Avast Free Antivirus 19.4.2374 for PC Windows

* Main changes/improvements:

- AutoSandbox – suspicious programs will be optionally run sandboxed
- avast! WebRep – browser plugin for website reputation rating; a combination of data from our virus lab and community voting
- Script Shield now even in the Free AV
- Site Blocking now even in the Free AV
- SafeZone – a special virtualized area for sensitive transactions (e.g. secure online banking) (paid products only)
- Restore factory settings command (Settings -> Troubleshooting)
- Automatic actions in the boot-time scan
- New compression method in the installer makes the setup packages about 20% smaller.
- Script Shield now functional even with IE8/IE9 Protected Mode
- Sidebar gadget
- Improved stability/compatibility of the Behavior Shield
- Improvements in the avast! sandbox

- 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

- 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

* 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

- 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 code feature
- solved a problem when avast was progressively 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

- 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

- 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

- important fixes related to the installation of the firewall under 64-bit Windows
- fixed a potential memory leak in the firewall
- Vista/W7: solved a compatibility problem with System Restore
- added access keys – the program can be easily now controlled via keyboard
- solved a problem with the “I only connect to the Internet using a dial up modem” update setting
- fixed multiple issues in the sandbox (plus a few performance improvements)
- this new version is now able to communicate with avast! WHS Edition
- fixed a bug related to the inserting of license files into the program
- fixed a problem in the Outlook plugin related to inserting of notes into HTML emails
- solved a compatibility problem with SmithMicro Poser 8 and similar applications
- improvements in the submission system
- improvements in the Free AV registration system
- better handling of errors in case of real-time shield actions
- improved compatibility with Apple BootCamp
- improved default firewall rules
- low priority scans now use much less CPU (but run accordingly longer)
- components of the avast setup/update process are now digitally signed
- minor improvements in the GUI
- new language packs: Greek, Slovak and Ukrainian. This makes the current number of supported languages 19.

- stability improvements in the Behavior Shield
- improved compatibility with MBAM Pro (Windows XP)
- improvements in the rootkit scanner
- solved a vulnerability in AavmKer4.sys (Windows 2000/XP only) - special thanks to Tobias Klein
- ProAV + IS: solved a problem with Acrobat hanging when opening pdf files directly from IE
- firewall: low-level packet rules are back in the Expert settings
- improvements in the licensing engine
- new languages: Traditional Chinese, Swedish, Korean, Bulgarian, Hungarian. This makes the current number of supported languages 16

- fixed a number of bluescreens
- added Korean and Hungarian language versions

* Improved:
- Antivirus and anti-spyware engine

* New:
- Code emulator
- Heuristics engine
- avast! Intelligent Scanner
- Behavior Shield
- Fast application of updates
- Silent/Gaming Mode
- Multi-threaded scanning optimization
- Graphical user interface

* now compatible with Windows 95/98 again

* improvements in the malware URL blockers
* solved a vulnerability in aswRdr.sys (CVE-2009-4049) (special thanks to Giuseppe Bonfa)

* solved a memory leak in the GZIP unpacker
* solved vulnerabilities in AavmKer4.sys, aswMon2.sys and ashWsFtr.dll

* improvements in some unpackers (WinExec, Installers, Droppers)
* various fixes and improvements in the scanning engine
* Standard Shield: stability improvements in the kernel-mode drivers
* preparations for smoother migration to v5 (when it's released)