Avast 2014 bogs down XP

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When Avast 2014 was first released, I voluntarily installed it only to have it render my (admittedly aging) desktop unusable: to wit, very slow boot, would only load one webpage very slowly and then not allow other (multiple) webpages to load in new tabs at all (even after 20 minutes of leaving the tab open).

Needless to say, I reverted back to Avast 8.0.2021 which I already had saved on my computer, thinking I would wait until the bugs in 2014 got worked out.

Yesterday I was taken aback to find that Avast updated my usable version 8 to the 2014 version, despite my preference for program updates being set to "manual." Once again, my pc was painfully unresponsive. Once again I uninstalled 2014 (via Add/Remove Programs, followed by Avast Uninstaller all in safe mode) and removed the emergency update startup file. I reinstalled my trusty Avast v8 and carefully checked the "manual" upgrade preference (all in safe mode).

All seemed well until the definitions updated, at which point I was informed via dialogue pop-up that the program updated itself. I am now determined not to reboot to finish the unwanted upgrade. This is really, really bad form Avast ... if MS ever forced Win8 on me in this manner, I would go back to reading books!

In any event, although I (like many others) vehemently hate the new UI and the bloat, I am willing to hate it so long as the program actually works as well as I have always trusted it to ... but more importantly ... does not bog down my computer to the point of dysfunction.

I have XP Pro SP3 and FF v30. I spent all day yesterday searching a variety of forums reading hundreds of similar complaints so please don't lead me down a path blaming everything else in my computer but Avast when clearly Avast 2014 is the cause of the problem since it functions perfectly well with the older version. Many, many other users on every possible OS/browser combo have experienced the same problem as well.

I would very much like to continue using Avast but cannot find a resolution to this problem anywhere. Any help would be appreciated.

[Asyn]

OK, let's start...

- Which avast!..? (Free/Pro/IS/Premier)
- Other security related software installed..?
- Which AV(s) did you use before avast!..?

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Avast Free
Malwarebytes Antimalware (real time/paid)
Never had another AV on this computer

[Asyn]

1. Download avast! Free Antivirus: http://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avast_free_antivirus_setup.exe
2. Follow instructions: http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility (Run this tool for all prior installed avast! versions..!!)
3. Reinstall avast! with the downloaded installer from point 1.
4. Reboot.

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Done. Something as simple as a clean install (rather than automated upgrade) makes a world of difference apparently. I've tried surfing multiple webpages with good results. Boot time is a little longer as are connections to multiple pages but I can live with it as the difference can be measured in seconds rather than minutes.

Other than feeling a little dumb for not having tried this earlier, I think I'm good to go ... and thank you for the quick and effective response.

[Asyn]

You're welcome.

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Although late for advice in installing avast!. You still can make sure, if you have any remnants of other AVs, to apply its uninstall tool so that those traces do not bother avast!

Use these sites to execute uninstall utilities for other AVs.

http://www.avast.com/faq.php?article=AVKB11#artTitle or http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/

Also the new MBAM 2 takes a lot in XP systems. If you have its protection modules active you may try it with them off for a while, and see how your system runs. You still can run MBAM as a secundary weekly scan.

[DavidR]

[<snip>
Also the new MBAM 2 takes a lot in XP systems. If you have its protection modules active you may try it with them off for a while, and see how your system runs. You still can run MBAM as a secondary weekly scan.

Absolutely - I have MBAM 2 Premium and that is much heavier than the 1.x versions. My desktop XP Pro system (in signature) doesn't suffer too much as even though it is old, it still has good resources. However on my win7 netbook - I'm seriously considering disabling the resident protection on MBAM 2 Premium, as it does slow things down.

See image and where avast features in the list based on RAM usage, way below the mbam service. This was taken when the system is pretty much idle as I compile this post, but when there is other activity and during boot, it uses a lot of CPU %.

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Mine is like yours DavidR 184 MB memory and it is always working on something even if the system is idling. From 5 % to 15 % CPU usage and I still can't figure out what the heck it is doing.

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Well I'm back. Thank you all for your comments.

I'm running MBAM 1.61.0.1400 ... yes, another outdated (but fully functional) program. It does not hog resources and always complemented Avast nicely. I have an Intel dual-core 1.60 GHz processor with 3 GB ram.

Over the past several hours I've noticed a distinct slowdown when opening multiple web pages. It's not painfully slow but neither is it what I would call "normal" (pre-Avast 2014). Oddly it was faster when I first completed the clean install whereas just now I could not open a second tab without stopping the load and refreshing twice before the page came up.

Any other suggestions that would address the progressive deterioration in performance over so short a time?

[REDACTED]

I imagine that you keep your system clean of junk and defrag as needed ? You can always try the viruses and worms forum to see if one of our specialist sees anything else or out of place.

Follow this guide: http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0

Open a new topic and attach ( Do not copy/paste ) logs Malwarebytes', Farbar Recovery Scan Tool, and aswMBR.exe here:

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?board=4.0

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Indeed I am on top of keeping the machine clean with CCleaner and Iobit's Smart Defrag. Nothing untoward in terms of viruses, trojans etc. As stated in my first post, the only thing different now is Avast 2014.

I may or may not open a new thread ... particularly since it is the same problem as originally posted. Avast 2014 is bogging down my computer.

[Asyn]

Over the past several hours I've noticed a distinct slowdown when opening multiple web pages.

Disable AOS.

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Done. Will give several more hours testing later today but immediate results are promising. Not sure I'm happy about foregoing protection in exchange for the ability to open pages/programs faster however ...

Thanks again for your continued help.

[Asyn]

You're welcome. (Note: You don't loose any protection.)