AVAST is a common security software that may be installed on your computer hard drive. Its purpose is to protect you against malicious sites. However, their algorithms are not perfect and sometimes they make false alarms and block NON-malicious sites.

Over the weekend, we got a couple of reports that members were prevented from checking out of our KIosk by an AVAST alert saying "Threat Blocked" and "Infection: HTML: Paypal-B [Phish]". This is a FALSE ALERT. There is no malicious activity. AVAST is malfunctioning.

We have filed a complaint with AVAST. In the meantime, members who are having this trouble can EITHER use a debit or credit card to check out (instead of PayPal), or set AVAST to accept PaperBackSwap as a safe site by following the instructions below:

1. Open the avast console
2. Click on settings
3. Click components
4. Click the "customize" link in Web Shield
5. In "Main":  uncheck "enable HTTPS scanning"
6. In "exclusions": add paperbackswap to allow the entire paperback site

If you get blocked by AVAST when trying to checkout, you shoud follow the instructions above; let us know if you still have trouble, by sending in feedback.