avast! v.6.0.1021 Pre-Release

avast! v.6.0.1021 Pre-Release
03.07.2011

What's New:
• Solved an incompatibility with ZoneAlarm (WinXP)
• Improved installation of the WebRep plugins (especially Firefox)
• Solved a crash condition in the avast sandbox
• Setup programs now smaller by ~20%
• Community features and the Welcome screen can now be turned on/off directly from program settings
• Solved an incompatibility with Outpost firewall
• Solved a bug related to the AutoSandbox offer (WinXP)
• Gadget can now be removed by simply closing it
• New setup icons

Download: avast! PRE-RELEASE

 

you can turn OFF the stupid twitter and facebook stuff now.. also you can remove the like button and the bottom..

 

Good, none of it belongs in a security app. From a marketing standpoint, I completely get it. The social craze is here, and it's probably all downhill now. But, some places it still doesn't belong, and it's nice to have at least a few places left where I don't have to see that damned "F" or "thumb" icon. Not even Twitter infests the web like Facebook does.

 

Will they offer WebRep blocking soon?

 

what wuld be the point? the network shield already does that

 

i dont really see the need for the webrep

 

It can block different threats.

 

It can't block threats.

It can just stop you from entering an potentially unwanted/unsafe website.

 

Can it even do that at this point? Whatever it does block, I hope to see a bypass in the way of a "Go to this site anyway" option at the very least.

 

What kind of different threats though? Granted, there are a TON of variations of threats out there, but at the end of the day, they're either rootkits. trojans, bots, viruses, or social-based (which inevitably after stupidly clicking the "click here!" button, you end up with the aforementioned threats). The File Shield takes care of these threats in files you download, the Network Shield watches for them on the web. Where does that leave WebRep?

 

a search results rating system

 

Meh

 

ye not everyone likes these sort of things but thats why its quite easy to not install it from the start, or even if u do u can easily uninstall it thru avast

 

This is a pre-release so like a beta....hmmmm...making us test them huh....

Webrep is like WOT so if you have WOT in your brower you may not need it. Just my two cents here.

 

pre-release is more lik a RC since theyre typically released within a few days.

and yes it is very much like WOT except it also gets data from the avast virus labs as well as the user votes

 

To be honest, I'm still not sure about what threats it stops either. I know vlk mentioned a link to a avast forum thread mentioning WebRep also gets data from their virus lab, but what data? What does it block?

avast! Network Shield blocks access to known malicious domains/URLs.
avast! Web Shield blocks access to URLs spreading known* malware.

* If it finds a match to a signature, and also heuristic matching. Anyone is free to correct me.

What exactly does WebRep protect against? This info lacks; it simply lacks.

I've seen mentioned that avast! community can help spot phishing websites, where avast! team wouldn't possible be able to help, because they wouldn't know all of them. This is OK.

But, and it's not just me, I simply don't know what WebRep does besides that, and saying it also collects data from avast! virus lab isn't very informative.
I've seen a review by PC Mag, and the guy thinks it works exactly as I mentioned: user community ratings.

Is it against exploits? vlk mentioned that tools that protect against such, and also JavaScript Obfuscation, etc relies on a blacklist? Which is stupid, because an URL may be hosting an exploit now, but not after 1 minute.

AVG LinkScanner doesn't work like that. The Surf-Shield component will scan http traffic for exploits, regardless of the URL. Not based on a blacklist.

It would be nice to know all what WebRep can do. Maybe it's just me, but having a feature and not knowing what it exactly does... I don't feel very trusting...

 

Do you know what data it gets from Avast virus labs? If they encounter malware on the site, wouldn't the URL just be put in the blacklist for the Network shield?

EDIT: I see M00nbl00d just asked the same question.

@M00nbl00d
The Avast Web shield already scans the HTTP traffic, so they don't need Webrep to do it.

 

The WepRep rating would likely change color to RED as well

Anyway, I see your point and I also don't understand exactly how this works

 

Yes, avast! Web Shield already scans HTTP traffic. Since I don't exactly know what it does, considering I'm not using avast!, I went to the avast website and it states:

and, the free version also includes Script Shield, which according to the website:

Which comes in the line of what I previously questioned about what WebRep does, besides the user community ratings?

 

Don't they just end up being the same? I mean, the malicious URLs are malicious because they're spreading malware (I know phishing is included in that too, but that's already well-covered by most browsers by default). Maybe I'm being a simpleton, and I don't mean to wander off the course here, but when you put it the way you just did, it sounds like two shields doing the same job. Bringing it back to the topic though, I agree, I still don't see a place for WebRep. That is, if we take both the already available shields and a browsers' built-in phishing protection into consideration. I guess we should just file it under "Who Cares?" if we see no use for it and choose not to install it. It's certainly not hurting anything, even if it isn't helping either.

 

Not exactly.

A perfectly legitimate website may be hosting a malicious program/something Web Shield can handle; but the website itself is not a bad domain, just hijacked or simply allows people to upload content.

I'd say there's where both shields differenciate from each other: one blocks known bad domains, and the other one just looks for the contents and if it spots anything malicious (within its capabilities), then stops it. (Imagine a file you download from Rapidshare. Rapidshare isn't by itself a malicious domain, but it's used to spread malware. Network Shield wouldn't block it, but Web Shield would.)

 

Gotcha, thanks for the explanation.

 

The other shields aren't perfect, as shown in various tests, so WebRep can help protect users from what the definitions and heuristics miss. Granted it cannot be perfect either, but it's better than nothing.

 

Wait though, now my AV newb-ness" is about to make another appearance, but aren't the heuristics/definitions coming from the same place? It's all the same engine, is it not? Bear in mind I'm aware that heuristics is a different animal from definitions, but doesn't both of those come from the same place, meaning Avasts' engine/database? If that were the case, I don't yet see how WebRep would be any better. Community ratings in that case may actually help, if another security program warned of something Avast missed perhaps. If it isn't the case, explain please?

 

There are more cases than that, for example an experienced user looks at the websites source code and determines that there's malicious activity within it. They may also have experienced the infection or fraud themselves.