March 7th, 2012· Improved File System Shield speed
· Improved AutoSandbox stability
· Improved AutoSandbox controls
· Improved gadgets
· Compatibility with Win 8 Consumer Preview
· Greater stability of Outlook plugins
· Other security and stability-related improvements
March 2nd, 2012Fixed issues:
· Autosandbox BSODs
· Too much activity of File System Shield
· UI crashes
· Show Installation Completed window just once
· Problem with not running Mail shield
· Incorrect marking emails as a SPAM
· Slowdown of system after fresh installation
· And some security & user improvements
February 24th, 2012· Reputation scanning via FileRep (cloud-based)
· Streaming updates
· Sandbox & Autosandbox improvements
· Remote assistance
· Browser protection improvements (including antiphishing)
· New installer
· Export/Import settings
· UI facelift
· Screensaver facelift
· Runs on Win8 Developer Preview
· Many other security and stability related fixes
February 23rd, 2012· On Win 7, you can now switch between the horizontal and vertical orientation of the avast! desktop gadget
· avast! Account portal will be finalized in the following few days; the basic functionality is already there. Enjoy.
· Autosandbox malware analysis is not yet fully functional (it will be turned on [through the VPS] soon)
February 18th, 2012· New avast! Gadget
· Fixed avast! Remote Assistance
· Improved Helps & Localizations
· Registration is working again
· Account Settings page is functional
February 9th, 2012New features:
· New installer
· UI facelift
· FileRep service (cloud based)
· Streaming updates
· Sandbox & Autosandbox improvements
· Browser protection improvements
· Remote assistance feature to help your friends with computer troubles
· Support tool
· Export/Import settings
· Screensaver facelift
· runs on Win8 Developer Preview
· and many, many security improvements
November 22nd, 2011· Script Shield now works with Google Chrome, all versions of Firefox and Acrobat Reader
· Improvements in WebRep plugins (especially IE)
· Stability improvements in aswSP.sys and the avast! sandbox
· File system shield: improved on-close scanning
· avast! Internet Security: new antispam engine
· Web Shield and Script Shield: more options in the UI
November 14th, 2011· Script Shield now works with Google Chrome, all versions of Firefox and Acrobat Reader
· Improvements in WebRep plugins (especially IE)
· Stability improvements in aswSP.sys and the avast! sandbox
· File system shield: improved on-close scanning
· avast! Internet Security: new antispam engine
· Web Shield and Script Shield: more options in the UI
November 12th, 2011· Script Shield now works with Google Chrome, all versions of Firefox and Acrobat Reader
· Improvements in WebRep plugins (especially IE)
· Stability improvements in aswSP.sys and the avast! sandbox
· File system shield: improved on-close scanning
· avast! Internet Security: new antispam engine
· Web Shield and Script Shield: more options in the UI
September 7th, 2011· New Script Shield - now scanning deeper and supporting more host processes
· Web Shield now scanning all processes by default
· Stability improvements in aswSP.sys
· Better tracking of file sources
· WebRep now working in new versions of Firefox
· Under-the-hood improvements in the Behavior Shield and Sandbox modules
· Solved a compatibility problem with certain Steam-based games
· Minor improvements in the product UI
· Various other security and stability related fixes
September 1st, 2011· Solved a compatibility problem with QQ
· Solved a compatibility problem with certain Steam-based games
· Script Shield: Implemented a scanning cache which should prevent redundant/repetitive scans
· Script Shield: Implemented scan exclusion settings
· Script Shield: Now works with Firefox 7/8/9 betas
· Web Shield: scanning of all processes can now be disabled in shield's Expert Settings
· Cosmetic changes in the UI
September 1st, 2011· Solved the Firefox crash issue
· A few stability improvements in the sandbox module (e.g. PDF reader support)
· Cosmetic changes in the UI
July 5th, 2011· improved compatibility with Windows Vista SP0/SP1 (activation issues)
· attempt to solve the "Windows Media Player using a red skin" problem
· Firewall: solved the compatibility problem with uTorrent
· improved load time of WebRep IE plugin
· fixed a bug in Google Chrome WebRep plugin causing excessive CPU usage
· improvements in the silent installer
· improved the CommunityIQ sample submission process
· improved detection/removal of the most stubborn rootkits (TDL family)
· various stability and compatibility improvements in the sandbox module
· added new CreditAlert feature (US customers only)
· added Thai and Serbian language packs
July 1st, 2011Important changes:
· improved compatibility with Windows Vista SP0/SP1
· attempt to solve the "Windows Media Player using a red skin" problem
· Firewall: improved compatibility with uTorrent
· improved the sample submission process
· introduced new CreditAlert feature (US customers only)
· improved load time of WebRep IE plugin
· improvements in the silent installer
· improvements in the sandbox module
· added Thai and Serbian language packs
New:
· Firewall: the long-standing uTorrent compatibility problem should now be finally resolved
· improved tracking of file sources
· improvements in the installer
· fixes of bugs reported in the previous beta
June 22nd, 2011· improved compatibility with Windows Vista SP0/SP1
· attempt to solve the "Windows Media Player using a red skin" problem
· Firewall: improved compatibility with uTorrent
· improved the sample submission process
· introduced new CreditAlert feature (US customers only)
· improved load time of WebRep IE plugin
· improvements in the silent installer
· improvements in the sandbox module
· added Thai and Serbian language packs
May 11th, 2011· solved a problem in aswSP.sys that could lead to a system crash
· improved tolerance for corrupted installations
· when updating from a previous version of avast Pro/IS, SafeZone is now automatically added
· solved a compatibility problem with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro
· improved cleaning of rootkits
· fixes in Chrome WebRep plugin
· Behavior Shield: improved compatibility with other applications
· improvements in the CommunityIQ submission system
· various performance and compatibility improvements
April 19th, 2011· Solved a compatibility problem with ZoneAlarm (WinXP)
· Added WebRep Chrome extension
· Improved installation of the WebRep plugins (especially Firefox)
· Various fixes and improvements 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 a compatibility problem with Outpost firewall
· Solved a bug related to the AutoSandbox offer (WinXP)
· Gadget can now be removed by simply closing it
· Solved a compatibility problem with GameGuard and sXe
· SafeZone improvements
· Improved sandbox logging
· SafeZone is now a standalone setup package (can be installed/uninstalled separately)
· Improvements in password processing
· Improvements in the program uninstaller
· Solved a memory leak in the avast gadget
· Fixes in the File System Shield transient cache
· Various stability/compatibility improvements
March 8th, 2011· NEW! AutoSandbox suspicious programs will be optionally run sandboxed
· NEW! avast! WebRep browser plugin for website reputation rating; a combination of data from our virus lab and community voting
· NEW! SafeZone a special virtualized area for sensitive transactions (e.g. secure online banking) (paid products only)
· Script Shield now even in the Free AV
· Site Blocking now even in the Free AV
· fixed USB Safe Removal issue
· Restore factory settings command (Settings -> Troubleshooting)
· Automatic actions in the boot-time scan
· Script Shield now functional even with IE8/IE9 Protected Mode
· Sidebar gadget
· Improved stability/compatibility of the Behavior Shield
· Improvements in the avast! sandbox
· Fixes in the Outlook plugin
January 13th, 2011· solved a compatibility problem with CorelDraw X5
· solved a compatibility problem with Acer control software
· solved a problem inserting a license file via the installation wizard
· solved a compatibility problem with some Dell wireless network adapter drivers
· solved a compatibility problem with Game Guard (used by a number of games)
· solved a compatibility problem with Sibelius
· solved various 0xC0000005 and 0xC000007B errors (e.g. with some .NET applications)
· issues related to upgrades from v5.0 (inactive shields, missing right-click associations, missing 64-bit boot-time scanner etc)
· solved some possible deadlock conditions (relatively rare but possible)
· performance related improvements
· various UI related improvements
January 11th, 2011· solved a compatibility problem with CorelDraw X5
· solved a problem inserting a license file in the installation wizard
January 6th, 2011· compatibility with Acer control software
· compatibility with the Game Guard application (although this is still work in progress, because of the hacks Game Guard is using)
· compatibility with a Dell wireless network adapter
· various 0xC0000005 and 0xC000007B errors (e.g. with some .NET applications)
· issues related to upgrades from v5.0 (inactive shields, missing right-click associations, missing 64-bit boot-time scanner etc)
· other possible hang/crash conditions (relatively rare but possible)
· performance related issues
· UI related issues
January 3rd, 2011The most notable improvements are:
· boot-time scanner now available even in 64-bit Windows
· big improvements in the Behavior Shield
· improvements in the antirootkit engine
· improvements in the cleaning module
· stability/performance improvements in the Web Shield
· CommunityIQ improvements
· added support for sound packs
· minor improvements in the user interface
· minor fixes in the firewall
December 7th, 2010Most notable improvements include:
· Boot-time scanner for 64-bit OSes (finally!)
· Behavior Shield improvements - now with more sensors and able to detect exact offenders*
· Improved cleaning of infected computers
· Improved anti-rootkit engine - now capable of dealing with the latest TDL variants, for example
· Web Shield improvements (both stability and performance related)
· Mail and Web Shields not hosted in separate NT services anymore, resulting in much faster starts
· IS: new version of antispam engine
· Sound packs (more info coming later)
· *The Behavior Shield functionality is still incomplete in this build. And even in the final v5.1, it will work only in "passive mode", which means that the new sensors will be active but won't be stopping the attacks, just reporting them to our backend infrastructure (unless you have opted out from the avast! community membership). This is to allow us to collect enough data before enabling the real thing in Q1 2011.
September 8th, 2010· solved a problem that could lead to disappearing of the avast service
· Behavior Shield: solved a minor stability issue (aswSP.sys) + solved a Win7 issue
· performance and stability improvements in the avast! sandbox
· changes in the engine allowing us to generically detect/block some new types of exploits
· speed improvements in the updater
· IS: fixed a vulnerability in aswFw.sys (Secunia Advisory SA40868)
· solved a vulnerability related to license files (Secunia Advisory SA41109)
· solved a problem with scanning of files with very long path names
· fixed the updater in East-Asian versions of avast running with Windows set to a different locale
· IS: improvements in the Outlook antispam plugin
· IS firewall: improvement in the path name matching
· IS: upgraded to the new version of antispam engine
· minor changes and fixes in the GUI
· fixes in the screen reader support
· fixed a bug where the File System Shield was scanning some files even after being disabled
· added trimming of setup.log
· added Danish, Hebrew and Urdu language packs
September 4th, 2010· more improvements in the avast sandbox
· few fixes in the new language modules
· Firewall: improvement in the path name matching (now handling correctly symbolic links etc)
· added trimming of setup.log
· a stability improvement in the avast service
September 1st, 2010· solved the pesky memory leak introduced in v5.0.661
· a few cosmetic fixes in the UI
· improvements in the avast sandbox
· improvements in the Outlook antispam plugin (it would be helpful if users of the avast Internet Security could test this one).
August 28th, 2010· solved the vulnerability related to license files (Secunia Advisory SA41109)
· solved a UI crash condition during File system shield detections
· solved a problem with scanning of files with very long path names
· fixed the updater in East-Asian versions of avast running with Windows set to a different locale
· added Urdu language pack
August 24th, 2010Most notable improvements include:
· solved a problem that could lead to disappearing of the avast service
· Behavior Shield: solved a minor stability issue (aswSP.sys)
· performance and stability improvements in the avast! sandbox
· changes in the engine allowing us to generically detect/block some new types of exploits
· speed improvements in the updater
· IS: fixed a vulnerability in aswFw.sys (Secunia Advisory SA40868)
· IS: upgraded to the new version of antispam engine
· minor changes and fixes in the GUI
· fixes in the screen reader support
· added Danish and Hebrew language packs
June 29th, 2010· improved interaction with Windows System Restore; namely, avast now auto-repairs itself when it detects a corrupted VPS due to a System Restore (or other reasons)
· aswSP.sys: solved a minor stability issue
· solved a problem related to inserting of the license files
· added the activation codes feature
· improvements in the avast! sandbox
· solved a problem when avast was continuously slowing down (especially in conjunction with the screensaver)
· performance improvements in the Behavior Shield
· avast Screen saver now accessible even in 64-bit Windows Vista
· stability improvement in aswTdi.sys (solved a compatibility problem with AVG)
· IS firewall: solved a potential BSOD condition
· various improvements in the avast! sandbox module
· minor fixes in the GUI
· added Catalan and Belarusian language packs
May 7th, 2010· Solved a bug related to submission of false positives
· Improvements in the Behavior Shield (realtime antirootkit part)
· Sandbox: many functional, stability and performance improvements
· Firewall: VPN compatibility fixes (should now work even in Public zone etc)
· Firewall: solved an issue related to hang and/or crash of the afwServ.exe process
· Finally works with major screen readers (avast is now blind-friendly)
· Compatibility improvements in the Web Shield
· Various fixes in the Outlook antispam add-in
· Improved detection of droppers
· Setup program of the Pro AV now also accepts v4.x license keys
· Right-to-left support
· Added Croatian and Arabic language packs
April 15th, 2010· scanning and virus chest features now accessible even from Windows Safe Mode
· aswSP.sys: solved a minor stability issue (fixed duplicating of protected handles)
· Pro AV / IS: solved file enumeration problem on FAT32 partitions
· enhanced compatibility with various Winsock LSPs
· various improvements in the avast! sandbox
· improved cleaning of file infecting viruses
· added compatibility with screen readers; avast! should now be reasonably accessible to visually impaired users
· system files imported to the virus chest after upgrade from v4.8 are now removed
· IS firewall: solved a problem related to VPN connections (Windows XP)
· IS firewall: solved a problem related to Xbox360 media sharing
· IS firewall: solved a potential BSOD condition when changing logical drive mappings
· IS firewall: solved a potential crash when saving the packet rules
· IS firewall: fixes for Internet Connection Sharing
· IS firewall: Windows 2000 compatibility
· IS firewall: solved a compatibility problem with Logitech Desktop Manager
· Pro AV / IS: solved a compatibility problem with PerfectDisk 11
· Pro AV / IS: ashCmd.exe switch /@ should work again
· Pro AV / IS: solved a compatibility issue with Acronis True Image
· various fixes in the Outlook antispam add-in
· fixes in ashUpd.exe
· minor improvements in the installer, especially when upgrading from avast v4.8
· avast! Screen saver can be now configured via the screensaver properties dialog
· minor fixes in the GUI
· added Dutch, Portuguese (Portugal), Norwegian, Finnish, Slovenian, Turkish and Vietnamese language packs
April 11th, 2010Most notable improvements include:
· scanning and virus chest features now accessible even from Windows Safe Mode
· aswSP.sys: solved a minor stability issue (fixed duplicating of protected handles)
· Pro AV / IS: solved file enumeration problem on FAT32 partitions
· enhanced compatibility with various Winsock LSPs
· various improvements in the avast! sandbox
· improved cleaning of file infecting viruses
· added compatibility with screen readers; avast! should now be reasonably accessible to visually impaired users
· system files imported to the virus chest after upgrade from v4.8 are now removed
· IS firewall: solved a problem related to VPN connections (Windows XP)
· IS firewall: solved a problem related to Xbox360 media sharing
· IS firewall: solved a potential BSOD condition when changing logical drive mappings
· IS firewall: solved a potential crash when saving the packet rules
· Pro AV / IS: solved a compatibility problem with PerfectDisk 11
· Pro AV / IS: ashCmd.exe switch /@ should work again
· minor improvements in the installer, especially when upgrading from avast v4.8
· avast! Screen saver can be now configured via the screensaver properties dialog
· minor fixes in the GUI
· added Dutch, Portuguese (Portugal), Norwegian, Finnish and Slovenian language packs
January 19th, 2010· The main goal of this new version is to improve stability of the Behavior Shield and Firewall components. It would be great if it could be tested especially by those who have had problems with the previous betas (e.g. bsods etc).
January 16th, 2010· flaky browsing (in IE)
· high CPU usage in the System process
· general stability issues
· BSODs caused by the sandbox
January 15th, 2010· crashes related to the Behavior Shield module
· many improvements in the firewall
· improvements in the sandbox
· other stuff in the Behavior Shield
· fixes in the antirootkit module
· cosmetic fixes
December 31st, 2009· crashes related to the Behavior Shield module
· few more memory leaks in the firewall
· other stuff in the Behavior Shield
· a few issues in the sandbox
December 29th, 2009· solved a nasty memory leak in AIS (reported a few times on the forum)
· (hopefully) solved all the issues related to trial licenses and registrations
· solved scan areas in custom scans
· solved areas in boot-time scanner
· solved some Behavior Shield -related crashes in aswSP.sys
· solved some sandbox-related crashes in aswSnx.sys
· stability and functional improvements in the firewall
December 1st, 2009· solved the pesky updater issue (AvastUI.exe error 0xC0000022)
· solved a rare BSOD issue in aswSP.sys
· dial-up network should now work as expected (and be firewalled)
· fixed a few bugs (crashes and issues) in the Virtualization component
· fixed a crash issue in the Outlook antispam plugin
November 30th, 2009· Besides the features of the free AV, this includes three more major components
· firewall
· antispam
· process virtualization (a.k.a. sandbox)
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