URL on Private Internet Access website reported as DANGEROUS by Avast & TrendMicro

But don’t forget to turn them back on after you finish needing to bypass it.

How to Add Antivirus Exclusions to your Antivirus Software

Antivirus protection software may sometimes interfere with the processes our VPN application requires to run correctly. To resolve this, please add the following exceptions below to your antivirus program:

**Please be aware that these steps may not line up with your specific version of antivirus software; if this is the case, you may need to search online for steps that are a better match to your version.**

File Exclusions:

Windows:

C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\tap\win10
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\tap\win7
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-client.exe
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-openvpn.exe
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-service.exe
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-support-tool.exe
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-wgservice.exe
C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access\pia-unbound.exe

Mac:

/Applications/Private Internet Access/
/Applications/Private Internet Access.app/Contents/MacOS/pia-wireguard-go
/Applications/Private Internet Access.app/Contents/MacOS/pia-unbound

Linux:

/opt/piavpn
/opt/piavpn/bin/pia-wireguard-go
/opt/piavpn/bin/pia-unbound

AVAST:

Open Avast Antivirus user interface and go to Menu > Settings
Ensure the General tab is selected, then select Exceptions
Click The Add Exception button
Add an exception in one of the following ways:
1. Type the file path, folder path or URL into the Text box and then click Add Exception.
  1. On Windows: C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access
  2. On macOS: /Applications/Private Internet Access.app
  3. On Linux: /opt/piavpn
  1. Open AVG Internet Security user interface and go to Menu > Settings
  2. Ensure the General tab is selected, then click Exceptions
  3. Click the Add Exception button
  4. Add an exception in one of the following ways:
    1. Type the file path, folder path or URL into the Text box and then click Add Exception.
      1. On Windows: C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access
      2. On macOS: /Applications/Private Internet Access.app
      3. On Linux: /opt/piavpn
      BitDefender:
      1. Open the Bitdefender user interface, and go to the Protection window
      2. In the ANTIVIRUS section select Settings
      3. Select on the Exclusions tab
      4. Select List of files and folders excluded from scanning menu
      5. Select Add
      6. Select Browse and select the folder that you want to be excluded from scanning:
        
        Exclude the PIA files and application from both On-demand scanning and On-access scanning
        
        On Windows: C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access
        
        On macOS: /Applications/Private Internet Access.app
        
        On Linux: /opt/piavpn
        
        Comodo Firewall:
        
        Open Comodo user interface, and go to Security Settings
        
        Select Antivirus and then select the Exclusions tab
        
        The Exception panel has two tabs:
        
        Excluded Paths- This will display a list of paths/ folders/ files on your computer which are excluded from both Real-time and on-demand antivirus scans
        
        Excluded Applications – This will display a list of applications which are excluded from real-time antivirus scans. Items can be excluded by clicking ‘Ignore’ in the virus Scan Results.
        
        Open ESET user interface and go to Advanced setup.
        
        Select Detection engine.
        
        Then Exclusions
        
        Click Files and folders to be excluded from scanning
        
        Lastly, click Add if adding new exceptions, Edit if you need to change a path, or Delete to remove an exception.
        
        McAfee:
        
        Open your McAfee security software.
        
        Click PC Security (on Windows) or Mac Security (on macOS).
        
        Click Real-Time Scanning.
        
        Click Excluded Files.
        
        Click Add file.
        
        Browse to, and select, the file that you want to exclude from scans.
        
        Repeat the process as needed to exclude multiple files from being scanned.
        
        The Real-Time Scanner does not scan your chosen files after you complete these steps
        
        Norton:
        
        Open the Norton user interface, and go Settings
        
        Click on the “Antivirus and SONAR Exclusions”
        
        Select the “Configure” link next to “Items to Exclude from scans”.
        
        Select Add
        
        Select Browse and select the folder or file that you want to exclude from scans and click OK twice
        
        Click Apply and then OK to apply and save the new settings
        
        Reselect the Configure link next to “Items to Exclude from Auto-Protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection.”
        
        Use the same method to add a file or folder to the Auto-protect, SONAR and Download Intelligence Detection Exclusions list
        
        Click OK to return to the main window.
        
        Open the Webroot user interface and click the gear icon next to PC Security.
        
        Select Block/Allow Files
        
        Click Add File or drag and drop files
        
        Once the files are added, select Allow
        
        ZoneAlarm:
        
        Launch the Zone alarm Firewall user interface, Right click the ZoneAlarm icon and select “Show ZoneAlarm Control Center”
        
        Select the “Program Control” from the main navigation bar on the left side of the window
        
        Select Add
        
        Browse the list starting from “My Computer” to the following folder:
        
        On Windows: C:\Program Files\Private Internet Access
        
        On macOS: /Applications/Private Internet Access.app
        
        On Linux: /opt/piavpn
        
        Once you’ve added the above exclusions to your antivirus software, be sure to Click “OK” to save. Then a, reboot and reinstallation are required to establish these security changes. Please see our guides section for instructions on how to reinstall the VPN software here.
        
        Avast blocking private internet access
        
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        Avast Blocking Internet: How To Fix it in seconds
        
        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.
        
        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.
        
        You May Also Enjoy Reading
        
        Avast Internet Security : Which Plan Is Best For You?
        
        How Secure Is Avast Safe Zone? Everything You Need To Know
        
        Why is My Wi-Fi Signal Weak All of a Sudden
        
        Slow Upload Speed: How to Fix in seconds
        
        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.
        
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