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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: CthulhuSaves on December 10, 2009, 10:39:34 AM

Title: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: CthulhuSaves on December 10, 2009, 10:39:34 AM
Hiya,


I've been an avast user for years. Love it. (Miss the DOS version, though. I so want to build a DOS box to play with). Anywho, I'm just a regular home user, not a business or anything, so I've always stuck with the free home version, and have had no regrets, at least until now, because I think a critical (for my sanity) feature has been removed. Simply put, avast is constantly scanning my hard drives. I can't turn it off without terminating or pausing the entire standard module. It's eating up a ton of resources, causing my system to lag and periodically freeze-up for a couple of seconds at a time. Needless to say this makes doing anything beyond frustrating. Really fun when you're downloading a large file from a server that doesn't support resuming and your browser locks-up for a second and kills the download.

I swear that this was something I've turned off dozens of times on avast installs (I've turned-on many friends to avast over the years, and usually set it up for them), but now I simply cannot find anywhere to turn off the scanning of existing system files. I always set it up to monitor only newly downloaded or created files, or files being activated, etc. In other words, I keep avast looking outward at anything coming in, or anything "in" that's suddenly executed. 

To make matter worse, I recently bought a drobo. That's one of those little boxes that you stack hard drives in and it treats them all as one drive while in actuality it's making duplicate copies of everything so, in the event of drive failure, you don't lose your data (sort of like a RAID setup, but easier). And now avast is scanning them all the time, putting a lot of wear on the drives they don't need (and that I can't afford to replace any time soon if they fail).

Please, can someone tell me if resident scanning has somehow been changed, and if I'm still able to disable or limit it? This is driving me absolutely bonkers.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

PS. Almost forgot. This isn't just my problem. A friend of mine, whom I recommended avast to recently, has been having this same problem in recent weeks with his laptop (he plays games and watches videos on it all the time, and avast has been making that impossible to do). We spent a good hour combing over avast's Preferences, trying to find someplace to limit the scans, but neither of us was able to locate the proper settings (not anything under HELP).


Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Lisandro on December 10, 2009, 11:51:24 AM
Set the Standard Shield to Normal.
If it does not work, I suggest uninstall/install again.

Any other security program that could interfere? Firewall?
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: CthulhuSaves on December 10, 2009, 07:11:24 PM
That was the first thing I checked, but it's already on Normal. No customization.

And no, nothing else getting in the way. It's definitely avast that's doing it. I can see the filenames being displayed for every file it scans.

Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Lisandro on December 10, 2009, 07:20:17 PM
I can see the filenames being displayed for every file it scans.
Please, post some of the file names and paths.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 10, 2009, 08:13:35 PM
I am having the same problem.

Originally, I thought that it was related to the database update foul-up from last week when some of my files were moved into the 'Chest.'  Now, I know that last week problem had nothing to do with it. Indeed, this past weekend, due to a hard-drive crash, I had to re-install all my software after re-formatting it. Yet as long as aVast is running everything runs slow (the icon in the 'system' tray keeps churning away). As soon as I stop aVast, everything works once again at regular speed.

I noticed that most of the slow downs seem to be related to Microsoft products: when I run IE8, it takes forever for a page to load; it takes a very long time to open a Word and/or Excel document. During my re-install last weekend, I also noticed that copying files from my backup hard-drive onto my new one took a very long time for files with the following extensions: 'doc,' 'xls' and 'txt.' The other extensions did not seem to be affected as much.

I am using Comodo as my free firewall, PC Tools Spyware Doctor for spyware protection, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and ad-Aware for malware protection and aVast as my anti-virus product. I have reached the point where aVast is stopped most of the time so that my computer runs more smoothly. I am actually considering moving on to another anti-virus product.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: MikeBCda on December 10, 2009, 10:39:59 PM
Odd behavior -- I've never noticed that on my system, which is adequate but not exactly speed-of-light, and I've got my Standard shield set to high.

About the only time (that I'm aware of) when avast makes a noticeable speed difference is if I'm moving (i.e., copy-then-delete) large numbers of known good files between folders.  And simply pausing the Standard shield while I do that does make a big difference.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: YoKenny on December 10, 2009, 10:52:56 PM
@  debw

Ad-Aware has not kept up with the times and is not worth the hard disk space it consumes nor the system resources it needs.

Spyware Doctor consumes much more resorces than Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

Comodo is a big system resource consumer and read this:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=46737.0

How much RAM does the system have?
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 10, 2009, 11:50:27 PM
In terms of RAM, I have 3GB of it. I am posting this reply from work. As a result, I don't know the status of my aVast Standard Shield. If it is not set to Normal, I'll try to do that for a test.

Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 11, 2009, 07:25:45 PM
When I got home, I checked the status of 'Standard Shield.' It was set to 'High'. I changed it to 'Normal.' It did not make any difference. When aVast runs, everything else runs slow. I then turned off all programs but my firewall and aVast. Everything would still run slow. I even tried to use Windows Firewall instead of Comodo to no avail. Every time that I turned aVast off, everything would be back to full speed.

The weird part is that I also have a laptop with the same softwares installed that runs fine with or without aVast.

At this point at don't know what else to do but removing aVast.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: BILL G on December 15, 2009, 10:08:49 AM
     I would say Avast  Scanning is a Result.

 Look for the Cause for Avast  Scanning.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Tarq57 on December 15, 2009, 10:26:07 AM
I found when I (briefly) had AdAware installed that things slowed down a bit, plus the program was fairly buggy, so I removed it.
AdAware runs as a service, even when not active or open, so that consumes some (small) resource. You also have Spyware Doctor (I've read about this being  a big resource hog) and you have the makings for a likely confliction of some kind.
You might find if you change AV's, you still have the same problem. (Hard to know unless you try.)

Did you, when you installed Comodo firewall, install only the firewall, avoiding the installation of the AV component? That would definitely be suspect.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 12:11:54 PM
@  debw

Ad-Aware has not kept up with the times and is not worth the hard disk space it consumes nor the system resources it needs.

Spyware Doctor consumes much more resorces than Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

Comodo is a big system resource consumer and read this:
http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=46737.0

How much RAM does the system have?

What a load of FUD about Comodo it's lucky I am here to put things right Comodo sells digital certificates, (which in laymans terms is the people that enable the yellow padlock when you go on secure sites.) They offer 2 types one is the normal bog standard one with hardly no checks which is used by SOME people to do bad things. When they do the certs are revoked quicker then with any other cert provider I might add. They also offer EV certs which is Comodo's baby. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Validation_Certificate with a lot more checks. To say the firewall is bad because of a handful of certs they offer is madness. Yes it is only a handful as they offer lots more EV certs then normal certs. Don't believe the hype. As for resource use give me a break.  ::)
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: silvertones on December 15, 2009, 01:40:01 PM
I use Spyware Doctor and was not going to renew as it was a resource hog. When V7.0 came out it had been totally redesigned and is great. Hardly notice it's there. I also run PCTools Firewall Plus.

PIII 1.2 512 Ram. XP
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 15, 2009, 02:21:30 PM
Comodo is a big system resource consumer...

numbers  ???  ;D send us a freaking screenshot of your task manager with CIS running so that we can observe the disaster .... I for one have issues with Comodo policies in a general way, but the bashing must be founded on something, and not on the hearsay from someone who's most likely never run it before and keep posting again and again the same freaking link to the same freaking thread every time he hears the name Comodo on these forums  ::)

ps: second number is RAM use, third is page file... and first one is CPU  :D
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 11:07:49 PM
I have no problem with showing you CIS on my system.  
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 15, 2009, 11:25:33 PM
can be deleted
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 11:44:59 PM
You may have my deepest apologies *opppppps*
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 15, 2009, 11:46:03 PM
You may have my deepest apologies

hopefully yes.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 11:48:45 PM
I have changed my original post. (As you can see.)  :-[
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 15, 2009, 11:49:34 PM
I have changed my original post. (As you can see.)  :-[

OK nice  ;) (deleted mine above)
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 11:51:07 PM
Ta :)
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 15, 2009, 11:59:00 PM
It's true about that dude tho.....................Same thing ALL the time.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 16, 2009, 12:25:17 AM
It's true about that dude tho.....................Same thing ALL the time.

yeah he's continuously referring to the same bashing thread every time someone asks about firewalls or Comodo. There are things I don't admit/like about Comodo but I hate the systematic nagging. And when he added that CIS was a resource hog... ::) OK, you got the idea.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 16, 2009, 02:53:42 AM
 ::) for real
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 16, 2009, 10:40:49 PM
Since my last reply within this post, I have replaced Comodo Firewall (I had not installed the AV part of it) and replaced it with PC Tools Firewall. I had been happy with Comodo but I was getting tired to be interrupted by my spouse wondering what to answer to the barage of messages coming from Comodo. I also removed Avast and replaced with AVG. AVG might not be as good as Avast but at least it does not slow my computer down. I don't know if PC Tools Spyware Doctor is/was a resource glutton but that is irrelevant to my problem since the exact same configuration worked one day and not the next.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Lisandro on December 16, 2009, 11:06:15 PM
debw, avast shouldn't be a resource hog. On contrary. Take into account that the web protection of avast is far superior from AVG.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Hermite15 on December 16, 2009, 11:11:34 PM
+1 on both assessments Tech  ;)
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: patrice58 on December 17, 2009, 08:48:38 AM
Really bad move I would strongly advise you to reconsider as out of AVG and Avast there is only one winner. As Avast has AVG beat in many many ways.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 17, 2009, 07:22:01 PM
I understand that there are many opinions in regard to the "best" free AV products. Some people recommend Avira AntiVirus; others recommend Avast or AVG. Apparently each of these three products have their pros and cons as well as fervent supporter.

I had been happily using Avast for the last couple of years at least until the 'false positive' problem that occurred a couple of weeks ago. Prior to that Wednesday, my computer (2.80 GHz, 3MB RAM, Windows XP SP3, dual-core processor) with Ad-Aware, Avast, Comodo Firewall, PC Tools Spyware (no AV), Prevx and Immunet Protect loaded was working fairly well and fast.

After the 'false positive' debacle, I had to reformat my drive and reinstall everything. As soon as I was done reinstalling everything (to the exact same configuration then before), I noticed a great degradation in my computer's performance in terms of speed as long as Avast was running. With Avast disabled, everything would once again work well and fast. I don't know what the cause of the problem is but I know that with Avast running my computer slows to a crawl.

I tried Avira but I did not like their 'upgrade' message constantly popping up. I was then 'forced' to switch to AVG. Even with its limitations, AVG is better than no protection.

If anybody has a better solution, let me know.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: MikeBCda on December 17, 2009, 10:14:04 PM
Let me add my two cents (change welcome  ;) ), as a long time user of avast.  Totally aside from its protection, one of avast's greatest features is its top-notch support here on the forums.  Don't know if it's still true, but at one time AVG and avira were both notorious for almost total lack of support.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: TheScorpion on December 19, 2009, 03:18:42 AM
Spotted this thread re' Avast apparently slowing things up and wondered if my experiences had any bearing on the problem. My pc had slowed to frustrating levels (see  http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=52167.0 ) and eventually found that it was Windows Defender and Avast that were not playing nicely together. I have subsequently removed Windows Defender and replaced it with Malwarebytes as an on call scanner. After removing WD my pc speed returned to very acceptable levels.
Just thought that if any slowed up pc's are also using WD it could be worth checking out.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 24, 2009, 02:39:19 AM
Thanks for the tip.

I checked. Unfortunately, I do not have Windows Defender installed. In my case, it has to be something else.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Lisandro on December 24, 2009, 03:37:17 PM
Ad-Aware: not good anymore...
Comodo Firewall: from time to time, issues with avast. For me, it's not a stable firewall or, at least, does not work well with avast (from time to time).
PC Tools Spyware (no AV): ok, but I think it does not improve avast detection significantly.
Prevx: hmmm... won't opinion. I only have tested a long time ago.
Immunet Protect: don't know.

Anyway, your system seems overloaded with security programs. I won't be surprised of hangs and freezes, and "driving me nuts" issues. I think your protection balance is not good, I mean, too much.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: YoKenny on December 24, 2009, 04:14:39 PM
Ad-Aware: not good anymore... its not worth the hard disk space it consumes and has not kept up with the times
Comodo Firewall: from time to time, issues with avast. it does slow down a system
PC Tools Spyware (no AV): ok, but I think it does not improve avast detection significantly. is OK but it can slow down a system
Prevx: hmmm... won't opinion. I only have tested a long time ago. is not needed with avast! and will slow down a system
Immunet Protect: don't know. is OK

Anyway, your system seems overloaded with security programs. I agree.

@ debw

What are your system specifications as to CPU type and speed and amount or RAM?
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: debw on December 24, 2009, 08:34:35 PM
I am running Windows XP SP3 on a Pentium D at 2.8 GHz. I have 3GB of RAM.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Jack 1000 on December 24, 2009, 09:37:29 PM
I would say, do what I do:  I USED to have Spyware Blaster, AdAware, Windows Defender, and Avast.  Got rid of all the other stuff.  I just have the built in Windows Firewall XP, Avast 4.8, and Spyware Blaster, which is NOT a scanner, but a protective shield that does not use memory.

I also clean my browsers cache, history, and temp files often, and try to remember to  run check-disk and disk defrag.  Disk clean up is good.

MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up.  Internet consultant and computer trainer Patrick Crispin shows how to use it here:

It will really help your computer!  Be sure to select the correct OS!

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/index.html

Jack
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: YoKenny on December 24, 2009, 11:18:57 PM
MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up. 
MSConfig is a diagnostic tool not a startup manager:
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Best Free Startup Manager:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-startup-manager.htm

I vote for WinPatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: Alan|Cvette on December 24, 2009, 11:25:41 PM
MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up.
MSConfig is a diagnostic tool not a startup manager:
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.html

Wait, if I'm not mistaken MSConfig can be used to manage start up programs...  ???

Either way, here's another vote for WinPatrol. Its a must have on my computers.
Title: Re: I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!
Post by: ardvark on December 25, 2009, 06:13:10 AM
After the 'false positive' debacle, I had to reformat my drive and reinstall everything. As soon as I was done reinstalling everything (to the exact same configuration then before), I noticed a great degradation in my computer's performance in terms of speed as long as Avast was running. With Avast disabled, everything would once again work well and fast. I don't know what the cause of the problem is but I know that with Avast running my computer slows to a crawl.

Hi...

I have found that sometimes a given AV will work better on one system as opposed to another. In terms of speed and impact on system resources along with the "feel" of how it operates, Avira has always worked the best on my system. On my mother's laptop, Avast (in the past) and MSE have performed superbly, while Avira did not. It just depends. :)

MSE (http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/) is a light(er) weight option that does not include advertisements in case you are interested.

May God bless you :)