In some circumstances, you may want to visit a particular website, but your Avast antivirus software finds it suspicious. This experience causes frustration. If your Avast program stops opening legitimate websites, do not disable it. Instead, Avast will allow you to create an exclusions list. You can also disable Avast’s Web Shield in this regard. The following sections make a step-by-step guide about how to stop the Avast antivirus program from blocking websites.
Create Exceptions List
Step #1
The first step requires you to click on the Avast icon on the system tray. It will open the Avast application. After that, click on the Menu button in the upper right corner of the Avast dashboard. The following figure demonstrates the Menu button.
Step #2
No sooner you click the Menu button than the right pane, listing several functions, will open. Choose the gear icon that shows a settings menu. Look at the following figure for more detail.
Step #3
Select the General tab on the top of the left pane. The General tab incorporates various options, including User Interface, Update, Notifications, Exceptions, Blocked & Allowed apps, Password, Personal Privacy, and Troubleshooting.
Step #4
From the General tab, you need to select the Exceptions tab. The exceptions list will allow you to choose specific folders, files, or safe websites to exclude from all of Avast’s shields and scans. Furthermore, Avast excludes the domain name of websites. For example, if you add an exception for www.google.com/news, it will create an exception for all of www.google.com.
Step #5
The exceptions menu encompasses two types of exception options: Add Exception and Add Advanced Exception. When you click on the Add Exception button, a text box with a new window asking you to browse files, folders, or website domains to exclude. Website exception is essential.
Add Advanced Exception involves three options: Website/Domain, File/Folder, and Command. You can select your exception type and add an exception for it. For example, in the exclusions list, you can type file paths, blocked URL or blocked site, blocked websites tab, or website URL.
Disable Avast’s Web Shield
This is another method to stop Avast from blocking a web page. To this end, you need to use the Avast Web Shield option. First, open Avast Core Shields and click on Avast Web Shield’s green slider. No sooner you do this than the Web Shield Module slider will turn red. It is an indication that you successfully disable Avast webshield.
In addition, you can also whitelist safe websites so Avast will not block access the next time you visit them. Use the following ways to disable Avast Web Shield.
Step #1:
The first thing you need to do is open an Avast from the system tray and double-click on the Avast icon. Then, from the protection tab, select Core Shields.
Step #2:
Secondly, Avast will allow you to turn off Web Shield for a specific duration, which can be 10 minutes or 1 hour or until you restart your PC or until you turn it on again. Click Allow disabling a Web Shield finally.
Step #3:
Lastly, turn off the Web Shield by clicking on the green slider. It will turn red, indicating that Web Shield protection has been disabled. Once it’s done, Avast will no longer block any websites. While the Web Shield is turned off, Avast doesn’t ensure safe web browsing.
Conclusion
Internet access is vulnerable unless appropriate security measures are taken. Undoubtedly, Avast provides real-time protection and blocks malicious websites, but every suspicious website is neither scam nor invites cyber attacks. Therefore, Avast provides secureness options using its security program. As a result, Avast protection is available with fewer false positives and bothersome Avast notifications. Furthermore, Avast browser adjustments and Avast online security enable a secure web browser and protected internet sites. Always use the latest version of Avast applications and Avast software. When a new update is available, download it quickly.
In this article, we have learned how to stop Avast’s active protection from blocking a web page using two methods. First and foremost, we created an exceptions list and then used disabling an Avast Web Shield method. However, creating an exception list is the best way. When you disable Avast webshield, it can invite potential threats and allow threat actors to carry out cyber attacks.
FAQ Section
Why is Avast blocking a website?
If a website has a history of phishing attacks or hosts malware, Avast will block it and adds it to its database of malicious internet sites. If this occurs, Avast raises a pop-up notification: Avast! Web Shield has blocked a harmful webpage or file. In the event of a false positive, you can report it to the Avast support team.
How do I stop Avast from controlling my Firewall?
A firewall is a necessary security program to protect apps when connected to the internet or other networks. Avast enables a firewall by default. However, if you want to disable it for troubleshooting or temporary, go through the following simple steps.
Step #1:
Open the Avast application, go to the Protection tab, and then Firewall.
Step #2:
Click on the green slider (ON) and select a time duration.
Step #3:
Finally, click on the Stop, Confirm button to ensure your action.
What is the URL blacklist in Avast?
A website URL blacklist consists of specific websites deemed insecure for browsing by search engines (e.g., Google Chrome, Firefox, Bing, etc.). Avast’s security measure is used to delete or block the URL of the website. Avast doesn’t allow the opening of a blocked URL or blocked site.
References
https://support.avast.com/en-us/article/use-antivirus-firewall/#pc
https://support.avast.com/en-us/article/antivirus-shield-settings/
