Viruses are evil, and the best we can do is try to ward them off. Prevention is better than cure, they say. However, what does one do when antivirus programs, like Avast, become responsible for the blockage of some important applications? It might get even ickier when you are so sure the apps blocked by Avast are virus-free.
Now, if you are wondering about the cause of most blockage errors, commonly, they are due to the tenacity of the action of Avast. It does its job a tad too well. And it could also be that you have some other antivirus programs installed. The programs could be clashing with the action of Avast.
Nonetheless, this guide will take you through all the fixes you need to get going again. Hence do well to stick along.
Easy Solutions To The “Programs Blocked By Avast” Issue
Most fixes are quick ones, and you need not be too alarmed. However, it helps to be sure that the sxchost.exe process being blocked is not corrupted. The error could also have come up when malicious malware is trying to take on the name of the host process for windows services.
Anyway, once you are sure the applications being blocked by Avast are not corrupted, outdated, or have some driver issue, it’s time to check out other fixes. Below, we’ll discuss the alternatives.
Solution #1 — Managing The Behavior Shield Of Your Avast
Avast is tough and highly effective antivirus software. And it is known to meticulously search through most programs on your system for any signs of a virus—either internal apps or secondary ones. So, Avast can still rig it out even when the “host process for windows services” performs a very important role in managing system tasks.
Hence, one fix you can try out is to disallow the action of your Avast behavior shield. The behavior shield is often very intense and provides additional protection against virus attacks. So, even when some programs can’t be primarily pointed out as being malicious, once the behavior shield sights anything unusual, it blocks them.
To disallow the action of your Avast behavior shield, here are the guides to follow:
Step 1: Find your way to the Avast GUI set-up.
Step 2: Scroll through and gain access to the “Settings” section.
Step 3: Check the page for the “Components” option, then press down on it.
Step 4: Move your cursor down to the option that manages the “Behavior shield” set-up. And then, make sure to select the option that will permanently disable its action.
Step 5: Run the action by choosing “Ok.”
Then you are good to go. First, check if the issue is specified now. If it still isn’t, do check out the next option.
Solution #2 — You Can Try And Bypass The Avast Firewall
The Avast firewall can be a hard nut, allowing nearly nothing to pass unnoticed. And if you’ve been a strong victim of malware attacks, Avast can be one of the best changes to opt for. However, will the use mean even important apps, like the svchost.exe, be kept from their normal activities because Avast blocks them? Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any better either.
Now, you try to manage the situation by bypassing the firewalls. And this can be done either permanently or temporarily. Permanently disabling your firewall might not be the best option because it’s almost the same as uninstalling Avast. Nonetheless, you can try a temporal disablement.
Or better still, when you want to run the programs that Avast blocks, you can try disabling Avast at those moments and later enable it back. The con to that, though, is it might be too much stress, annoying for you even. And it means you are susceptible to malicious attacks, no matter how minor the time of disablement may be.
Solution #3 — Try An “Exception” Management Strategy
If you don’t want to bother with the stress of a temporal disablement, one smooth fix you can try is to give access to the apps you want. Of course, it helps to create exceptions. And this means that you get to manage your Avast settings to keep it from performing malware screens on the affected apps.
You can easily find the option to do this under the Avast settings, and with a few clicks here and there, you are good to go. This might be a better option for some people than the temporal disabling and enabling. But you should know the excepted apps are at the risk of virus attacks since you’ve removed them from the protection of Avast.
Solution #4 — Download The Avast Premier Antivirus Software And Reinstall Avast Through It
There are cases where even after the exception of the “host process for windows services” program, it remains blocked by Avast. You are sure that you’ve excepted it, disallowed Avast from passing virus checks on it, and all of that. Yet, you still can’t access it.
But of course, there are still ways around that. So, try not to furrow your brows too much. Below are some tips to try out:
Step 1: First, make sure other antivirus programs on your computer are disabled. Many of these applications like the Spybot might be battling against the action of Avast, so do get rid of them. You should disable programs like Malwarebytes too.
Step 2: Next, download the official website and Download The Avast Premier Antivirus Software. You should ensure that you are getting the download from the right source. And this is because if you are not so careful, you can get a corrupted one or take up a download that doesn’t support your system.
Step 3: Now, uninstall all your previously installed versions of the Avast program. Remove them all. To go about this properly, it will greatly help to consult the primary Avast troubleshooting guideline on uninstalling programs like this.
Step 4: Once you are done with that, you should access the already downloaded Avast Premier and reinstall Avast with it.
Step 5: Restart your system.
And voila, you are done. So go ahead and access your “host process for windows services” program now.
Do note: It could be that the program fails to load in the safe mode. If this is the case for you, you should run it through the normal mode. Do trust that it will give the option to run in the same mode.
Some Causes Of The “Host Process For Windows Services Blocked By Avast” Issue
There aren’t many factors that cause this, as the primary cause for the issue is Avast itself. Nonetheless, you should know the programs could be malicious, so check that out first. And even when it’s not so common, the issue could have risen due to bad drivers or an update issue.
Another reason for this could be that you are running other antivirus applications with Avast. And they could be clashing. Especially with apps such as Spybot, this could be an issue. Still and all, the “blocked by Avast” issue could daily be solved once you know the right stores to take.
Conclusion
You will agree that we’ve covered some of the most basic fixes to try out, and be assured that you will find them helpful. All it takes is tweaking and managing some things on your Avast Settings, and you are good to go. In case of any concern or uncertainty, feel free to go over it again, this time more carefully.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is impossible to access the “Host Process For Windows Services” program.
Disallowing the action of Avast behavior shield, exempting the program from being run by Avast, downloading Avast Premier antivirus, and so on. For a more detailed explanation of these fixes, it will help to go through the guide above.