Smart Security And Firefox Problem

I posted about this issue a while back with ESS ver 5 where it was causing problems downloading files through Firefox. The problem was fixed by stopping and disabling the windows firewall service (even though windows firewall was turned off the service is still running). Well I had problems with version 5 and removed it and installed ver 4.2.40. Now it's happening again and the disabling of windows firewall service is not fixing the problem. Download after download gets to 99% and then gets rejected saying that the source file cannot be found. It only seems to do it with Firefox. I have tried IE and Opera and there isn't a problem. It is getting quite aggravating because if I am downloading from a hosting service such as Hotfile and I forget to disable protection and the firewall (yep!! gotta disable both) and the download fails I have to wait 30-45 mins to download again instead of the normal 15 seconds!!!! Here is a picture of the problem:

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd257/davcataa/ESSError.jpg

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit with Smart Security 4.2.40. Windows Firewall is turned off as well as the service is stopped and disabled. I am at my wits end and do not want to have to remove Eset and change to another antivirus software. There is no set pattern to this occurrence it just seems to happen randomly but does seem to affect about 75% of all downloads. Any help would be appreciated.


Update: Ok it just caused a problem with Opera as well.

 

Do you use a download manager? At least the file referred to in the error message contains the ".part" extension which is used for partial temporary files used by download managers. If possible, install the latest v. 5.2, then I could connect to your computer remotely to check out what's going on there.

 

You mentioned that disabling ESET Personal Firewall doesn't resolve the issue. If you completely uninstall ESET Smart Security, does the issue still occur? How secure is your internet connection during the download? Any interruption could cause the same issue.

If the problem persists with ESS uninstalled, try the steps in THIS kb article from Mozilla detailing the same issue. You mentioned in your edit that it seems to also be happening in Opera, which leads me to believe it COULD be ESS or it may also be an internet connection issue.

 

Nope no download manager used. Just Firefox.

 

Disabling Eset firewall does correct the problem. But antivirus protection must also be disabled. Both must be temporarily disabled in order for a DL to finish.

I think you got a bit confused or I didn't say it correctly . With version 5.094 I had the same problem but disabling the Windows Firewall and Windows Firewall service corrected the problem to where it only happened maybe 10% of the time as opposed to 75-80% of all downloads. Now with Eset version 4 disabling the Windows Firewall and Firewall service has no effect like it did with version 5. Oh and as far as how secure my internet connection is I use a Sonicwall Router/Appliance.

 

Ok looks like I fixed it. I changed Eset firewall from interactive to learning mode. Opened each browser Firefox, Opera and IE. When each browser opened Eset notification came up saying "New Rule Created" which I thought was kinda odd because a rule for each had already been created in interactive mode. I then downloaded with Firefox a few of the files I had problems with. The first download attempt failed. Then tried it again and it completed. Tried a couple more files and they completed. I then repeated the process with Opera and IE and all downloads completed without a problem. I then changed Eset firewall back to interactive mode and tried another download and it completed with no problem. Very strange that setting the firewall to interactive mode during install of ESS would cause this. It also looks as though that interactive mode created an incomplete rule or did not create a second rule that was needed...more likely an incomplete rule because you really only need one rule per browser in most cases.

So there you have it...problem solved.

 

Could you please provide more details about the rules that had to be created in learning mode to fix the issue?

 

In interactive mode it only had allow set (in rules and zones) for internet zone. When put into learning mode it added allow to the trusted zone as well (trusted zone had nothing set) as you can see in this picture:

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd257/davcataa/Esetnew1.jpg

Apparently not having allow in the trusted zone was causing the issue by allowing the file to download (internet zone) and then when Firefox or another browser tried to write it to disk it was then considered access to the trusted zone and blocked it even though nothing was set for the trusted zone for those applications.