Network Inspector

 

Network Inspector scans your current network for vulnerabilities and security issues that may expose your sensitive private data or leave the devices on the network vulnerable to attacks. In addition, Network Inspector shows which devices are currently connected to your home network, so you can see if anyone is using your network without your consent.

Network connection is required for Network Inspector to be able to scan the local network. Network Inspector can still scan without internet connection.

 

Network Inspector can be accessed from the Protection section of the client UI.

Here, you will see the network to which you are currently connected, along with several options and pieces of information available:

• Scan Network: Starts scanning the network for devices/issues (see Running Network Scans below).
• Scan all devices: Allows the skipping of the initial scan and monitors all devices connected to the network, the tooltip shows the info. It cannot be enabled until the first scan is performed.
• Monitor this network: Continuously monitor the network and get notified when a device joins the network (only to be used when you own the network, e.g. home network). The tooltip displays more information.
• Your IP address: Displays the public IP address of the device.
• Internet service provider: Displays the ISP of the device/network.
• Location: Displays the approximate location of the device.

With Avast SecureLine VPN installed, you will also see the prompt at the bottom to use the VPN to safely hide online activity. If you don't have our VPN installed, you will see an offer to purchase a subscription.

Even if Network Inspector does not detect issues on the network, we highly recommend using a VPN when connected to a public Wi-Fi.

If you are offline/not connected to a network, the Network Inspector screen will show no information, and you will be asked to check your internet connection and try again.

If there is no internet connection but you are connected to a network, you will still be able to run a network scan.

Running Network Scans

Selecting Scan Network on the Network Inspector screen will begin scanning the local network where the device is connected and display the progress, including some small images when new devices are found. You can stop the scan at any point if you wish.

To enable automatic scans, see Configuring Network Inspector Settings.

If no issues were detected, the confirmation will be displayed with the results, and each step of the scan and its status will be shown.

From here, you can directly select Scan all devices if you own or have permission to manage the network (you will be prompted for confirmation).

The new progress will be displayed with information about those devices that are found.

Once complete, the results again will be displayed. If no vulnerable devices were detected, click Done.

In case Network Inspector detects vulnerable devices on your network, it will offer the option to either Fix issues or Skip for now. We highly recommend resolving all found issues immediately.

Selecting Fix issues will open a dialog detailing each detected vulnerability and related risks, and providing possible solutions. Once you have fixed the reported issues, mark them as resolved.

Then, rescan the network to verify that the devices previously detected as vulnerable are now secured.

Finally, once you click Done on the results screen, you will be prompted to enable the previously mentioned additional settings to scan all devices and/or monitor the network.

If you enable network monitoring, Network Inspector will notify you each time a new device joins your network. You can select See Details to check further into the network.

Issues and Vulnerabilities Detected by Network Inspector

Listed below are some of the most common issues that Network Inspector may detect when scanning your network. Clicking any of the links will redirect you to the general Avast articles that provide more information about the vulnerability and available solutions:

• Affected by Misfortune Cookie vulnerability
• Attacked by DoublePulsar
• Device is accessible from the internet
• Device is vulnerable to attacks
• DNS hijack found
• No Wi-Fi password
• Remote Desktop vulnerability found
• Rom-0 vulnerability found
• ShellShock vulnerability found
• Vulnerable to "WannaCry / DoublePulsar" attack
• Weak or default password
• Weak Wi-Fi password
• Weak Wi-Fi security

Configuring Network Inspector Settings

Advanced Network Inspector settings can be accessed by either clicking the gear icon on the Network Inspector screen or navigating to Menu > Settings > Protection > Network Inspector.

• Scan new networks automatically: Automatically starts the scan when the device connects to a new network.
• Rescan home networks automatically: Automatically rescans the home network(s).
• Test network devices for weak passwords: Performs sign-in tests on the devices in the home network to check for weaknesses.

When monitoring networks, the visited networks will be displayed at the bottom of the settings.

The connected network will be listed and can be disabled, which will disable the network monitoring in the UI.

Network Inspector will not notify you about new devices joining a public network, as this would most likely result in too many notifications.

FAQ