by a wireless router at 10.0.0.2. The PC (10.0.0.9) is connected by wire to the router.

I didn’t notice anything strange before I installed Avast, and ping and tracert seem to work as they should.

4

Does the router have a firewall?

5

Sounds like the same problem I am having. Except my problem is on a clean install of Vista 64.

6

The router has a firewall yes, it’s a Linksys WRT45GL.

But let me repeat again: the webbrowser worked fine before installing Avast, and works great again when I disable Web Shield.

Also, I’m also running Avast on another PC (10.0.0.3), and have no problems there.

7

Yes, I understand what you are saying. Webshield needs access to the internet, otherwise browsing is impossible. Check the router firewall and allow ashwebsv.exe access.

ashmaisv.exe and avast.setup will also need to be allowed.

8

I have precisely the same router … by default that router needs absolutely nothing done to it for avast.

9

Ok, then that pretty much rules out the usual suspect. Ideas? Perhaps the conflict you have researched and posted about?

10

Hmmm … let’s just say that I think that the problem reported by dypsis is not unique (and I doubt - thought I will be happy to be wrong - that it has anything to do with the operating system, processor, 32bit/64bit architecture). So, sorry to say, that I think the originator of this thread might do well to await the direct investigation by an avast professional of the system of dypsis.

This is scheduled for “Monday” (to quote Vlk) but dypsis lives in Australia (the land of birth of one of my ancestors - 150 years ago - how many non-Australians can say that?) so we will have to work out when that is for those us much further from the date boudary… when it gets to us in California the day has been well used already and is almost worn out.

11

That would be forum time plus 8-10 hours. Since it is all ready sunday there, I guess 24-36 hours we should hear something.

I think you are right, the OP should wait as should the lady from Brazil.

12

There are quite a few differences between the problem dypsis describes, and my problems:

  • Windows Vista vs. Windows XP
  • Internet Explorer 7 vs. 6
  • He has to disable both Web Shield and Script Blocking, I only have to disable Web Shield
  • His problems are intermittent, mine are immediate and constant
  • He gets timeouts, I immediately get to see “This page cannot be displayed”
  • His Internet Explorer hangs when closing, mine responds as it should
13

I said earlier:

and I doubt - thought I will be happy to be wrong - that it has anything to do with the operating system, processor, 32bit/64bit architecture

I should have added - it has absolutely nothing to do with IE version - avast knows nothing about browser versions whatsoever - avast just plain and simple recognizes that a process made an http call. avast just intercepts calls to port 80.

Just one more thought - up to pbb if there is interest in trying it.

You have mentioned that you tried the avast proxy configuration (localhost:12080) with IE and it did not work.

Please try the proxy setting again but this time please also:

In the Webshield please click on “Customize” and change, in the “Basic” tab, the redirected port to 88 (it does not matter too much what it is just as long as it is not 80).

When you have made the changes to the browser for the proxy and to the Webshield please terminate the Webshield and start it again. Then browse a little with your proxied browser and see if the “last scanned” and counts in the Webshield are changing.

Does that work for you? If not then please reset the changes above.

14

pbb, Vlk is offering remote connection to troubleshoot WebShield problems.
I don’t know if you can get in contact with him:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=34806.msg294056#msg294056

15

Ok, it looks like my install is just generally borked.

After installing the graphics driver, I’ve lost mouse functionality, lost network functionality, Properties for My Computer says “Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file”, trying to open Computer Management from the My Computer context menu ask me if I want to open the file with Internet Explorer, Paint or WordPad, and opening Control Panel triggers a BSOD.

I’ve actually seen this happen before (but haven’t seen it manifest so late in the Windows configuration process), and on different computers; hardware and install CD seem to be okay, but once in a while setup just makes a mess of the installation.

I’m going to start from scratch again, and I’ll report back if the same problems come up again with Avast.

16

I’m sorry to say that I have the exact same problem again after another fresh install of Windows.

Hope someone can help pinpoint the problem.

17

I’ve set the redirect in Avast to port 88 and restarted the Web Shield and Internet Explorer, but I see no change, I still cannot load any webpages. As a result, the “Last scanned” does stay empty, and “Scanned count” stays 0.

18

But have you made the changes to your browser settings so it uses the web shield proxy as Alan mentioned ?

19

avast tell us that they believe that this problem (at least as experienced by others in the forum) has now been corrected in the latest refresh of the current beta of avast (4.8.1187).

I made my suggestion for the workaround before that new update of avast was available.

So, if you are willing to participate in the beta program I think it would be a better use of your efforts to do so and see if the correction takes care of your problem.

20

To get introduced on beta program, like Alanrf suggested, download the updater (http://files.avast.com/files/beta/aswbeta.exe) and run it or go here for more information.