After installing Avast on Win7, unable to browse internet

[imrazor]

After a fresh install of Windows 7, I decided to install Avast Antivirus. After installation of Avast I was unable to connect to any internet site with any browser. Firefox got stuck at "Performing a TLS handshake", Chrome timed out. Before this happened, I noticed an icon in the system tray for "SecureLine VPN". I went into Avast and tried to disable it, but it didn't seem to do any good. Uninstalling Avast resolved the problem, so I went ahead and installed MS Security Essentials.

Anybody else have this kind of problem? Why would Avast try to bundle a buggy and unwanted/unneeded feature?

 

[captaincharisma]

because it has its own firewall that you have to specify which programs you want to use. i think you installed more then an anti virus program

 

[scout_03]

did you use the free version of avast .

 

[imrazor]

Yes, the free version. I'm pretty sure that does NOT include the Avast firewall. I had no issues installing/using the free version of Avast on my Win 10 laptop, nor did I have to configure access for individual apps. At this point, I suspect SecureLine VPN is the culprit, though I'm surprised it was bundled in the free version.

 

[captaincharisma]

Yes, the free version. I'm pretty sure that does NOT include the Avast firewall. I had no issues installing/using the free version of Avast on my Win 10 laptop, nor did I have to configure access for individual apps. At this point, I suspect SecureLine VPN is the culprit, though I'm surprised it was bundled in the free version.

if it is then you didn't pay attention when installing it and it installed some additional software on you

 

[scout_03]

under confidentiality there is a option to it and they let you try it for 30 days free if you press the secure vpn button check this to stop it .

 

[imrazor]

Yes, the free version. I'm pretty sure that does NOT include the Avast firewall. I had no issues installing/using the free version of Avast on my Win 10 laptop, nor did I have to configure access for individual apps. At this point, I suspect SecureLine VPN is the culprit, though I'm surprised it was bundled in the free version.

if it is then you didn't pay attention when installing it and it installed some additional software on you

Yeah, you're probably right. Google Chrome got installed without my knowledge, so something else like SecureLine VPN might have gotten slipped in too. I was in a rush to get this system up and running.

under confidentiality there is a option to it and they let you try it for 30 days free if you press the secure vpn button check this to stop it .

I tried disabling the SecureLine VPN feature, but it didn't seem to fix the Internet problem. Only completely removing Avast fixed the problem.

I know they've got to make money somehow, but the extra unwanted software is a pain.

 

[scout_03]

been using it for more them 10 years and never had issue .

 

[Avast-Team]

Hi everyone, I hope I can clear this up!

Avast Free is free; when you perform the installation, you can select which features you would like to install if you select Customize. You can install features that are not included in Free, and sign up for a trial to test them out. It looks like you installed SecureLine during the process.

If you do not want to trial SecureLine, firewall, or other features -- you can easily uninstall the components through the interface

SecureLine is not a buggy app or malware; it's a VPN you can use to protect your online privacy and is an optional service. If you trialed SecureLine, and had it enabled (and were connected via VPN) that would be a different scenario we would look at.

In short, I'd strongly recommend performing a clean install of Avast Free and do a customized install with the features you wish to use. If you have any browsing problems at all, try disabling "HTTPS scanning." Let us know if this helps you out and thanks again for trying us out.