Author Topic: Problem with utorrent and AVAST (Read 5224 times)

rlecastro07 · « **on:** December 12, 2012, 03:28:08 PM »

I recently had a problem with utorrent showing "tracker sending invalid data" error. I found out that the cause of this is AVAST. I tried to disable AVAST and now my torrent works.

My question is how do I set up AVAST to work with utorrent. I don't want to disable my AV every time I need to download something.

Thanks in advance!

Al_Sleeper · « **Reply #1 on:** December 12, 2012, 04:43:44 PM »

Are you using Windows 8?

rlecastro07 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 13, 2012, 12:50:18 AM »

yes im using windows 8

Al_Sleeper · « **Reply #3 on:** December 13, 2012, 02:46:38 AM »

Then consider downgrading your system to Win7 or using some other AV program. You are not the first one reporting that AVAST causes serious torrenting problems in Win8.

Freedom Kira · « **Reply #4 on:** December 13, 2012, 09:06:34 AM »

I thought it was just Avast. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Windows 8. Use another AV?

Al_Sleeper · « **Reply #5 on:** December 13, 2012, 09:50:16 AM »

Since Windows 8 is specifically designed for touchscreen devices, it is pretty pointless to use it on desktop and laptop systems in its current state.

Southrop · « **Reply #6 on:** December 13, 2012, 10:39:10 PM »

Windows 8 does have some serious performance benefits compared to Windows 7. It works fine on non-touch devices (but obviously is easier to use on touch screens).

Al_Sleeper · « **Reply #7 on:** December 13, 2012, 11:03:00 PM »

Quote from: Southrop on December 13, 2012, 10:39:10 PM

Windows 8 does have some serious performance benefits compared to Windows 7.

Which are downplayed by its issues with stability in its current unpolished state.

Bob2004 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 14, 2012, 01:05:27 PM »

Just to confirm, there are absolutely no issues with Avast in Windows 7 or earlier. It's only Windows 8 causing problems with certain software - as Al_Sleeper says, it is still somewhat buggy and unpolished. And since Avast is such a good AV, it'd be a shame to have to compromise your security by switching to a different solution.

EDIT: You might also try disabling only Avast's P2P shield, and see if that solves the problem as a temporary workaround. I would advise against leaving it turned off as a long-term solution, though, since it's a very useful security measure to have if you download a lot of torrents (especially ones from less trustworthy sources than here).

rlecastro07 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 14, 2012, 03:03:44 PM »

It's the Network shield of avast that is blocking the connection to bakabt tracker.

My question is why trackers of torrents from other websites are working fine and only bakabt tracker is blocked by avast? Is it because it's private?

Freedom Kira · « **Reply #10 on:** December 15, 2012, 10:10:27 AM »

Hmm, perhaps it uses PeerBlock's Paranoid list? Which, for some reason, blacklists the BakaBT tracker. Just a thought.

occasional · « **Reply #11 on:** December 15, 2012, 10:23:31 AM »

Windows 8 is not buggy or unpolished. It runs much more smoothly, and has caused far less issues, than Windows 7 on my laptop (Clean Install). It's like a faster version of Windows 7. You don't have to use the Metro stuff.

There's a lot of free alternatives to Avast. Here's a pretty comprehensive list that came out yesterday:

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/comprehensive-list-of-free-anti-virus/

Zone Alarm, Panda, Ad-Aware, Kingsoft, FortiClient, and Roboscan are all excellent.

Duki3003 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 15, 2012, 02:30:18 PM »

I'd add Comodo to that list

occasional · « **Reply #13 on:** December 15, 2012, 05:36:41 PM »

Quote from: Duki3003 on December 15, 2012, 02:30:18 PM

I'd add Comodo to that list

The antivirus itself is not that good; the suite is excellent, but only if you can bear with all the alerts.

Southrop · « **Reply #14 on:** December 15, 2012, 06:51:16 PM »

Microsoft Security Essentials is good too. Completely free and none of those nagging ad shit too. Performs very well too.

Bozobub · « **Reply #15 on:** December 19, 2012, 04:37:19 PM »

I'm sorry, but if you are recommending ZoneAlarm for network security, you've pretty much negated anything else you may have to say on the subject.

I used to LOVE ZoneAlarm, but (just like uTorrent) the original devs sold the franchise. In very short order, the program started to approach MacAfee/Norton levels of dysfunction. Simply google "zonealarm (problem OR issue)" for a speedy education.

I definitely recommend Comodo for firewall/overall heuristic protection ("HIPS" module, not to be confused with AV heuristics), but MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) or some other other AV is probably best for virus protection; Comodo's AV is sufficient, but not stellar. Luckily, you CAN do that! Use a different firewall (such as Comodo, which lets you install ONLY the firewall), and Avast!'s AV, for example, if you like their AV. Just about all of the protection "suites" have alternative downloads/installs that let you mix-and-match like this.

Regarding Win8 being "smooth and polished": Not even close. Just to mention one thing, using the Metro interface (as well as many standard OS features) with a mouse, rather than touch panel, is just terrible. There are many, many other glaring issues, not the least of which is the "accidental" interference with P2P we see here. Not a big surprise.

Bob2004 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 19, 2012, 05:35:53 PM »

Agreed, I wouldn't recommend Comodo's antivirus. It's not all that good. Personally, I use Avast (which has proven to be the best free AV in my experience), and Comodo's firewall and defense+ modules. The Comodo part causes problems with a few games, but overall it works well.

Anyway, yeah, you cannot really claim that Windows 8 is not buggy or unpolished, when we have here a perfect example of a bug introduced by Windows 8, and which is most definitely not present in Windows 7. I stand by my advice of reverting to Windows 7 and continuing to use Avast, until Windows 8's issues have been resolved.

Al_Sleeper · « **Reply #17 on:** December 19, 2012, 05:47:41 PM »

Quote from: Bob2004 on December 19, 2012, 05:35:53 PM

The Comodo part causes problems with a few games, but overall it works well.

Normal games, or online games?

Bob2004 · « **Reply #18 on:** December 19, 2012, 10:58:01 PM »

Quote from: Al_Sleeper on December 19, 2012, 05:47:41 PM

Quote from: Bob2004 on December 19, 2012, 05:35:53 PM
The Comodo part causes problems with a few games, but overall it works well.
Normal games, or online games?

Normal games. It only applies to games running in full screen, and it only seems to apply to games which switch to full screen in a certain way. As far as I can tell, certain games take over the entire screen, and take over all input, but once they've done that, they try to access some service or some protected directory/file protected by Comodo, and it pops up a warning asking if I want to allow it (though I can't see this warning, because the game is in full screen, so everything is just black). Since it blocks the process in question from executing any further until I respond to the request, I can't get out of full screen, so I can't respond - which means everything just gets stuck until I do a hard reboot.

It's not a problem running games in a window, or when using the Comodo sandbox (though that can bring its own issues), so it's not a huge issue. Just an annoyance.

buchno · « **Reply #19 on:** December 20, 2012, 12:07:09 AM »

Quote from: Bob2004 on December 19, 2012, 10:58:01 PM

Normal games. It only applies to games running in full screen, and it only seems to apply to games which switch to full screen in a certain way. As far as I can tell, certain games take over the entire screen, and take over all input, but once they've done that, they try to access some service or some protected directory/file protected by Comodo, and it pops up a warning asking if I want to allow it (though I can't see this warning, because the game is in full screen, so everything is just black). Since it blocks the process in question from executing any further until I respond to the request, I can't get out of full screen, so I can't respond - which means everything just gets stuck until I do a hard reboot.

It's not a problem running games in a window, or when using the Comodo sandbox (though that can bring its own issues), so it's not a huge issue. Just an annoyance.

How is it not a huge issue if it completely breaks several games which run in full screen?