How to use Enhanced Firewall in AVG AntiVirus
The Enhanced Firewall feature in AVG AntiVirus monitors all network traffic between your PC and the outside world to protect you from unauthorized communication and intrusions. This feature is designed to require minimal input from you. To ensure you are protected, all you need to do is keep Enhanced Firewall enabled.
Manage apps
Enhanced Firewall controls when the apps on your PC can connect to the internet or to other networks. Enhanced Firewall creates default rules for an app when it starts for the first time.
To manually specify how Enhanced Firewall handles connection attempts from individual apps:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Open above Enhanced Firewall . Ensure the Apps tab is selected.
The following options are available on the Apps screen:
Click Block next to an app to ensure that Enhanced Firewall always stops this app from connecting to the internet or to other networks. Hover your cursor over the app panel, and click ⋮ Show more (three dots) to choose from the following: Turn on Ask me Mode : Ensure that Enhanced Firewall prompts you to manually allow or deny each connection attempt for this app.
: Ensure that Enhanced Firewall prompts you to manually allow or deny each connection attempt for this app. Show app details : View basic information about this app.
: View basic information about this app. Show app rules : Open the advanced Application rules for this app. By default, the Apps screen lists only the apps that are currently using your internet connection. To see all apps that are installed on your PC, click Show inactive apps .
Mange blocked apps
When you block an app, it appears on your list of Blocked apps at the bottom of the Apps screen. To unblock an app:
Click the down arrow in the Blocked apps panel to open a list of your blocked apps. Click Unblock next to the relevant app.
This app can now connect to the internet and to other networks.
Add trusted and untrusted networks
Every time you connect to a new network, Enhanced Firewall detects if the network is private or public, and automatically applies the relevant settings below:
Private networks (such as your home or work network) require a lower level of security, and are automatically marked as trusted . Each time you connect to a trusted network, Enhanced Firewall permits all communication within the network and applies a lower level of security to enable better connectivity.
(such as your home or work network) require a lower level of security, and are automatically marked as . Each time you connect to a trusted network, Enhanced Firewall permits all communication within the network and applies a lower level of security to enable better connectivity. Public networks (such as in a cafe or airport) present a greater security risk, and are automatically marked as untrusted. Each time you connect to an untrusted network, Enhanced Firewall blocks all incoming communication and applies a higher level of security to ensure your privacy and safety.
If necessary, you can manually specify that an individual network is either trusted or untrusted by following the steps below:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Open above Enhanced Firewall . Select the Networks tab. Click Show settings next to the relevant network, then choose one of the following options: I trust this network : The recommended option for a private network . When you select this option, the network is marked as a Trusted network .
: The recommended option for a . When you select this option, the network is marked as a . I don't trust this network : The recommended option for a public network. When you select this option, the network is marked as an Untrusted network .
Each time you connect to this network, Enhanced Firewall applies the appropriate settings according to your preferences.
View Enhanced Firewall logs
To view your recent Enhanced Firewall activity:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Open above Enhanced Firewall . Select the Logs tab. Use the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to specify which activity type you want to see. The following options are available: Blocked apps
Blocked devices
Applied rules You can also specify a time period (for example, Devices blocked in the past month ).
The list automatically updates to show your chosen data.
You can view additional technical information about a blocked connection attempt by clicking the down arrow on the relevant app panel.
Access premium features
The following premium Enhanced Firewall features are available in AVG Internet Security:
Leak Protection : Increases your security on public networks by preventing your PC from leaking potentially sensitive information to the network, including your login credentials, computer name, and email address.
: Increases your security on public networks by preventing your PC from leaking potentially sensitive information to the network, including your login credentials, computer name, and email address. Port Scan Alerts : Alerts you if hackers or malware attempt to scan your PC for open ports.
: Alerts you if hackers or malware attempt to scan your PC for open ports. ARP Spoofing Alerts : Alerts you if an attacker attempts to intercept your network traffic via an ARP spoofing attack. ARP spoofing is when an attacker exploits the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to trick the devices on a network into communicating with an external device that is controlled by the attacker.
To manage the premium Enhanced Firewall features:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Open above Enhanced Firewall . Select the Premium tab. Select your preferred option below: Enable a premium feature : Click the red (OFF) slider so that it changes to green (ON).
: Click the red (OFF) slider so that it changes to green (ON). Disable a premium feature: Click the green (ON) slider so that it changes to red (OFF).
When these features are enabled, they activate automatically whenever you connect to an Even when Port Scan Alerts and ARP Spoofing Alerts are enabled, they are never active when you are connected to a trusted network . This is because many home security solutions may need to scan for open ports or use ARP Spoofing for legitimate reasons.When these features are, they activate automatically whenever you connect to an untrusted network . This ensures your protection, while avoiding frequent and potentially intrusive false-positive alerts.
For more information about the premium Enhanced Firewall features, refer to the following article:
Advanced settings
The Enhanced Firewall Rule list contains a list of advanced rules that you can customize to more precisely control Enhanced Firewall behavior.
We do not recommend configuring advanced Enhanced Firewall rules unless you have advanced knowledge of firewall concepts. Enhanced Firewall is already configured to provide the appropriate protection in most cases.
To access advanced Enhanced Firewall rules:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Settings (the gear icon) in the top-right corner of the screen. Click Basic protection ▸ Enhanced Firewall in the left panel. Click View Firewall rules . Select the relevant tab below: Basic rules (previously known as System rules ): Are a range of Enhanced Firewall rules that control network traffic for the most common connection types.
(previously known as ): Are a range of Enhanced Firewall rules that control network traffic for the most common connection types. Network rules (previously known as Packet rules ): Control whether network traffic is allowed or blocked according to the information contained in network packets.
(previously known as ): Control whether network traffic is allowed or blocked according to the information contained in network packets. Application rules : Determine how Enhanced Firewall behaves towards each application or process when it connects to the internet or to another network.
For detailed information about the options available on each screen, refer to the relevant article below:
Enable or disable Firewall
To ensure your full security, Enhanced Firewall is enabled by default. We recommend keeping Enhanced Firewall enabled at all times, unless you need to disable it temporarily for troubleshooting purposes.
To disable Enhanced Firewall temporarily:
Open AVG AntiVirus and click the Web & Email tile on the main application screen. Click Open above Enhanced Firewall . Click the green (ON) slider, then select a time duration. Click OK, stop in the dialog that appears.
Enhanced Firewall is temporarily disabled. To enable Enhanced Firewall, follow steps 1-2 above, then click the slider so that it changes from red (OFF) to green (ON).
Further recommendations
To learn more about the Enhanced Firewall feature in AVG AntiVirus, refer to the following article:
Avast Blocking Internet: How To Fix it in seconds
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After I upgraded to Avast Ultimate, I felt more secure when browsing the internet.
I always had real-time protection on to catch anything that I had missed, and it made it easier to navigate through the ocean that is the internet.
But one day, when I fired up my browser and logged on to a forum that I frequented, the page didn’t load.
I checked my internet, but it was working fine.
I could access the page on my phone as well, so I decided to check Avast.
Surprisingly, Avast had blocked me from accessing the webpage.
This was strange because I had visited this same page multiple times with Avast on, but it wasn’t blocked.
So I decided to find out what had gone wrong with my Avast antivirus and get it fixed ASAP.
I went to Avast’s support pages and a few antivirus user forums to find out if other people had this issue.
I managed to fix the issue with the help of Avast support and a few good people at one of the forums, and I was able to compile everything that I had found.
This guide was made with the help of that information so that you’ll also be able to stop Avast from blocking your internet.
To stop Avast from blocking your internet, try updating it to the latest version. You can also try disabling HTTPS scanning or turn off Avast’s shields temporarily. If that doesn’t work, try reinstalling Avast.
Read on to find out how to turn your shields off and why Avast is randomly blocking your internet all of a sudden.
Why Would Avast Block Your Internet?
Avast’s Premium and Ultimate versions have Real-time protection enabled that automatically protects you from malicious websites that can steal your data by stopping you from accessing the website.
Avast does this by looking at how the website behaves and if the website is on a list of known malicious websites.
Sometimes, this automatic detection may not be one hundred percent accurate, and it can make Avast block the website you’re trying to visit.
You will see this mostly on older websites that haven’t updated their security certificates or other websites that don’t bother with getting one but aren’t malicious in any way.
What this ends up doing is that you are stopped from visiting the website you’re trying to visit.
Update Avast
To fix detection issues, you can try updating Avast to the latest version.
Avast is being tweaked on all the time, so any issues get ironed out quickly with new updates.
To update Avast:
Open Avast Antivirus Select Menu from the top right and select Update. Click on Check for updates under Virus definitions and the application. Avast will now check for updates and install them if it finds any. After the update finishes, restart your computer.
After restarting your computer, check if you can access the websites that you couldn’t earlier.
Disable HTTP Scanning in Web Shield
HTTP Scanning is a part of the Web Shield group of tools that scans your computer for malware that comes through HTTPS traffic.
Disabling this can make the antivirus less aggressive at blocking threats, but turn it back on if it doesn’t fix the issue; this is because malware that comes through HTTPS is pretty hard to detect thanks to the encryption HTTPS protocol uses.
To turn off HTTP Scanning
Launch Avast. Open Menu > Settings. Choose Protect from the right panel and then Core Shields. Scroll down to Configure shield settings. Select Web Shield from the tabs on the top. Uncheck Enable HTTPS Scanning.
Now try accessing the website that you couldn’t before and see if Avast lets you through.
Re-enable HTTPS scanning after you finish using the website to keep your computer secure.
Add URLs To Exception List
If a website that you know is safe is being detected as harmful by Avast, you can add it to a list of URLs exempted from scanning.
This makes Avast ignore this website and would stop blocking it.
To add a URL to the exception list:
Copy the URL of the website that you want to visit. The URL is the text in the address bar of your browser. Launch Avast. Go to Menu, then Settings. Then go to General > Exceptions. Select Add exception. Paste the URL you had copied into the text box that opens and select Add exception.
After adding the URL to the exceptions list, try accessing it again and see if Avast blocks it.
Turn Avast Off
You can also try turning off Avast altogether temporarily to access the website that’s being blocked.
Remember to turn Avast back on after you are finished with the website to protect your system from malicious attacks.
To disable Avast:
Launch Avast Open the Protection tab. Select Core Shields. Turn off all four shields. You can set the time you want the shields off here as well. They will be automatically turned back on after that set time.
Try logging in to the website that was blocked earlier and see if the issue has been resolved.
Reinstall Avast
If all else fails, you can try reinstalling Avast to fix the issue.
You will need to activate Avast again if you’re using a paid version, so keep the activation code handy.
To do this on Windows:
Right-click the Start button. Select Apps and Features. Choose Apps and Features from the pane on the left. Scroll down the app list or use the search bar to find Avast. Choose Uninstall. Confirm the User Account Control prompt. Select Repair from the Avast Setup wizard. Confirm the repair. Wait until the repair finishes.
For Mac:
Open the Applications folder and select Avast. Select Avast Security from the Apple menu bar. Choose Uninstall Avast Security. Follow the instructions that appear to finish the uninstall. To reinstall Avast, download Avast or use the file you’ve downloaded when installing Avast for the first time. Open the setup file and follow the instructions to install Avast.
After reinstalling Avast, activate your subscription and check if it blocks you from accessing any websites again.
Contact Support
If none of these troubleshooting steps worked, feel free to contact Avast’s customer support.
They can escalate your issue if required and give you more personalized troubleshooting tips according to your system’s specifications.
Final Thoughts
You won’t need Avast if you’re a bit more careful on the internet, but having it as a backup in case you missed anything would be good to have.
Even though antiviruses have this reputation of being resource hogs and slowing down your computer by doing absolutely nothing, modern antiviruses have almost completely bucked that trend.
Most antivirus suites of today efficiently manage resources while being pretty accurate and vigilant about malicious computer threats.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I bypass Avast?
You can bypass Avast by turning its shields off from its settings.
But don’t forget to turn them back on after you finish needing to bypass it.
How do I unblock an app on Avast?
To unblock an app on Avast, add it to the exceptions list by going into the settings and adding it to the list of exempted apps.
Is Avast Web Shield necessary?
Web Shield is a good add-on because it can protect you from threats online that don’t need to be installed, like javascript exploits.
Keep it one if you have it available to keep yourself safe from the sneakier threats.
Your Internet Access is Blocked in Chrome in Windows 11/10
Sometimes when you are browsing on Google Chrome, you may come across an issue where the websites do not open. This issue may be a result of internet access being blocked by Google Chrome. And you may get an ERR_NETWORK_ACESS_DENIED error. Read on to know what are the possible causes of issues where your internet access is blocked by Google Chrome in Windows 11/10.
Why is my Internet access blocked on Google Chrome?
Getting an error while working on Google Chrome can be frustrating. Here are a few reasons why you may be getting it.
Using the internet in a restricted area: If you are using the internet at your workplace, any public place, or any educational institute, there may be restrictions on the access of certain websites. To get access, you may have to contact the authorities.
If you are using the internet at your workplace, any public place, or any educational institute, there may be restrictions on the access of certain websites. To get access, you may have to contact the authorities. Malware attack: This is yet another common cause of internet access being blocked by Google Chrome and getting the error. Malware, spyware or certain types of virus attacks that take place via a malicious file may change the network and browser settings. Due to these changes, you may get the Your internet access is blocked error.
This is yet another common cause of internet access being blocked by Google Chrome and getting the error. Malware, spyware or certain types of virus attacks that take place via a malicious file may change the network and browser settings. Due to these changes, you may get the error. The issue with network driver: Sometimes an issue with the Network driver may block internet access on Google Chrome.
Sometimes an issue with the Network driver may block internet access on Google Chrome. Firewall: Most of the antivirus programs have an in-built firewall utility. These firewalls block internet access if the program detects any suspicious files or websites.
Fix Internet Access is Blocked in Chrome
Now that you know what may have caused the issue of Internet Access is Blocked in Chrome, along with the error, read further to know the solutions to fix this issue.
There are several ways to fix this error. Here are some solutions that are Chrome specific:
Clear the cache Disable third-party extensions Delete Chrome profile Change the Firewall settings Reset Chrome.
1] Clear the Cache:
The solution can be as simple as clearing the cache of your Google Chrome browser. Some browser history and cookies hinder the website’s IP address and this causes the internet access to block.
To do so, press Ctrl + H to open the browsing history tab. Now click on Clear browsing data.
Select the time range as ‘All time’. Check all three options of clearing the browsing history, Cookies and Cache. Now click on Clear data.
This solution may resolve the issue of Internet Access is Blocked in Chrome.
2] Disable third-party extensions:
Sometimes certain extensions trigger the firewall to block the websites. Hence, in turn, the firewall blocks your internet access. It is advisable to disable all the unwanted extensions from your Google Chrome browser.
To avoid the error, click the three ellipses in the upper right corner of Chrome. Go to More tools, and select Extensions.
You will see all the extensions installed on your Google Chrome. Click Remove button for the extensions you don’t require.
3] Delete Chrome profile:
At times, deleting the Chrome profile helps in fixing the error.
There are two ways to delete the Chrome profile:
You can end the task from the Task Manager.
Rebooting your PC can also delete the Chrome profile. For this, follow the next steps after the PC is restarted:
1] Press Windows key + R to open Run
2] Type the following in the textbox and hit Enter:
%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser Data
When the file explorer opens, search for Default and rename it as
4] Change the Firewall settings:
In case, the firewall is blocking Google Chrome’s access to the internet. Change the settings for the Firewall so that it lets Google Chrome open the website.
5] Reset Chrome:
We often make changes in the settings of browsers that suit our requirements. Some of these changes in Chrome settings may cause the error of internet access being blocked. Hence, resetting your Chrome browser may fix the issue.
To reset Chrome, click on the 3 ellipses in the upper right corner of your browser windows and now click on Settings.
This will open the Chrome settings window. Go to Advanced and click on it to open the drop down menu.
Now click on Reset and clean up option. Now click on the triangle next to Restore settings to their original defaults. This will open a pop-up window asking Reset settings? Click on the Reset settings tab to reset your Chrome browser settings.
Now refresh your browser and check if the issue of Internet Access is Blocked in Chrome is resolved.
More suggestions here: Windows cannot connect to the Internet – Connectivity issues.
Hope this helps.
