14 DAY TRIAL // The Internet is a dangerous place. We get it, Avast, but why do you have to block web access?
It seems that the latest Avast software update pushed on Wednesday is preventing web access for at least some devices running the latest version.
The company's support forum is also filling up with people complaining about the issue. It's unclear how widespread the problem is, but the Avast forums are full of people complaining about the issue.
Users have found a way to get over the problem. According to people posting on the forums trying to help others in trouble, the only ways to go online after running the update feature involve disabling the Web Shield, disabling Avast completely or uninstalling the software altogether. In fact, uninstalling and reinstalling a fresh copy on the device seems to be the best option at this point in time.
Avast has yet to address the issue, but given how many people are complaining, it's going to have to do this at one point or another, preferably sooner rather than later. Members of the Avast team are already working the forums, asking people about what Avast version they are using, whether it's the free version or the paid variants with Firewall, as well as what Windows version they're running on their computers.
A widespread problem
The update blocks all HTTP requests from all apps, including Windows Update. While TCP connections are established, no HTTP request is sent.
Many believe the current issue stems from the fact that there is now a massive malware and ransomware database for the antivirus to fight against and updating those libraries can sometimes create problems in the way the software works.
The security software has had problems in the past, including detecting false positive among people's files. This became a problem when core Windows components were flagged as potentially infected since this interfered with the way the system worked altogether.
Update: Avast has released a fix. Here's how to install the update.