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AVAST latest free version causing nothing but problems 2

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1DMF

1DMF

Programmer
Jan 18, 2005
8,795
GB
I have used AVAST for many years and have always recommended it to my users for their home PC's.

However, I am being inundated with support calls that users cannot download legitimate files from the net, nor will genuine install programs download and run, and I can't even connect via my remote desktop support software, as AVAST is blocking the download and deleting it.

It is only the latest version of AVAST that is causing all these problems, how do I stop it?

I have had to get the user to disable AVAST for 10 minutes (defeating the point of AV protection), before they can run the remote connection so I can have a look.

I cannot see anything in quarantine or anything related to AVAST blocking these downloads and I also cannot see how to stop AVAST from automatically taking this action, it surely shouldn't be doing anything like this without a request, but the user receives no popup messages asking them if they want the DL blocked.

I have checked the web shield and changed the action setting to ask, but it makes no difference.

Any ideas what is wrong with the latest version of AVAST.

As an aside, at home, I have found the webshield blocks all Facebook tracking, Google tracking, Google analytics etc.. which is good, only now my own website like buttons don't show and it seems impossible to turn it of, I change the settings with the sliders but AVAST just ignores me and continues to block my own site.

I'm starting to get the feeling AVAST is broken and it might be time to re-examine AVG!

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
1DMF







"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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1D I use it (always fully updated) on 3 different machines, and don't have any problems (so far).

Steve: N.M.N.F.
If something is popular, it must be wrong: Mark Twain
That's just perfectly normal Paranoia everyone in the universe has that: Slartibartfast
 
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Hi 1DMF, I'm also using the latest version of Avast Free and I can see the 'FB like' in the header of the EDM page.

I was having (horrendous) problems with the new version of Avast interfering with Outlook so I joined the Avast support forum and Eddy - one of their support gurus - took me through un-installing it then removing the leftover fragments of my previous AV program (AVG Free) then re-booting and re-installing Avast Free. Now I have no problems and was impressed with the help I received. Perhaps this may help you with your own problems?
 
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Yup I can see the FB Like button, I don't think I have had AVG on any of my current machines, so Rick suggestion might be worth a try, also a possible clash with another Anti Virus or Firewall?
I use Comodo, current versions seem to play well together provide you don't have the sandbox running in both programs. Actually I just noticed that Avast have made their Sandbox a paid option now, so I am reactivating the Comodo one! (and I still see the 'Like' button)


Steve: N.M.N.F.
If something is popular, it must be wrong: Mark Twain
That's just perfectly normal Paranoia everyone in the universe has that: Slartibartfast
 
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Very odd, one user has just bought a new PC and installed a fresh version of AVAST and it is blocking even the simplest of downloads and the only way to stop it is by disabling it for 10 minutes.

Can you also try the remote software ?

, on the top right is a join session button.

I have a session 349-690-825 currently running, you don't need to fully connect or give me access when it asks, AVAST is deleting the file immediately after the usual windows security scan runs so it never even fires up let alone joins the session.

The FB like on my home rig is annoying but not impeding the use of PC, this remote and other industry software download blocking is a major issue, so confirmation it's them and not AVAST per sae is very much appreciated, though this is the third user reporting this problem?

It seems the free AVAST doesn't have sandbox, firewall or any of that stuff and even finding the virus chest is a needle in a haystack, so I am less than impressed with the latest version anyway, but I guess it's free so you get what you pay for.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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Well it's a puzzler, I first installed AVAST on my test Win 7 Pro machine, the FB like showed, but I couldn't get the remote software to work unless I disabled AVAST.

It didn't delete the download as per the other user's experience, but it just wouldn't let the sessions connect until I deactivated AVAST.

So I then tested on an XP Pro VM test environment and it seemed to work fine.

So I tested on one of our Windows 8.1 laptops, which initially worked fine, but I then upgraded the AVAST to the latest 2015 as it had the previous 2014 on it, and what do you know, now I can't connect to the remote session unless I disable AVAST.

Having done multiple tests on various OSes and having had many other users complain, I think it is safe to say there is something seriously wrong with AVAST 2015.

It smacks of the same problem AVG had when I used to run v8.0 on our web server, they released an 8.5 upgrade that gave desktop users a software firewall, but the server version wasn't suppose to have it in there and there were no controls to manage it in the server version GUI, yet the upgrade stopped our sever from working and responding to any website requests.

I removed AVG v8.5 and went back to v8.0, the server worked, put v8.5 back on and it stopped, after getting no-where with some idiot in support who refused to accept the server upgrade to v8.5 must have some of the firewall code in it somewhere, I got a refund on AVG and have been using ESET on the web server ever since without ANY problems at all for several years now.

Every time an AV provider messes about putting software firewall technology in their product and supposedly disables it in one version but not another it actually stops things working, and it's usually time to say goodbye.

I want AV not a software firewall and I have yet to ever come across an AV provider that has successfully implemented a software firewall, agghh just like Norton killed their product with this crap that could never be undone and ended up trashing your OS and needed a complete re-install to undo what ever Norton had done to block stuff, they drive me nuts, why don't they stick to what they are good at, instead of always screwing up what was a good reliable product with a damn firewall!

We are soon to finally get rid of McAfee (another thorn in my side) and the SAAS company was going to install AVAST in replacement, I'm seriously considering telling them 'NO WAY' now and insisting on Sophos, this missus has ran Sophos for over 10 years with over 50+ users and never has these problems!

Of course, the paid version will come with a GUI interface to control the sandbox / firewall, so might be OK, but do I really want to risk it as it's clear they haven't tested this latest version properly before unleashing it on the public!

What SAAS A/V do you guys use in your corporate workplace?






"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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The trick with Avast is to turn off the P2P shield, the firewall, remote assistance, "secure line" AND "software updater" at installation.

Avast have unfortunately fallen into the M$ Windows "One application should do everything but not be really good at anything" paradigm. As purely an anti-virus application Avast was second to none then they started adding 'features' and it all went downhill very quickly.

Another casualty of the M$ Windows "If it ain't broke, .... Fix it 'til it is" mentality.

Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Time flies like an arrow, however, fruit flies like a banana.
Webmaster Forum
 
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Hi 1DMF, I haven't used Mikogo before and - sorry - had to drop everything and rush off to an appointment before replying with my results of trying to connect.

With Avast up and running, my PC connected to the Mikogo session login screen and I was able to download the Mikogo connection client. I ran this and got the following screen:
avast.jpg


In this screenshot, '1' shows the Mikogo client, '2' shows the changed state of the Avast notification icon and '3' shows I'm also running Malwarebytes AntiMalware Premium which may or may not have a bearing on any connection issues.

As the Mikogo failure message was 'Unable to communicate with the server', I was wondering whether this was an SSL issue (which is what it was with my own previous experience of difficulty connecting to my ISP's mail service).

The second screenshot shows Avast's 'SSL Scanning' screen, albeit under 'Mail Shield':
avast_ssl.jpg


PS - I installed Avast with only the 'Browser Protection' tool enabled, nothing more. Hope this helps...
 
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Thanks guys, glad to know it isn't me going mad!

Why they do this is a mystery, like you say Chris AVAST was my go-to free AV and has been for many years, then they fall into the trap of adding features that make the product useless and more frustrating than is sometimes worth trying to find out why things don't work anymore and what the stupid 'features' have done.

I've seen it with Norton, AVG now AVAST!

Incidentally in my searches to see what might be an alternative, I have found Bit Defender are now offering a free A/V version, and it is currently voted on some A/V review sites as the No.1 A/V for 2015.

Do you have any thoughts / input on this?

Rick -> If you tried to connect using that session ID, the session was ended anyway so that could be the reason for the message, it was a long shot that anyone would catch the message, and after all grabbing a Win 8 laptop, booting my test Win 7 rig and firing up an XP VM was no hardship to do the testing myself, but if you try with two computers yourself, you will find a similar problem I had, it simply won't connect with AVAST enabled - but only if you install more than just browser protection - I assume?

I get no message, popup, or anything I can easily find saying it blocked something, the new GUI is awful and as I mentioned just trying to find the virus chest is feat in itself! They have destroyed what used to be a great product and I have lost faith in it enough to be considering not using it for our corporate environment when we finally replace McAfee.

To be honest Mikogo is a bit sucky and is another product that's got worse over time, I can't click anything if people are using Chrome, drop down lists just shows as blue boxes so I can't see what options are available and it constantly crashes / locks up, it also leaves multiple artefacts in the system tray each time it is run unless you manually clean them up. I've now been given the go ahead to get a licence for Cisco Web-Ex, having trialled Mikogo and found it so lacking, I personally like Team Viewer but their licence costs are prohibitive.

Seriously though do I really have to uninstall and do a custom installation of AVAST removing the stuff you aren't suppose to get with the free version anyway, for it to work properly rather than the default typical installation, give me strength, I can't support our members with those kind of installation woes!

Even AVAST now ships by default with Malware! Anything that has a pre-ticked install of anything is a breach of DPA as things should be an opt-in NOT opt-out, and as that pre-selected Google junk is PUP, that's considered Malware!

I've lost count the amount of times I have done a remote session with a user to find 50% of the browser real estate is taken up by Ask toolbar, Google toolbar, Bing bar, Yahoo toolbar, and some other dodgy shopping / search toolbars, and when I ask them if they really use all that, they usually say "No, I don't know where it came from or how to get rid of it!" - drives me nuts constantly having to help people remove this garbage!

Incidentally, I checked when I got home and again, I wasn't actually on the latest version 2015, so I ran the update and now my FB like button shows again, so clearly there have been several version lately of AVAST that are simply broken / buggy, which again doesn't distil confidence in their product for replacing McAfee.

I'm also running Malwarebytes AntiMalware Premium
Click to expand...
Is MBAM not good enough to run on its own if you buy it? It's my No.1 go-to product to clean infected machines as well as to do periodic scans for peace of mind and I've been considering replacing my free A/V products with MBAM, though you seem to be running AVAST browser protection in tandem so it seems MBAM doesn't give protection in that regard.

Your advice on MBAM would be appreciated.

Regards,
1DMF.



"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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Looking at these latest tests :
Bit Defender, Panda & Trend Micro seem to be best of breed.

Worryingly Sophos faired pretty poorly along with McAfee.

Though Trend might have a great product their sales team are awful, I have twice visited their stand at the Insight Technology event and logged my interest, no one ever gets back to me nor returns any of my voice mail messages left via the business cards they give out!

I've removed AVAST from the users machine, along with Microsoft Security Essentials (The PC also originally came with McAfee), I've put Bit Defender on and ran Malware Bytes, both found PUP & Malicious software which has now been cleaned.

Just goes to show how crap AVAST has become, it didn't find viruses on the machine but it did block legitimate programs from downloading or the user being able to run Mikogo remote support software!






"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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1DMF - The problem I had that was sorted by the Avast guru was not actually to do with Avast itself. It was the the result of my previous AV product's (AVG Free) faulty un-installation routine which left registry values set to itself rather than removing itself properly and completely. This meant Avast couldn't install itself properly, i.e. couldn't write to the registry in the places where AVG was still present.

My experience of AVG Free - and Avira Free before it - was that they were both fairly good with viruses, trojans, etc. but not so good as MBAM with other undesirables, e.g. Conduit and other PUPs. I had already taken advantage of MBAM's last remaining 'lifetime' licenses before it changed to an annual subscription model so it made sense to continue using it alongside my 'new' AV when I changed recently to Avast.

I agree with your comments about Avast... I too do not like the way it is evolving. Given that both Avira and AVG beat it in the most recent (September 2014) Real-World Protection Test I'm beginning to look at alternatives already or perhaps just going back to Avira, despite its awful pop up adverts (which used to drive me nuts with their increasing frequency).

Hope this helps...
 
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Thought I'd follow...

Since the issues with AVAST I have replaced a few members AVAST A/V with BitDefender, which seemed to be working well.

So I decided I would give it a go on my home PC, however...

I uninstalled AVAST - rebooted.

Installed BitDefender and registered it, only within minutes I got an error message in the system tray console that the service was unresponsive and my PC needed a restart, so I did.

Upon reboot, within minutes, the same problem occurred, so I uninstalled (via control panel), rebooted and re-installed, but the same problem persisted.

So I searched the web and found similar issues on the BitDefender forums, I followed the instruction regarding the special uninstall program that needed to be used, which I used, rebooted, re-installed and rebooted once again.

Still the service kept crashing saying it was unresponsive and my machine was unprotected and needed a reboot.

I had to give up with BitDefender and have gone back to AVAST with a custom install following the suggestions here.

I'm disappointed with BitDefender as the current A/V comparatives and web reviews put it as best of breed for Free A/V and one of the best for paid just below Trend Micro.

I looked at going AVG, but as that is apparently one of the worst free A/V's along with Avira, I guess it's better the devil you know when it comes to AVAST!

I'd be interested in anyone else's experience with BitDefender.

Thanks,
1DMF.

"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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It's not just the latest updates either, it's clear there is something very wrong with AVAST of late, so far those users running BitDefender have been very happy.

When I finish my new PC build I'll be giving BitDefender a whirl also, can't be bricking my brand new X99/2011 hex core with AVAST, I would cry! [cry]

"In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"
Free Electronic Dance Music
 
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The same thing occurs with many "protection systems" or "ad blockers", it is usually because the images are set to a size range (H and/or W) that are commonly used by advertisers for their users to insert into their 'pages'. The system cannot determine the content of the image so it errs on the side of caution.



Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Time flies like an arrow, however, fruit flies like a banana.
Webmaster Forum
 
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How are ya 1DMF . . .

When I have software reacting as you've stated, my 1st thought is to get something that works better or is more compatible with my setup. Not only that but for less than what you'd pay for the [blue]Avast Pro Antivirus 2015[/blue] ... you can get the topdog antivirus. See below for comparsion:

TopTenReviews Antivirus 2015

Also see the comparison for the Internet Security Suites. For the same price you can get the top suite!

TopTenReviews Internet Security Suites

[blue]Your Thoughts! ...[/blue]

See Ya . . .

Be sure to see FAQ219-2884 Worthy Reading! [thumbsup2]
Also FAQ181-2886 Worthy Reading! [thumbsup2]
 
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