spyware blaster not compatable with AVG 8.0

Discussion in 'SpywareBlaster & Other Forum' started by robinb, Apr 17, 2008.

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  1. robinb

    robinb Registered Member

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    When i run a scan with avg 8.0 in their warning tab- I get hundreds of active x compatibility files and AVG marks them as possibly dangerous trojans.

    I emailed AVG 8.0 and they claim that it is a incompatibility issue with spywareblaster,

    I told them why can't this be fixed because these active x files are protection from spywareblaster and they said it is not up to them to fix it.

    I did a little test to make sure it is spywareblaster that is doing this.
    After an avg scan, i disabled the ie active x in spywareplaster and ran another scan with AVG 8.0. Miraculously the active x trojans disappeard and AVG did not show any of them.

    I re enabled ie and did another scan and walla! they are back.

    Is there anyway Spywareblaster can get in touch with AVG and fix this?

    I have seen the same problem with others on wilders security and other forums,

    I do not want to give up either software
    thanks
    Robin
     
  2. javacool

    javacool BrightFort Moderator

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    Hi,

    This looks like a false-positive on AVG's end.

    I'll see what I can do about getting in contact with someone there who can fix it. In the meantime, could any AVG customers (especially customers of their paid software) please contact AVG and continue trying to make them aware of these false-positives?

    Best regards and thanks,

    -Javacool
     
  3. vanedin

    vanedin Registered Member

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    Hi,
    To my great relief, I finally found some plausible answers to this mystery. I am using a Dell desktop with Vista Home Premium.

    I updated my licensed AVG7.5 to 8.0.9 just yesterday. To my great shock, I found 260+ 'warnings' of trojans, loggers, adwares, etc. in the result list after a full scan. All of them are in the registry keys of IE's Active X compatibility path. A week ago, I had a full scan using AVG7.5 and nothing was detected then--the machine was clean.

    I too have SpywareBlaster installed on my current Vista machine. Previously I owned an NEC Versa laptop running XP SP1 and both AVG7.5 and SpywareBlaster were installed on that machine. No such problems there and then.

    I have written to AVG Tech support about this phenomenon 12 hours ago and am awaiting their reply.

    I have sent the 'warning' trojans, loggers, etc. to the Virus Vault of AVG. Does that mean that I should 'restore' them so that SpywareBlaster would work?

    I did another scan using the latest release of Spybot S&D and nothing was found except two cookies. An earlier scan using Ad-Aware SE Plus (with the latest definition file but outdated scanner) discovered not a single serious threat but only a list of cookies.

    Thanks.

    Vanedin
     
  4. robinb

    robinb Registered Member

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    i know a lot of avg 8.0 users have told AVG about this problem but to date nothing has been done. I feel the only way is for someone from spywareblaster talk to them. I am betting that they will listen to you more than they listen to us.

    this did not happen in 7.5 and the tech told me that it was a bug in 7.5 because we should have seen these active x there too but since they will be stop supporting 7.5 at the end of this year they will not fix this product.

    I have both programs on 30 customers (avg 8.0 and spywareblaster 4.0 and all of them see this active x compatablility issue and have sent emails to AVG.

    robin
     
  5. robinb

    robinb Registered Member

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    yes you need to restore them because if you go back to spywareblaster you will see the ie active x disabled.

    Until AVG fixes this, you just need to remove the cookies and ignore the active x ones. These are just warnings that there is a "possible" trojan.
    As long as they are not in the spyware/infections tabs, just ignore them.
    and do nothing.

    robin
     
  6. robinb9

    robinb9 Registered Member

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  7. robinb9

    robinb9 Registered Member

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    so has anyone from spywareblaster talked to AVG yet? about the active x compatibility problem?

    robin
     
  8. Panthers007

    Panthers007 Registered Member

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    I am having the same problem since I dropped TrendMicro for AVG 8.0. As a long time customer of AVG, I've always found their software to be the best - until this happened. And they will be hearing from me loud and clear. As a manager and supervising moderator on several large forums, I've often been asked what I run. Without hesitation I'd give a shameless plug for AVG - as well as SpywareBlaster. Now I wonder how many people are looking for me! LOL. I'll be happy to share this with AVG! And demand my money back. That specious reply above was the last straw.

    Rather than disable my anti-virus from AVG, I've resorted(temporarily) to uninstalling SB. But I'm left wondering if AVG might also have something to do with my hotmail account running like molasses. As well as a few other things. Anyone else using AVG 8.0 notice any other anomalies in this department? Let me know so I can draft my complaint to AVG with all the data I can get.

    Dave
    Vermont
     
  9. LowWaterMark

    LowWaterMark Administrator

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  10. Panthers007

    Panthers007 Registered Member

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    Thank you for the head's up. Unfortunately none of them addressed the other issues specifically. So I'll keep poking around. This is looking like AVG has gone the way of the pharmaceutical industry: Don't test it. Just sell it and wait for the screams!
     
  11. etech

    etech Registered Member

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    SpywareBlaster and AVG

    Hi Javacool :)

    I'm curiose to know, what do you mean about AVG's "Immunize" function and the way it works or does not work with SpywareBlaster?

    What do you mean about this one http://www.grisoft.com/ww.faq.num-1198#faq_1198 :thumbd:

    I think it's crazy and do not understand that something like SpywareBlaster is excluded for those who uses AVG antivirus.

    Thanks
    e-tech
     
  12. robinb9

    robinb9 Registered Member

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    i am curious to know why Javacool still has not answered us. The representative here did say he would contact AVG

    robin
     
  13. Panthers007

    Panthers007 Registered Member

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    I am having a number of issues with the AVG crew and their new version AVG 8. I have waded through their swamp to get to their contact/help form - several times. And sent them specific details of the problems encountered. Asking that they get back to me. This was before the weekend, too. Not a word.

    If I don't hear from them and get a satisfactory answer, I will trash AVG 8 and call my bank and have them issue a charge-back on the credit card used to purchase this lemon. I'd suggest the same to anyone else in this boat.
     
  14. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    I'm sure that when he has something to report he will post.
     
  15. etech

    etech Registered Member

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    All right. :)

    I could imagine that is not only us here, who are interested in this compatibility issue.;)

    But, it shows that people are interested and it's a good thing, don't you agree?;)
     
  16. javacool

    javacool BrightFort Moderator

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    Re: SpywareBlaster and AVG

    Hi,

    Thanks for the heads-up. Unfortunately, that FAQ entry on AVG's site is wrong.

    To quote:

    This is correct.


    This simply isn't correct.

    A.) The contents of the registry are not the same as the actual threats. They are very specific, and easily detectable as valid "kill bits" (simply looking for a value of 1024, which is used to set the kill bit). It should be little more than a few lines of code on AVG's end to fix the false positives.

    B.) Those registry locations/entries, even if not marked as kill bits, are largely just remnants anyway. By themselves, they can do no harm. So while it may be nice to clean them up (if they aren't valid entries) when deleting an actual threat, the severity is largely overstated in AVG's FAQ text.

    C.) SpywareBlaster's ActiveX protection and Spybot S & D's immunize function are both, by default, compatible with any anti-virus program, including AVG. The issue here is AVG's behavior, which is unfortunately flagging valid entries as malicious. The fix, on AVG's end, would likely be very simple and quick to implement.

    I will continue to try to get through to AVG, and will let everyone know when I have more information.

    Best regards,

    -Javacool
     
  17. robinb

    robinb Registered Member

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    thank you
    I hope you get through to them and they fix this issue asap.
    and thank you for keeping us informed

    robin
     
  18. etech

    etech Registered Member

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    Re: SpywareBlaster and AVG

    Thanks for the information!:thumb:
     
  19. jardan

    jardan Registered Member

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    We noticed the problem you described here and we are really sorry about the troubles we caused to all of you. This false detection is a legacy of the ewido engine, but it didn't appear in AVG 7.5 because of the bug in the ewido source code. We have just prepared the fix for this issue. The fix will be released in couple of days with the next public beta version of AVG8. Thank you for your help.
    --
    JardaN - AVG Technologies
     
  20. lucas1985

    lucas1985 Retired Moderator

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    That's good to know :thumb:
     
  21. Panthers007

    Panthers007 Registered Member

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    Thank you for the update on AVG's incorrect assertions. Please let them know that if the fix is a simple re-write and they are unwilling to put this into an easy download - they will be losing customers.

    Now off to fight with my ISP. Another day, another dullard...
     
  22. robinb9

    robinb9 Registered Member

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    That means you are going to test it in a beta version before before putting it in the regular updates to both AVG 8.0 free and Pro versions?

    Please confirm.

    Thanks
    Robin
     
  23. bigc73542

    bigc73542 Retired Moderator

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    According to AVG it is not possible to fix the Problem with Spywareblaster because it is not possible to remove the detection from AVG. Grissoft is showing very little concern for their customers with this issue. If I was useing AVG I would drop it like a hot rock after reading AVg's responses on their web site and in some of the emails some users have recieved. They show little or no interest in fixing the problem, instead they just tell their customers to remove spywareblaster that they mistakenly flag as malware. Very poor performance for a software company that is trying to become a world wide known security company. Pretty bad advertising to perspective customers.

    (from the grisoft site)
    An "ActiveX Compatibility" registry key is a result of the "Immunize" function included in some anti-spyware programs (e.g.: "Spybot search & destroy", "Spyware blaster",...)
    To assure protection provided by AVG against these threats, it is not possible to remove such signatures from AVG virus bases.
    Because of this, "Immunize" function included in above mentioned softwares is NOT compatible with AVG products.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2008
  24. robinb9

    robinb9 Registered Member

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    AVG just answered me and this is what they wrote:

    ~Private info removed per the TOS.....Bubba~

    I also spoke to them on the phone and they assured me it would be fixed in the next major update. I am a reseller for AVG and I myself would like this matter fixed. I like the product a lot but until this problem is fixed I faithfully cannot sell it until it is fixed even though they are false positives. I cannot have my customers freak out when they run their scans and find hundreds of these active x imcompatibliy issues.

    robin
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2008
  25. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Any further news? It seems to have taken quite a campaign to get AVG to move on this issue.
     
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