Hello. Using the most current 2014.9.0.2016, and even the version before that, I have been experiencing horrible web browsing experiences on any site and any browser. Any SSL site takes forever to load. Sites like Google Play Music become unusable. However, if I disable the Web Shield, all goes back to the way it was.
Here’s the thing, I just switched to a new Netgear AC router on Monday (NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 / R7000), which aligns with the timing of this behavior. At home my ISP is Comcast, however, I still have issues when tethered to my verizon phone’s data plan, so I can’t totally blame the router. I suffered for days until I figured out that turning off the Web Shield cured it, but now I see annoying pop-ups that I didn’t realize the Web Shield was apparently protecting me from, so I’d like to have the best of both worlds if possible.
One last comment is that Netgear believes their router is working fine, and all of the Network Diagnostics I did with Windows 8.1 and Comcast seems to concur. This happens on IE 11, as well as the latest Chrome and Firefox. Thanks in advance to any assistance!
What other security extensions and programs are you running ?
I have absolutely zero problems with Google Play Music and I don’t have any avast! modules shut down.
Running a clean Windows 8.1 install about a week and a half hold, with Avast as only anti-virus installed on day 1. Also have Windows Defender up to date. Ran both with full scans today and am clean. This just started out of the blue Monday night after installing the new AC router. I already gave the old one away or I’d go back to it. Still, same behavior when I tether from my unlimited Verizon data, which I pound pretty hard. Have my entire music collection in Google Play Music cloud and I stream heavily. Also stay connected from my Galaxy S4 on my Asus G750 at work all day and the Web Shield is an issue there. In fact, I had to turn off the web shield to take the latest engine update a few days ago. It would download a portion, but then time out.
Well the Web Shield doesn’t monitor https traffic, so shouldn’t be getting in the way.
So I’m somewhat confused that it works if the web shield is stopped.
There is a possibility that this could be related to the avast on-line security (AOS) may still be working on https connections (though I don’t know this as fact). So I would try disabling the AOS add-on in your browser add-ons, enable the web shield again and see if that works.
Note: Windows Defender in win8.x is a full blown AV and when you install another resident AV such as avast, I though that win8.x is meant to disable windows defender.
Hi. That seems to have worked, at least for Chrome. IE 11 had no setting, but that is only for work VPN, and that now works (whereas it formerly needed Web Shield set off). Only thing is that Firefox is getting clobbered by a browser hijack called Caramava, and it opens tabs like crazy. This is all verified over my Verizon data plan. I’ll test with the Router when I get home. Thanks for your help!
There are many with IE11 and the AOS suffering issues, which could be the enhanced protection mode (or whatever it is called), unfortunately I don’t have IE11 so I can’t help in that regard.
I suggest that you open a new topic in the viruses and worms forum about the browser hijack.
As DavidR mentioned Defender should be disabled on a win8/8.1 systems when another AV is installed, please check and make sure it is disabled.
I don’t get the problems with AOS that you are reporting but it still has it’s issues with the odd crashing of the IE11 browser and browsing speed/opening of webpages is greatly reduced with AOS active.
AOS can be removed via the uninstall/change/untick Browser Protection method.
Your settings for the AOS aren’t on the default, you have the top two in the Do Not Track section disabled. Those have caused some issues in the past; though that would be a bit of a stretch for what the OP is experiencing.
