Avast Business Hub Release Notes 2024

This Article Applies to:

Avast Business Hub

Avast Business Hub and AVG Business Cloud Console run the same versions and release in the same cycle, usually every two weeks. Changes to the release cycle can be due to availability, planning, company shutdowns, etc.

For services offered inside the Hub such as Patch Management, Cloud Backup, USB Protection, and PRC, there is no specific release cycle. However, we attempt to release alongside the console releases (if there are some issues, hotfixes will be released outside of the usual two-week cycle). The same applies to the other backend services like DM, Alerts, etc.

This article provides information on the Business Hub 2024 releases and is updated throughout the year.

November 2024

Console Version 8.94 (November 6)

Release Summary

In this release, we have addressed inconsistencies between the Avast Business Hub settings and endpoint settings that were recently introduced in the AV. Other minor improvements and bug fixes have been delivered, too, to ensure stability and reliability across the software.

New Features & Enhancements

Support for new AV features was added to Policy > Settings > Antivirus:
- The Browser Shield feature under Identity Protection now contains two individual components: “Protect browser-stored passwords” and “Protect cookies”.
- The Real Site feature under Antivirus Protection now includes new settings to control how to treat trusted (private) and untrusted (public) networks.
- The Self-Defense Module settings under Troubleshooting now include “Enable protection from input manipulation”.
In Policy > Settings > Firewall > Firewall Settings > Advanced, a new setting “Enables checking device blocker gateway in the firewall” has been added.
Added support for Browser Shield notifications triggered from the endpoint devices.
When a user collapses/expands the left-hand panel (main menu), the system remembers this setting after the page is refreshed or after the user logs out and logs back in.
The Patch detail drawer is now expandable.

Resolved Issues

Fixed an issue with Patch Management settings where an error appeared when Severities of an exclusion were edited and changes saved.
On the Devices page, the column Site was removed from the column management options, as this field must always be displayed and cannot be hidden.
In Policy > Settings > Antivirus > Antivirus Protection, the default report file paths for shield reports have been fixed to display correct locations where reports are saved.
Minor issues resolved.

September 2024

Console Version 8.93 (September 15)

Release Summary

In this release, several improvements enhancing overall user experience have been added to the Avast Business Hub. Known defects and minor glitches have been addressed, too, improving stability and reliability across the software.

New Features & Enhancements

In the “Add device” drawer in the Devices page, we have added a new advanced setting allowing the admin to choose the installer language. This option is available for Windows EXE installers only.
The columns “Created” and “Completed” that are visible in Tasks (pertaining to a Device) have been swapped so that a user does not have to scroll to see the “Completed” column - it is now displayed before “Created”.

Resolved Issues

Minor issues resolved.

August 2024

Console Version 8.92 (August 14)

Release Summary

In this release, several improvements enhancing user experience have been added to the Avast Business Hub, most notably a new sub-feature called “Protect cookies”. This new functionality is a part of the “Browser Shield” feature, previously named “Password Protection”. Various issues reported by our users have been resolved, too, improving stability and reliability across the software.

New Features & Enhancements

The component previously called "Password Protection" has been re-named to "Browser Shield". The redesigned Browser Shield component now also includes a new sub-feature called “Protect cookies”. Browser cookie protection helps protect you against first-party cookie theft. This new functionality helps protect your sensitive data that is stored in your browser cookies.
Please note that, by default, this additional functionality is enabled when Browser Shield is enabled. Disabling the protection of cookies can be done locally from the endpoint.
The macOS Sequoia (version 15) has been added to the list of officially supported operating systems.
When a user assigns a different policy to a device, the text in the “Confirm Policy Change” dialogue has been updated to make it clear to the user that device settings will be overwritten.
When a policy is edited and saved, the system no longer keeps a record in local storage. This prevents memory limit from being reached too quickly. The system only stores records of unsaved changes.

Resolved Issues

In the Devices page, Service columns are now correctly displayed based on what services are included in the associated valid subscription.
Fixed an issue with filtering in the USB Protection Report.
Fixed an issue with tasks scheduled for a specific time. Previously, if a user scheduled a task to run before midnight on the same day, the task was created for the next day. This has been resolved and the tasks run in the time frame that a user specifies.
When a user selects specific (one or multiple) devices on which to run a task, the system no longer proposes to the user to run the task on all devices.
In the partner version of the Business Hub, the “Request Special Pricing” button is no longer visible for customer accounts for which segment discount has already been approved.
Fixed an issue with scheduled reports being sent twice via email.
Other minor issues resolved.

June 2024

Console Version 8.91 (June 26)

Release Summary

In this release, several improvements enhancing user experience have been added to the Avast Business Hub, while focusing on resolving various issues reported by our users, improving stability and reliability across the software.

New Features & Enhancements

Distribution partners who receive a Business Hub invitation from their distributor can switch their customer multi-tenant Hub account to a partner version to enable them to use flexible billing services (flexible billing can only work with a partner version of a Business Hub account).
Added “You have unsaved changes” informational message to policy settings to help user save changes made before closing the drawer.
For Premium Remote Control, registration has been improved so that potential service outage does not affect the sign-up process.
Tasks that have been running for more than 7 days and are ‘stuck’ will be automatically stopped to enable user to remove the associated device. Before this fix, stuck tasks were blocking uninstallation.
Multiple minor user interface improvements have been implemented to make the Business Hub easier to use for distribution partners using flexible billing services.

Resolved Issues

Resolved an issue with displaying devices that need restart after a user clicks on an alert from the dashboard. There was an issue with pagination.
Resolved an issue with the “Buy” link in the Subscriptions page for Small Business Solutions products so that now it always points to the correct product.
Multiple alert resolution no longer triggers a 404 error after a user selects the “Quick Scan” option.
Multiple minor issues related to Patch Management alerts and report have been resolved.
Other minor issues resolved.

May 2024

Console Version 8.90 (May 29)

Release Summary

New Features & Enhancements

The “In Progress” status has been added to the Patch widget on the dashboard to display patches that have been downloaded, are being downloaded, or are being installed.
Reinstalling of services has been enabled for Mac devices.
Invitation links can now be easily copied using the new option “Copy invitation link” available in the Users page by clicking on the three-dot icon next to the invited user.

Resolved Issues

The “Update Agent” radio button in the Device Detail drawer now correctly reflects the actual status of this setting.
The Web Control service can now be successfully reinstalled following the “Unsupported OS” failure state.
Issues related to Patch Reports that occasionally occurred, such as incorrect filters and patch count, have been fixed.
In the Devices page, for Mac devices, we no longer display the red cross icon for the VPN service – instead, the icon remains gray.
In the Patches screen, “Resolved Patches” tab, the status “Ignored” is now displayed as the aggregated status if there is at least one device where the patch was ignored.
The issue with downloading the Antivirus Threat Report has been resolved.
For Flexible Billing (PAYG), services can now be activated in bulk, i.e. on multiple devices.
Other minor issues have been fixed.

Console Version 8.89 (May 15)

Release Summary

This update focuses on resolving various issues reported by our users, improving stability and reliability across the software.

New Features & Enhancements

The Resolved Patches tab in the Patches page now only displays records for the past three months. This has greatly improved performance of the page and loading of results. Historical records for installed patches – for the past 12 months – can still be found in the Patch Report.

Resolved Issues

Cropped text in Policy Import is now correctly displayed in full.
The Usage Report for Flexible Billing now correctly contains data for the selected date range only.
The number of results in the Device List page now correctly reflects selected paging.
Other minor bugs are fixed.

Console Version 8.88 (May 2)

Release Summary

This update focuses on resolving various issues reported by our users, improving stability and reliability across the software. We have addressed issues ranging from inconsistent behavior of the Save button and wrong report file paths to incorrect policy sorting, ensuring a smoother and more seamless experience for all users.

New Features & Enhancements

The Business Hub is now technically ready to enable flexible billing for distribution, in addition to the already existing functionality of flexible billing for direct MSPs.
Leveraging our successful onboarding widget from the Business Hub dashboard, we created an updated version for customers who have deployed Web Control on at least one device, encouraging full utilization.
Loading customer data in the partner version of the Business Hub has been improved.
We have improved a scheduler job mechanism in Cloud Backup, which simplifies the process of updating used storage and backup overdue alerts.
The summary widget has been removed from the Patches page and updated in the Patch report.
Several minor enhancements have been implemented.

Resolved Issues

MAC Addresses are now displayed properly with colons.
Default locations for Report files have been updated to show correct paths.
The behavior of the Save button for policies has been made consistent.
Global policies are now sorted correctly.
When installing patches, the list of devices is now displayed correctly in the confirmation dialogue.
Other minor bugs are fixed.

April 2024

Console Version 8.87 (April 17)

Release Summary

Enjoy Web Control without Real Site dependency, improved usability with minor enhancements, and benefit from resolved issues, including better Flexible Billing credit limit management.

New Features & Enhancements

We’ve streamlined Web Control by removing its dependency on the Real Site component. Now, you can enable Web Control independently, allowing for effective web traffic filtering while simultaneously providing access to domains on your internal network.
Web Control can now be installed on Windows Server 2016 R2 and later versions, enabling web content filtering for employees using Remote Desktop Services (RDS).
We added the IP address of our Support users to the Audit log in Reports.
The severity of some of the alerts was adjusted based on our security team’s review. “Threat quarantined” is now considered as “Info”, “File access blocked (by user)” is now considered “Warning”, and “Device could not be removed” is now considered “Info”.
Several minor enhancements have been implemented.

Resolved Issues

We have improved the management of the credit limit and data reporting for flexible billing for MSPs.
The name of the company in the MSP/multi-tenant version of the console is now correctly displayed after switching between sites.
We have addressed an issue that was causing the status of some Antivirus components to be displayed as unknown.
The applied filter on the Devices screen is not disappearing anymore after switching the page or changing the device count per page.
The user’s time zone is now correctly reflected in the dashboard and reports where some events might have been logged as “yesterday” due to implicit UTC settings.
We have resolved an issue that, under certain conditions, might enable users with the “Viewer” role to change the policy.

March 2024

Console Version 8.86 (March 20)

Release Summary

The platform's design has been improved for a more user-friendly experience, and we have fixed several reported issues.

New Features & Enhancements

Fresh look: We have made the design of the Hub more accessible with clearer visual hierarchy while being more consistent in using the design components. Improving the look is directly tied to improving usability.
Several minor enhancements have been implemented.

Resolved Issues

We have addressed an issue where the number of devices requiring a certain patch did not match the actual patch device status. This discrepancy across multiple patches has been resolved for accurate patch management.
Under Account / Customer profile, a problem displaying the customer information has been fixed, addressing issues such as empty profiles, incorrect data population, and 404 errors, ensuring accurate and consistent customer information.
Fixed Japanese localization inaccuracies.
Numerous minor bugs have been successfully resolved.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS.

Console Version 8.85 (March 6)

Release Summary

This release includes minor improvements for a smoother user experience. Additionally, various issues related to policy deletion, console closure, and Antivirus component states have been resolved.

New Features & Enhancements

Ignoring APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing) addresses in the device details ensures that addresses such as 169.254 and 127.0.0.1 (localhost) are disregarded, including the removal of existing records.
Several minor enhancements have been implemented for a smoother user experience.

Resolved Issues

Multiple issues related to policy deletion and console closure have been addressed.
Fixed an issue with Antivirus component state where the component states (ON/OFF/Uninstall) in the Hub may not have been correctly reflected on the endpoint.
Numerous minor bugs have been successfully resolved.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS.

February 2024

Console Version 8.84 (February 21)

Release Summary

In this release, we've streamlined VPN firewall rules for clarity and usability, enhanced device status notification performance, and improved policy operation confirmation dialogue. Additionally, we've updated the support phone list for Japan and optimized Avast Business Hub operations for smoother functionality, reducing timeouts when resolving alerts.

New Features & Enhancements

Simplified VPN Firewall system rules settings: We've streamlined VPN Firewall system rules settings by merging Allow VPN over PPTP and Allow VPN over L2TP-IPSec into a unified option: Allow VPN connections for both private and public profiles. This update preserves compatibility with older AV clients while also catering to newer versions, ensuring a seamless transition experience for all users.
Policy Confirmation Dialog Improvement: Policy Confirmation Dialog now displays policy names for clarity during operations. Additionally, the delete policy modal prompts users to choose a replacement policy before deletion.
Support phone list update for Japan: We've updated the support phone list for Japan with two key improvements. Firstly, operating hours are now displayed in Japan Standard Time (JST), from 10:00 to 19:00, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays. Secondly, we've removed the country code +81 from the support phone number, simplifying it to 0120 300 582 for easier access.

Resolved Issues

Numerous minor bugs have been successfully addressed.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS.

Console Version 8.83 (February 7)

Release Summary

In this release, we've upgraded Java to its latest version and fixed several bugs, ensuring better console performance. Also, it is now possible to generate and send support packages from macOS devices. Moreover, we improved trial to paid conversion.

New Features & Enhancements

Java has been updated to its latest version: This enhancement ensures improved performance, security, and compatibility with the latest technologies.
Send Support Package for macOS Devices: The "Send support package" option for macOS devices will be enabled with the upcoming release of Agent for macOS 7.14. Users can collect and send diagnostic packages by navigating to Devices > Device three-dot menu > Send support package, enhancing issue resolution capabilities.
Trial to paid conversion: Customers converting from trial to paid now enjoy the flexibility of choosing from all available product editions instead of being redirected exclusively to Ultimate Business Security.
Several minor improvements have been implemented.

Resolved Issues

We've addressed a bug where the Patch name filter on the Device Patches tab only allowed an exact match. Now, users can search using a Patch name substring, providing a more flexible and user-friendly experience.
Addressed an issue where customers converting from trial to paid were not offered a discounted price, aligning the experience with online website purchases. This ensures consistency and fairness in pricing for all users.
Numerous minor bugs have been successfully resolved.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS.

January 2024

Console Version 8.82 (January 24)

Release Summary

In this release, our focus has been on two key aspects. Firstly, we've enhanced the visibility of our release notes, ensuring users can easily access and stay informed about the latest changes. Secondly, significant efforts have been made towards stabilizing the product, addressing various bugs and issues for an improved and reliable user experience.

New Features & Enhancements

Enhanced Release Notes Visibility: We've introduced a feature to highlight the release of a new Hub version along with its release notes. Now, after a new version is released, the "Help & Resources" menu is marked by an orange badge, and within its submenu, the link to the latest release notes is also highlighted with an orange badge for improved visibility.
Several minor enhancements have been implemented for a smoother user experience.

Resolved Issues

We've addressed a bug where the Patch Report widget for "Patches" was displaying only up to 10,000 items, causing discrepancies in the displayed values compared to the actual number of patches found and installed. Now, the widget accurately reflects the correct number of patches, providing a more reliable representation.
Numerous minor bugs have been successfully addressed and resolved.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS.

Console Version 8.81 (January 10)

Release Summary

This release introduces significant enhancements, including a new "Payment history" section in Subscriptions, providing admins with an overview of invoice history. Additionally, the Webcam Shield policy has been extended to include Microphone settings, enhancing default device security. Furthermore, the Web Shield policy now encompasses DNS/Doh Scanning for malicious pattern detection in domain resolutions and WebSocket protocol scanning for web application traffic. Various minor improvements contribute to a smoother overall user experience.

New Features & Enhancements

Payment history in Subscriptions: A new section, "Payment history" has been introduced in Subscriptions. Exclusive to admins, this section provides a comprehensive overview of invoice history.
Webcam Shield Policy Extension: The Webcam Shield policy has been expanded to include Microphone settings. Users can now find the option to protect the microphone under Settings > Antivirus > Webcam Shield. This setting is enabled by default, enhancing overall device security including eavesdropping. This setting is for Windows users only.
Web Shield Policy Extension: The Web Shield policy has been expanded to include DNS/Doh Scanning, enabling the scanning of network traffic for malicious patterns in domain resolutions. This feature is enabled by default. Additionally, WebSocket protocol scanning has been introduced, allowing the scanning of network traffic commonly used by web applications. This setting is disabled by default. Both new settings can be found under Settings > Antivirus > Web Shield. This setting is for Windows users only.
Several minor improvements have been implemented for a smoother user experience.

Resolved Issues

The issue where customers encountered an error when attempting to clear Network Discovery scan results in the Hub has been successfully addressed. Users can now clear scan results without experiencing the previously reported error.
The issue where incorrect IP addresses were visible in Audit log reports has been successfully addressed. Reports now accurately display the correct IP addresses.
Numerous bugs related to Cloud Backup have been successfully addressed and resolved, contributing to a more stable and reliable Cloud Backup functionality.

Known Issues

Exclusions containing wildcards are currently not functioning correctly on macOS. We are actively working on resolving this issue and apologize for any inconvenience caused.

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