Fix: Avast Web Shield Won’t Turn On

Slowly but surely, internet security has become the top priority for anyone using a PC in the modern era, and antivirus programs keep evolving to deliver safety to their users.

Avast is a popular antivirus product that introduces what the development company calls a “Web Shield” – A feature that improves the user’s browsing safety in real-time.

This has proven itself to be a very useful addition to the already-existing traditional antivirus program Avast has been developing for years, but it sometimes fails to activate, which leaves users afraid and wondering what the problem could be.

Luckily, we’ve analyzed the situation and can help you solve the problem for good. All the answers are in the guide below, so without further ado, here’s what you should know.

The Problem Explained

Upon accessing the features menu in the Avast antivirus program, users can “toggle on” the ones they require. On this list is, of course, the Avast Web Shield.

However, there sometimes seems to be a problem when users try to activate the Avast Web Shield, and it just fails to start. This problem is confusing as there aren’t any error messages accompanied with it, nor an explanation about why this feature is not working as intended.

Because of this situation, users are afraid to continue browsing the internet as they feel vulnerable to threats without the Avast Web Shield.

Luckily, we managed to fix this problem using the multiple proven and tested methods below, so let’s take a look at them.

1. Run Avast With Administrator Privileges

This isn’t a very technical fix for the problem, but many users reported that it helped them solve not only this issue within Avast but also others as well.

Running Avast with Administrator privileges on your computer is easy and takes just a few seconds, which is why we’ve added it to the top of the list. Try it first, as it may save you the most time if it works.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Locate the Avast antivirus shortcut on your computer.
2. Right-click it and choose Run as Administrator, which should be the first option.
3. Try switching the Avast Web Shield on once again.

It should now work, but if it doesn’t, there are other things you can try. The next method is slightly more technical, but we’ll cover everything step-by-step.

2. Restart The Avast Services

Restarting Avast Services is one way to fix the Web Shield problem. It’s relatively easy to do, so just follow the steps below, and you can solve the issue for good.

1. Press Windows + R on your keyboard to open the Run box.
2. Type in services.msc and press Enter on your keyboard.
3. On the list that shows, locate the Avast antivirus service and right-click it, then choose Properties from the list of options on the menu.
4. A window will open, and near the bottom of it, you’ll see a section where it says “service status:” and the status should be “Running”. Click the Stop button right below it, then wait a few seconds until it fully stops.
5. When the service is fully stopped, the button will change to Start, which you need to click to re-start the service again.
6. Click Apply and then OK at the bottom of the window to save the changes.

Now Avast should work without any further issues. You should also be able to smoothly start the Web Shield feature.

3. Run The Avast Repair Tool

Avast is antivirus software with a friendly interface and quite a bit of helpful tools. One of those tools is the Avast Repair Utility, which you can always run if you’re experiencing issues with the software.

In this case, when users are experiencing the Avast Web Shield Won’t Turn On problem, this utility can be of good use.

If you’re unsure how to repair Avast, follow the steps below:

1. Open Avast on your PC. Make sure to run it with Administrator privileges.
2. Click Menu, then Settings. From here, open the Settings tab and choose General.
3. To begin the app-repair process, click Troubleshooting and then Repair App.

When the process is complete, reboot your PC and try running Avast again. It should now start without any further complications.

Conclusion

The Avast Web Shield is an important part of the Avast antivirus program, and it could be a risk to browse the internet without it if you are an inexperienced user. Luckily, you now know how to get it up and running once again.