ashServ.exe problem

[zcole]

Win 2K
Avast 4.7 Home Edition
ZoneAlarm Free Version

I have been using Avast for years with no problems.  Recently I attempted to use my slide show program, ProShow Gold, which I have not used for many months....last December I think it was.  Anyway, I noticed my system bogging down terribly so I went to Task Manager and determined that ashServ.exe was using a very large percentage on the cpu.  Exiting ProShow solves the problem...as does shutting down Avast.  The two no longer want to "play nice" together!  Looking at the details in Avast, it is scanning.......repeatedly......all of the jpg files that Proshow has loaded or active.  It never stops scanning them as long as ProShow is open.  The more images I include in the slideshow, the more my system slows down. 

I have gone to the Customize >Advanced tab and entered the folder containing the files being scanned hoping that would eliminate the problem, but it had no effect.(I am probably doing something wrong.)  If I select Stop Provider>Standard Shield, the scanning stops.  I wouldn't have known to do any of this without the help found on this forum dealing with similar issues regarding ashServ.  Is there something else I can try that would allow these two programs to work together again?  I really don't like the idea of turning off part of Avast while working with ProShow. 

Thanks

zane

[Lisandro]

I have gone to the Customize >Advanced tab and entered the folder containing the files being scanned hoping that would eliminate the problem, but it had no effect.(I am probably doing something wrong.)

No, you seems to do it ok if you're using the Standard Shield exclusion list.
You can use * and ? wildcards.

If I select Stop Provider>Standard Shield, the scanning stops.

Well... you've turned off the antivirus

Please, check the folder <avast>\data\log
Are there any files called unpXXXX there  (where XXXX is a random number)?
If so, send them to vlk (at) avast.com
They may contain more information about the problem (maybe a link to this thread).

[zcole]

No, you seems to do it ok if you're using the Standard Shield exclusion list.
You can use * and ? wildcards.

THAT was it!! Thank you!  I had just listed the folder without the " \* " .  As soon as I included the wildcard, the scanning stopped.  I'll just need to do that for each folder that I use, which ..... while a pain, is better that turning off Avast completely.  I wonder why it just sits there and repeatedly scans the same files over and over even though ProShow is not in use? 


Please, check the folder <avast>\data\log
Are there any files called unpXXXX there  (where XXXX is a random number)?
If so, send them to vlk (at) avast.com
They may contain more information about the problem (maybe a link to this thread).


I could find no files like that there.

Thanks for your help.  I'm a happy camper again!   

zane

[Lisandro]

I wonder why it just sits there and repeatedly scans the same files over and over even though ProShow is not in use? 

Can you zip these files and send to virus (at) avast.com for analysis?

[zcole]

Can you zip these files and send to virus (at) avast.com for analysis?

No, I don't have the software to zip a file.  However, I am 99.99% certain that the problem has nothing to do with those files.  No matter which images from  whatever folder I choose to use, the results are always the same....Avast continuously and repeatedly scans the images...over and over and over.... that ProShow loads until either that slideshow is closed or ProShow is closed.  This was not the case when I last used ProShow about a year ago.  I can open those same images in Photoshop and Avast will scan the folder or image one time.........and that's the end of it.  So, the problem seems to be related to ProShow rather than the images themselves........at least that's the way it seems to me.

I don't use ProShow very often..........obviously  .........so it isn't worth spending a lot of time trying to figure it out.  Listing the picture folders to be excluded from scans is an easy work-around that can be easily un-done if I so choose.

Thank you again for you help.

zane

[Lisandro]

No, I don't have the software to zip a file.

http://www.7-zip.org/
http://www.izarc.org/
Two free ones...

Avast continuously and repeatedly scans the images.

Which is your avast version and build?
Can't you send any of these files for analysis?

The problem seems to be related to ProShow rather than the images themselves.

Hmmm... I never used this program, can't be sure...

[zcole]

http://www.7-zip.org/
http://www.izarc.org/
Two free ones...

I had 7-zip on my system but didn't realize that it would create a zip file.  I tried it on the image files, but it resulted in practically no compression.  I downloaded izarc and had the same results.

Which is your avast version and build?
Can't you send any of these files for analysis?

There are presently 156 images in the slideshow under construction that average 2.5 KB in size, for a total of about 377 MB.  I would be happy to send however many you think might be of some use.  However, these same image files opened with other programs do not result in the problem response from Avast that occurs when they are opened by ProShow Gold. And, as mentioned above, these jpg files don't seem to compress much, if any at all.

I am using Avast! version 4.7 Home Edition; Build: Dec2007(4.7.1098)

[Lisandro]

practically no compression.

I'm just trying to avoid the blocking of the image sent and not looking for compression.
Maybe you should zip with a password ("virus" will be good).

There are presently 156 images in the slideshow under construction that average 2.5 KB in size, for a total of about 377 MB.

I think just a few ones will be good, not all of them. Or wait for they to test the ProShow Gold program.

[zcole]

There are presently 156 images in the slideshow under construction that average 2.5 KB in size, for a total of about 377 MB.

I think just a few ones will be good, not all of them. Or wait for they to test the ProShow Gold program.

I made a 'slight' mistake!  The images average 2.5 MB....not 2.5 KB!  I will zip three of them with the password "virus" and attempt to send them.

zane

[Lisandro]

I will zip three of them with the password "virus" and attempt to send them.

Thanks for the cooperation to make avast better