Wifi inspector detecting DNS hijack when VPN is running

Viruses and worms
1

Hi all

Longtime Avast user/forum newbie here.
I have the free version of Avast on my PC, and I use Private Internet Access VPN. I have used the two concurrently for almost two years with no issues until now.

For the past few days my Avast scans have been reporting that I have a DNS hijack. It doesn’t detect it in the router but in the PC itself - the router is given the all-clear. However, when I click for more information, it provides guidance for changing router settings etc. I have checked all my router settings and all seems to be fine - the DNS are correctly set to those provided by my ISP. More curiously, Avast only seems to report this problem while the VPN is running. If I exit PIA and run a fresh scan, Avast detects no network issue whatsoever.

I’m wondering if this is a false positive, that Avast is somehow suddenly detecting the PIA VPN as a hijack, but since it’s been going on for a few days now and I’ve not been able to find anyone else experiencing the same issue, I’d like to try and be sure.

I’ve run daily scans with Malwarebytes which have found nothing, I’ve also done a scan with Farbar - logs attached.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

2

Hello,

Thank you for reporting this issue.
Could you please help us gather some logs for analysis?
First enable debug logging: GUI → Settings → General → Maintenance → Enable debug logging
Then reproduce the issue (Have VPN on and rund Wi-Fi inspector scan.).
Then create support package and submit it (https://www.avast.com/en-us/faq.php?article=AVKB33) and post the ID of the created package here so we can find it.
Then please do the same thing but with VPN off. Run the scan and generate another support package.
So 2 support packages should be generated and IDs posted.

Thank you very much,
Filip

3

Hi Filip

Thanks for your reply.

I’ve installed Avast on a brand new laptop and tried connecting via the same router/network, just to be sure it wasn’t a problem with the PC. The issue persists with the same results. The laptop is as clean as a whistle, so it’s definitely an issue with Avast’s relationship to PIA, or some other problem with the network itself.

I ran the scans and created the support logs per your instructions.
The results from when the VPN was running are in support log AP99Q
The results from when the VPN was off are in support log W0O02

Hope this shows something useful.

Thanks for your help.

4

Hello,

Thank you very much for the provided logs.
We will investigate and post back once we have some results.

Filip