Avast = Slow Network Speeds??

[bassmadrigal]

I recently finally converted my desktop from Norton Systemworks 2003 to the latest Avast Home Edition. I had to transfer some files over to my friends FTP so I brought my computer over to his house and started transfering files. Low and behold I was only transfering at 3-4MBps. I was shocked and started going through the various things to troubleshoot the computer. I started disabling things and once I disabled Avast the speeds went back to normal (normal being 8-9MBps). I figured I would systematically figure out which provider was causing the slowdown, so I went through and paused the providers one by one and started transfering again. It was still slow. So I could not figure out which provider was causing the slowdown.

I figured well maybe I still have some Norton remnants left in the system, so I went through my C: drive and deleted all Symantec and Norton folders/files. Then I went through the registry and did the same thing again. Ran some registry cleaners and rebooted. Still no go, so I removed avast and again went through C: drive and removed all avast and awil folders/files. Again ran some registry cleaners. Rebooted and reinstalled Avast. Updated the program/iAVS and then rebooted. Tried to cvopy files over again and it was still slow speeds.

I figured I would post a HijackThis log, so you can see that my system is clean.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 12:06:00 AM, on 11/19/2005
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe
C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.EXE
C:\Program Files\ATI Multimedia\RemCtrl\ATIRW.exe
C:\Program Files\NetMeter\NetMeter.exe
C:\Program Files\APC\APC PowerChute Personal Edition\mainserv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
C:\Program Files\APC\APC PowerChute Personal Edition\apcsystray.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cisvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7Debug\mdm.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe
C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
C:\Program Files\GlobalSCAPE\CuteFTP\cutftp32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cidaemon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cidaemon.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {206E52E0-D52E-11D4-AD54-0000E86C26F6} - C:\PROGRA~1\FRESHD~1\FRESHD~1\fdcatch.dll
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Helper - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O2 - BHO: Trixie.Bho - {B0744341-96E0-4341-9ED2-8BC36CE0CCD0} - mscoree.dll (file missing)
O3 - Toolbar: &Google - {2318C2B1-4965-11d4-9B18-009027A5CD4F} - c:\program files\google\googletoolbar2.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [APC Powershute] "C:\Program Files\APC\APC PowerChute Personal Edition\Display.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ATIPTA] "C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel\atiptaxx.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Zone Labs Client] C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zlclient.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Fraps] C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ATI Remote Control] C:\Program Files\ATI Multimedia\RemCtrl\ATIRW.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [C:\Program Files\NetMeter\NetMeter.exe] C:\Program Files\NetMeter\NetMeter.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Google Search - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmsearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Translate English Word - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmwordtrans.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: + Offline &Explorer: Download the link - file://C:\Program Files\Offline Explorer Pro\Add_UrlO.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: + Offline E&xplorer: Download the current page - file://C:\Program Files\Offline Explorer Pro\Add_AllO.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Cached Snapshot of Page - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmcache.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download &All by FD - file://C:\Program Files\FreshDevices\FreshDownload\fdiectx2.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download with &FD - file://C:\Program Files\FreshDevices\FreshDownload\fdiectx.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Translate Page into English - res://c:\program files\google\GoogleToolbar2.dll/cmtrans.html
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {20CCCFEC-D26F-4ffe-996B-388B39C8CCCA} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\mscoree.DLL
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Tri&xie Options... - {20CCCFEC-D26F-4ffe-996B-388B39C8CCCA} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\mscoree.DLL
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{806A6BD6-13E6-407C-B516-DDA3448D3981}: NameServer = 10.10.0.1
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{9A3029C0-390D-4A35-94CB-04F458BC2D42}: NameServer = 10.10.0.1
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{E1BCDF80-6E31-40C7-ACBD-E2CAAB327EAB}: NameServer = 10.10.0.1
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{E81E9959-253A-4C80-9DAB-544B654A57AA}: NameServer = 10.10.0.1
O23 - Service: APC UPS Service - American Power Conversion Corporation - C:\Program Files\APC\APC PowerChute Personal Edition\mainserv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2sgag.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe" /service (file missing)
O23 - Service: TrueVector Internet Monitor (vsmon) - Zone Labs, LLC - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ZoneLabs\vsmon.exe

Specs in case you want them...
AMD 2600+ (back to normal speed)
1-WD SATA 250GB
1-WD SATA 320GB
1-WD PATA 160GB
1-Maxtor PATA 60GB (Old one I had laying around)
XP SP2 All updates
Using onboard network (Via Rhine II VT8237) with updated driver

If you need any more info feel free to ask.

Thanks
Jeremy

[galooma]

Hi and welcome ,
exactly how are you onnecting to do your file transfer?

[bassmadrigal]

He is running Serv-U as the FTP server, and I am using CuteFTP as the client, but it was also happening with windows file sharing.

Thanks
Jeremy

[lukor]

I started disabling things and once I disabled Avast the speeds went back to normal (normal being 8-9MBps). I figured I would systematically figure out which provider was causing the slowdown, so I went through and paused the providers one by one and started transfering again. It was still slow. So I could not figure out which provider was causing the slowdown.

Hello,
when you try to disable the providers one at a time, please you the Terminate button. Pausing usually just skips the scanning part in the provider and it may be partially still running. Cau you please retest this, this time terminating the providers?
Lukas.

[bassmadrigal]

Hello,
when you try to disable the providers one at a time, please you the Terminate button. Pausing usually just skips the scanning part in the provider and it may be partially still running. Cau you please retest this, this time terminating the providers?
Lukas.

I didn't think about that. I will try it next time I go over to his house. I am not sure when, but I will keep you posted.

If anyone else has any other ideas, feel free to post them.

Thanks
Jeremy

[Spiritsongs]

   I noticed :

    "C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.EXE
     C:\Program Files\NetMeter\NetMeter.exe "

     FRAPS is used to determine frame rate in games; is he
     playing any games that REQUIRE this ?
     NetMeter shows date of next meter reading; this info is
     usually on the Utility bills one receives, so is this necessary?

[galooma]

My kids transfer files regularly between pc`s which are connected through 4 port router but not networked and they use MSN messenger file share and it moves them at significant speed, im talking around 1gb in a minute .
hope this is of some use

[bassmadrigal]

  I noticed :

    "C:\PROGRAM FILES\FRAPS\FRAPS.EXE
     C:\Program Files\NetMeter\NetMeter.exe "

     FRAPS is used to determine frame rate in games; is he
     playing any games that REQUIRE this ?
     NetMeter shows date of next meter reading; this info is
     usually on the Utility bills one receives, so is this necessary?

I don't need fraps, but I like it. I like to know what framerates I am getting in games. I had tried sutting this down, but it did nothing to change network speeds.

Netmeter is actually a program that monitors the download and upload speed/amount that is transfered through the computer. I also tried shutting this down. I used both this and the speed reported through CuteFTP to determine my slow transfer rates.

My kids transfer files regularly between pc`s which are connected through 4 port router but not networked and they use MSN messenger file share and it moves them at significant speed, im talking around 1gb in a minute .
hope this is of some use

I know this is not a common issue because I have been running Avast on my laptop forever and I don't have problems there.

I will be trying out actually terminating the providers shortly and will report on my findings.

Thanks
Jeremy

[bassmadrigal]

OK, I tried terminating the providers one by one. When I shut down Internet Mail, the speed increased to 5-6MBps, but it is still well below the 8-9MBps I get when I disable Avast. But none of the others made any difference.

Thanks
Jeremy

[Lisandro]

OK, I tried terminating the providers one by one. When I shut down Internet Mail, the speed increased to 5-6MBps

Jeremy, are you using Azureus (P2P application)?
How do you test the speed, just stoping the provider and ... ?
Are you downloading email (or checking spam, news, etc.) while testing the speed?

[bassmadrigal]

Jeremy, are you using Azureus (P2P application)?
How do you test the speed, just stoping the provider and ... ?
Are you downloading email (or checking spam, news, etc.) while testing the speed?

Yes I do use Azureus but the program was closed at the time.

When testing the speed I use both Netmeter and the speed monitor built into CuteFTP. My buddy uses DU Meter (same concept as Netmeter) and Serv-U also displays current speeds. I have found all of these provide accurate data transfer rates.

When testing the speed I would close all unneeded programs, so there was no bandwidth being used minus the file transfer. With conditions the same with Avast disabled, I would see the jump in transfer speed.

When I do have Avast enabled it does not seem to affect my internet speeds (I assume it is only bottlenecking fast data transfers).

When I would stop a provider I would stop the current transfer reconnect to his server and re-transfer the file again.

Thanks
Jeremy

[lukor]

OK, I tried terminating the providers one by one. When I shut down Internet Mail, the speed increased to 5-6MBps, but it is still well below the 8-9MBps I get when I disable Avast. But none of the others made any difference.

Thanks
Jeremy

Hmm, thats kinda strange - since there is nothing magic on disabling avast - it just terminates all providers. Moreover, Internet Mail may intercept some connections to port 25, 110, 143, but it will not interact with FTP transfers.

I'll try to reproduce that: so you config is ZoneAlarm + Avast + CuteFTP + Serv-U ?

[bassmadrigal]

Yeah, all other running programs are listed in my hijack this log.

The weird thing is I have pretty much the same setup on my laptop, and I have no problems with that, and my buddies computer is also running Avast and Zonealarm and he doesn't need to worry about disabling avast.

The weird thing is this isn't related to just FTP transfers. I was also having issues using explorer to browse his network shares and transfering files that way. I would still see the same transfer speeds and I know that is on a different port than FTP.

One thing my buddy brought up that I didn't think of... Could it be the VRDB generating since this is a brand new install?? I tried disabling it but it didn't make any difference.

Unfortunately I doubt you will be able to reproduce the same results as me and my buddy have fairly similar running conditions on our computers and he doesn't have any issues there.

One possible thing... I had installed Avast on this machine probably a year ago, but I disabled the resident protection, because (at the time) I liked Norton better (don't shun me, I've changed my ways ), but I put Avast on there because there were some instances I heard of where Avast caught viruses that Norton didn't (one major reason I changed). Anyway... I had the Norton Resident Protection, and occasionally I would start up Avast. Well when I decided to switch to Avast, I removed Norton and Avast in the ways I mentioned at the top of the post. I am 99% sure I got all the Norton stuff, but I am not completely familiar with all the Avast files. Is there any other places I should look? It would just seem like with a completely fresh install of Avast (which I believe I did properly) I wouldn't be having these issues.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and feel free to post more. Even if the ideas may sound stupid or you think I may have already tried them. Everyone has there moments of stupidity and I am just hoping this is one of mine.

Thanks
Jeremy

[Lisandro]

Yes I do use Azureus but the program was closed at the time.

Jeremy, I know, maybe here a little more info about http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=12640.msg150534#msg150534
VRDB runs in background (computer idle without mouse and keyboard activity) or at screensaver time... it won't change network speed.

[bassmadrigal]

Thanks for coming back to this topic. I still have not resolved this issue.

As far as Azureus issues I have been having the smtp issue on my laptop (I had a post in here somewhere about it), but I have yet to have the issue on my desktop. But I wouldn't see this being related, because it was not running at the time.

Again any suggestions feel free to post them.

Do they have any beta releases coming up for a newer version? I would be happy to try one out and see if it resolves my problem.

Thanks
Jeremy