web shield problems again!!!!

General Topics
1

I don’t know why this happens whenever certain updates happen. On the Avast interface, it says that Web Shield “The provider is waiting for a subsystem to start”. Again, i went to my Comodo Firewall, and under the application monitor:1. ashMaiSv.exe-Destination-0.0.0.0-255.255… Port:0-65535, TCP/UDP In/out Allow
2. ashWebSv.exe: Destination-any Port-any TCP/UDP In/out allow
3. 3 3ntries for avast.setup and 1 entry for avast01.setup all have the same entries as ashMaisv.exe.
I went to control panel-add/remove-clicked on remove then clicked on repair, box came up said it was updated, re-booted, but on start up, the warning box came up for the POP3 message stating incoming/outgoing mail could not be protected. This has happpened a few times before, but, the above steps taken have usually solved the problem. There has always only been 6 out of 7 providers running, the other one not running is outlook/exchange, but with the web shield not up, only 5 out of 7 are working. I’m not at all worried about outlook/exchange, as i don’t use them, but have received e-mail messages in my hotmail acct that did use it.

2

Well firstly the web shield shouldn’t have to wait for any sub-system, that message is normally associated with the outlook/exchange provider waiting for MS Outlook (not express) starting.

So do you have MS Outlook ?
the avast Outlook/Exchange provider enabled

There really should only be one entry for each avast process requiring internet connection, ashWebSv.exe, ashWebSv.exe and avast.setup. I don’t know why comodo is creating multiple entries for avast.setup the avast01.setup. I have no idea where avast01.setup might have come from unless you tried to run a manual update when the automatic update was in progress and that would usually result in an error.

I’m not surprised that an avast repair had no effect as this I believe is a comodo issue, what version of comodo firewall do you have ?

I would suggest deleting all the entries in comodo firewall for avast, now connect to the internet and browse, comodo should ask permission for ashWebSv.exe. Try to collect your email, comodo should ask permission for ashMaiSv.exe (if using a pop3 email program, not web based email). Now try a manual Update, right click the avast ‘a’ icon, select Updating, iAVS Update, comodo should ask permission for avast.setup.

3
  1. I have the free home version of Comodo Firewall version 3
  2. I use windows hotmail or yahoo e-mail. I guess outlook/express is on the computer, but, to my knowledge atleast, i don’t use it.
  3. I have avast set to automatically download and install updates, i don’t manually do it.
  4. On the Avast interface, outlook/express also says “The provider is waiting for a subsystem to start”. It has said this for quite sometime, nothing i have done has changed it.
  5. I thought (i get in trouble doing this sometimes) i was using a web based e-mail program by using hotmail or yahoo, i don’t honestly know now if i’m using that or the pop 3 e-mail program.
  6. When i delete the avast entries in comodo, do i go ahead and go to hotmail or just browse anywhere?
4

I went to Comodo and started deleting the Avast entries. I clicked on the first avast.setup, and ashWebSv.exe disappeared. Clicked on the 2nd avast.setup, and ashMaiSv.exe disappeared. Now, the 3 avast.setup and the avast01.setup are still there. I right click on each of those, and just “add” and send file to comodo for analysis" are highlighted, and are the only 2 choices to choose from.

5

Are you saying Outlook/Exchange plugin or Internet Mail provider (for Outlook Express)?

6

  1. There have been some fun and games with the version 3.0 of comodo firewall, so find no problems at all and some find some.

  2. Not outlook/express, but ‘Outlook/Exchange’ this is only for MS Outlook or MS Exchange, if you don’t use those and I doubt you do, ensure the avast Outlook/Exchange provider is Terminated.

Hotmail and Yahoo are (unless you paid for pop3 access) web based email that you view through your browser. So technically you don’t need the Internet Mail, but I suggest you keep that enabled and even increase the Sensitivity to High. Ths will monitor any activity on the email ports and may be your first indication if your system is sending out spam.

  1. That is fine I was trying to understand why there is an avast01.setup entry as I haven’t seen this before.

  2. Ensure it is Terminated and answer Yes to the question asked when you terminate it.

  3. You know if you are using pop3 email if you have to use an email program to download your email and view it in that email program. Web based email is viewed through your browser, 2. above.

  4. The act of browsing (normal site like avast.com) will cause comodo to ask permission because the web shield will be connecting to the internet. This assumes you have managed to remove all ashWebSv.exe entries.

As I said I have zero experience of Comodo Firewall, you will have to check out the help file or the comodo site, there is a downloadable PDF User Guide. I can’t see why the entries can’t be deleted unless they happen to be in use.

7

Everything that should be working is. You may be right, i do remember manually downloading updates. I seem to remember now that each time i have had this problem has been after manual updating, which leads to another question: why??? After automatic updates, a “recording” comes on stating that the virus data base has been updated, then gives a place where i can click to find out what was updated, but nothing like that happens after manual updates, it doesn’t show what is being downloaded or installed. When i did the manual downloads, no other scans or anything else was being done at the time, which by doing it manually, may explain the 3 entries “avast.setup” and the 1 entry “avast01.setup” in Comodo. which are still there. And, if i may ask another question, what is the main difference between AVS update and program update? Anyway, thanks bunches for your help, you all deserve a big raise, which if you want, i can be very convincing to your bosses to give you one!!!

8

If as I said you tried a manual update, whilst the automatic update was either stalled or possibly blocked by your firewall could cause a problem, why is the unknown factor. I suspect comodo at this point in time if for no other reason than these multiple occurrences of the same process, that simply isn’t normal for a firewall.

A Firewall should maintain a record of the processes/applications that have permission to connect, if that record’s application changes it should challenge the changed state once you allow it, the record is updated and not another record for the same process created. So for me there is something not right with your firewall installation, as is apparent by not being able to delete these remaining avast entries a firewall should let you delete ‘any’ application record even if that is the only record for it. Investigate the comodo firewall help file or PDF User Guide I mentioned and see if there is a way to delete an entry in the application control area, try to get rid of that avast01.setup entry, leave the others if as you said everything is working as it should now.

The iAVS updates are the VPS Virus Pattern Signatures, these are incremental updates that only download the updates you haven’t got; these updates are relatively small because of this and don’t take long to update. Program updates are updates relating to the program only not signatures, these by their nature are likely to be much larger, they are also cycled over 7 days to balance server load. Program Updates are not set to Auto but to ‘Ask’ when available this is because they are likely to take longer and you might be busy with something else.

You shouldn’t normally need to do a manual update unless it is suggested you do so to confirm that you can actually update, usually because you are having problems with the auto update.

I’m just an avast user like yourself, trying to help other avast users get the best out of avast.