Author Topic: Speed of Avast updates  (Read 22002 times)

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Offline Lisandro

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #30 on: July 24, 2008, 12:09:23 AM »
Wow! You're healthy! ;)
The best things in life are free.

epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #31 on: July 24, 2008, 01:27:18 AM »
Well, when I uninstalled and reinstalled, in order to get the (i) icon back, the first update took 15:04.

What I did this time was watch the router to see when the data was being exchanged and what the hard drive did.

It appears that after the update files are downloaded and received, the software is updating the files almost immediately, which is what I believe should be happening.  Then we have that gap of several minutes when the hard drive shows no activity.  Then, the hard drive shows activity and the audio with visual indication of the update, appears afterwards.  This gap of several minutes, eludes me, since there is nothing in the log to indicate that anything is happening aside from updating the software with the new file, but there was no hard drive activity...

Anyhow, it is working, so I'm leaving it as it is.
 



epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #32 on: July 24, 2008, 02:37:33 PM »
With only the two Avast! icons and the networking icon now in the systray, the update times have been better. 

This morning:

Quote
Information about current update:
Total time: 11:46

- Vps: Updated
  (previous version: 080723-1, updated version: 080724-0)

Server: download946.avast.com (74.54.53.2)
Downloaded files: 5 (147.79 KB)
Download time: 7 s

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #33 on: July 24, 2008, 02:53:40 PM »
epp, even though it's strange...
Can you test your Internet speed? Donwload/Upload.
Is there any other application (security or not) that is filtering the http traffic?
The best things in life are free.

epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #34 on: July 24, 2008, 03:09:56 PM »
epp, even though it's strange...
Can you test your Internet speed? Donwload/Upload.
Is there any other application (security or not) that is filtering the http traffic?

The only application that seems to be filtering http traffic is Avast's Web Shield itself.

Using the Flash speed test at Speakeasy using their New
York site (closest to me):

With Avast Web Shield paused:

Download:  6,390 kbps
Upload:  2,711 kbps

It's worth noting that other AV products I've used in the past that did not have anything like Web Shield, produced similar speed test results as above.


With Avast Web Shield enabled, testing from the same site:

Download:  1,771 kbps
Upload:  2,220 kbps


epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #35 on: July 24, 2008, 04:21:51 PM »
There is one thing so far that has been consistent.  If I run an update manually, it takes almost no time at all:

Quote
Information about current update:
Total time: 4:05

- Program: Updated
  (previous version: 4.8.1227, updated version: 4.8.1229)
- Vps: Updated
  (previous version: 080724-0, updated version: 080724-1)
- Setup: Updated
  (previous version: 4.8.1227, updated version: 4.8.1229)

Server: download927.avast.com (74.86.125.43)
Downloaded files: 4 (43.90 KB)
Download time: 5 s

It is when Avast is set to update automatically (at startup), that it takes more than twice as long.

Offline DavidR

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #36 on: July 24, 2008, 05:04:00 PM »
Well that is strange as paused still uses the web shield proxy, it is just the scanning that stops. So the limitation isn't entirely the web shield but the low system spec (AMD K6-2 (with 3-D Now!) 500 MHz CPU - 524 Mb RAM) as the web shield scans the content.

XP whilst nowhere as bad as Vista will gobble some of your RAM and CPU just to run and anything else running in the background will also eat some more, so that will also limit the available resources foe avast to scan the content, whist a download (like the speed test) is going on. That is effectively what is throttling your download speed.

I doubt you would notice it as much during normal browsing though ?

The auto update uses a CPU reduction trick so it doesn't take more than 30% of the CPU time, that would slow the update processing. I can't recall if this trick works in win9x, but there seems to be something like that happening, you could check to see what resources are used for the different update.

The Manual update has no such restriction and will grab as much as is available and appear quicker, assuming the CPU restriction trick works in the above info.
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epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #37 on: July 24, 2008, 05:15:41 PM »
I've changed the update settings to ask when available, then when the next update is available, I'll have it update then and check the speed afterwards.

Any speed difference (with Web Shield fully enabled) with normal web browsing, is not noticable.

The maximum amount of memory that the motherboard (DFI K6BV3+/66, installed in 2000) will accept is 768 Mb (or 256 x 3), but the DIMM's must have the chips on both sides, otherwise the BIOS only recognizes 1/2 the actual memory amount.  What is in this now, are 1 256 Mb and 2 128 Mb DIMM's.  Assuming I can find the correct DIMM's locally, would increasing the memory to 768 Mb, noticeably improve things?


« Last Edit: July 24, 2008, 05:23:32 PM by epp »

Offline DavidR

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #38 on: July 24, 2008, 07:08:44 PM »
Ask acts in the same way as Manual as you are effectively initiating a manual update after the notification.

Getting the right chips and increasing the memory should help, but you are always going to be hampered by the processor as the validation/verification of the downloaded files is cpu and ram intensive.
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security

epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #39 on: July 24, 2008, 07:22:55 PM »

The auto update uses a CPU reduction trick so it doesn't take more than 30% of the CPU time, that would slow the update processing. I can't recall if this trick works in win9x, but there seems to be something like that happening, you could check to see what resources are used for the different update.

The Manual update has no such restriction and will grab as much as is available and appear quicker, assuming the CPU restriction trick works in the above info.

On this system, I have noticed that process use between 27 and 31% of CPU resources when it's updating automatically (at startup).  But so far, a manual update runs quicker, as you explained.


« Last Edit: July 24, 2008, 07:24:39 PM by epp »

Offline DavidR

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #40 on: July 24, 2008, 07:28:52 PM »
That looks about right for the auto update allowing for you to continue doing other things whilst the update is going on (as much as that can be with the limitation of you system spec).

I don't know why I mentioned win9x in this topic, when your signature shows XP, in another topic I was helping in no doubt.
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security

epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #41 on: July 25, 2008, 03:12:26 PM »
With updates set to Ask, it took 5:02 to update Avast! this morning. 

Had Windows Update not been running at the same time, I know Avast! would have taken even less time.

I'm going to leave the settings on Ask.  Works better for me.   :)

epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #42 on: July 25, 2008, 07:53:12 PM »
There is one thing so far that has been consistent.  If I run an update manually, it takes almost no time at all:

Quote
Information about current update:
Total time: 4:05

- Program: Updated
  (previous version: 4.8.1227, updated version: 4.8.1229)
- Vps: Updated
  (previous version: 080724-0, updated version: 080724-1)
- Setup: Updated
  (previous version: 4.8.1227, updated version: 4.8.1229)

Server: download927.avast.com (74.86.125.43)
Downloaded files: 4 (43.90 KB)
Download time: 5 s

It is when Avast is set to update automatically (at startup), that it takes more than twice as long.


With an exception...

My Pentium system once had a mix of two different types of RAM on-board, which has since been corrected.  I thought that perhaps the other machine may also have a mix of memory due to their being 1 256 Mb DIMM and 2 128 Mb DIMM's on its board.  I removed the 128 Mb DIMM's, leaving the 256 in there, booted up in Safe Mode, changed the update selection from Ask to Automatic, then rebooted.

When it updated just now (with only 256 Mb of memory) at startup:

Quote
Information about current update:
Total time: 6:07

- Vps: Updated
  (previous version: 080725-0, updated version: 080725-1)

Server: download912.avast.com (75.126.203.77)
Downloaded files: 4 (16.77 KB)
Download time: 6 s

Still, better than taking 21 minutes with the full amount of memory in it.  :)

Offline DavidR

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #43 on: July 25, 2008, 08:48:59 PM »
The differences in RAM aren't usually critical, but will run at the speed of the slowest stick. So essentially if you did have one stick slower it is unlikely to slow it as much as having less RAM.
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epp

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Re: Speed of Avast updates
« Reply #44 on: July 25, 2008, 11:27:04 PM »
All three sticks are PC100 and the motherboard has a 100 MHz bus, so the memory is the correct speed for the system.  I did some online research and discovered that two of these double-sided DIMM's are also called low-density, having 8 chips on each side.

However, one of the 128 Mb DIMM's has 4 chips on each side.  A quick search resulted in this page at eBay.  Breakpoint #3 on this page, indicates that this particular DIMM is high-density since it has 4 chips on each side.  The fact that it is high-density, now tells me that, like the Pentium, there was a mix of two different types.  I will leave this particular DIMM out and am going to place the other 128 Mb low-density DIMM back in the system.

Learning something new every day.  :)