Author Topic: Avast 4 Home hangs computer  (Read 23461 times)

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paroots

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2006, 11:27:48 AM »
Thanks for your efforts. Yes, I am running PGP V8.0, to encrypt files.

Let me be sure I understand things. I can do a complete scan with Standard Shield set to Normal without problems, but the moment I increase sensitivity to High, the computer Hangs. What does Avast do at the moment I increase sensitivity? I suspect that it's checking all programs that are loading into memory which would include PGP since it shows up in the system tray.

Does this imply the program would work fine for me if I leave sensitivity set to Normal. Is this recommended? Also, is it not possible to setup exceptions so that it ignores PGP?

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #16 on: August 06, 2006, 02:50:09 PM »
Does this imply the program would work fine for me if I leave sensitivity set to Normal. Is this recommended?
Normal IS the recommended balance for all users (performance & protection)

Also, is it not possible to setup exceptions so that it ignores PGP?
For the Standard Shield provider (on-access scanning):
Left click the 'a' blue icon, click on the provider icon at left and then Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and click on Add button...

For the other providers (on-demmand scanning):
Right click the 'a' blue icon, click Program Settings.
Go to Exclusions tab and click on Add button...

You can use wildcards like * and ?.
I would include all files used by your encription program.
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paroots

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #17 on: August 06, 2006, 04:03:26 PM »
Thanks for the feedback. I have done as you requested. By the way, I have disabled skins so my interface is different than you describe above.  Here is my question. When I go to Standard Shield provider it has 3 settings: Normal, High, and Custom. When all is said and down, which setting would give me the best protection? I was able to put it on High after adding the exclusions (ie, PGPskdServ.exe and PGPtray.exe). Once I set it to high, it Hung but after cold boot it seemed happy. Therefore, would I be best to leave it on High? Please recall that the Exclusions are not even required when set to Normal.

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #18 on: August 06, 2006, 04:21:50 PM »
Which setting would give me the best protection?
High is 'higher', best protection of course.
Normal is ENOUGH, you won't be infected using it.
Custom, as the name says, could be in the middle of High and Normal but even 'higher' than High...
I suggest Normal for you, no trouble.

Therefore, would I be best to leave it on High? Please recall that the Exclusions are not even required when set to Normal.
If I were you? Not.
I'll keep Normal without the Exclusions  ;)
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paroots

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #19 on: August 06, 2006, 04:41:31 PM »
Thanks. Understood. By the way, I still have a bit of a mystery. When I set the exclusions to PGPsdkServ.exe and PGPtray.exe (as discovered under 'Processes' tab of Windows Task Mangager), the program still tended to Hang although in a less dramatic way. This is when I had the Exclusions set and Standard Shield set to High. Any idea why it didn't work on High? Just wondering.

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #20 on: August 06, 2006, 04:52:36 PM »
Thanks. Understood. By the way, I still have a bit of a mystery. When I set the exclusions to PGPsdkServ.exe and PGPtray.exe (as discovered under 'Processes' tab of Windows Task Mangager), the program still tended to Hang although in a less dramatic way. This is when I had the Exclusions set and Standard Shield set to High. Any idea why it didn't work on High? Just wondering.
Far from my user knowledge... I need Alwil team to answer  :)
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Offline Vlk

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Re: Avast 4 Home hangs computer
« Reply #21 on: August 06, 2006, 05:31:11 PM »
Quote
Thanks for the feedback. I have done as you requested. By the way, I have disabled skins so my interface is different than you describe above.  Here is my question. When I go to Standard Shield provider it has 3 settings: Normal, High, and Custom. When all is said and down, which setting would give me the best protection? I was able to put it on High after adding the exclusions (ie, PGPskdServ.exe and PGPtray.exe). Once I set it to high, it Hung but after cold boot it seemed happy.



The problem is much more subtle than you may thing, and is related to the internal workings of avast AND PGP. The situation here is quite similar as with other AV programs (I mean, running avast + another AV program at the same time). With PGP, it's not so dramatic (the hang doesn't occur that often) but still the problem is there.

The heart of the problem is that Windows was never designed to run more than one such a file system filter. While there are some tricks to avoid hangs as much as possible, it is still far from ideal. We're making some changes for the avast 5 release to prevent as many incompatibilities as possible - so chances are the situation will improve over time.

Quote
Does this imply the program would work fine for me if I leave sensitivity set to Normal. Is this recommended?

Absolutely, I mean, normally, there's no reason to change the sensitivity whatsoever. The "normal" level configuration was created as how we think is the optimal balance between security and performance.


Thanks
Vlk
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