I love avast, but it's driving me nuts!

[TheScorpion]

Spotted this thread re' Avast apparently slowing things up and wondered if my experiences had any bearing on the problem. My pc had slowed to frustrating levels (see  http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=52167.0 ) and eventually found that it was Windows Defender and Avast that were not playing nicely together. I have subsequently removed Windows Defender and replaced it with Malwarebytes as an on call scanner. After removing WD my pc speed returned to very acceptable levels.
Just thought that if any slowed up pc's are also using WD it could be worth checking out.

[debw]

Thanks for the tip.

I checked. Unfortunately, I do not have Windows Defender installed. In my case, it has to be something else.

[Lisandro]

Ad-Aware: not good anymore...
Comodo Firewall: from time to time, issues with avast. For me, it's not a stable firewall or, at least, does not work well with avast (from time to time).
PC Tools Spyware (no AV): ok, but I think it does not improve avast detection significantly.
Prevx: hmmm... won't opinion. I only have tested a long time ago.
Immunet Protect: don't know.

Anyway, your system seems overloaded with security programs. I won't be surprised of hangs and freezes, and "driving me nuts" issues. I think your protection balance is not good, I mean, too much.

[YoKenny]

Ad-Aware: not good anymore... its not worth the hard disk space it consumes and has not kept up with the times
Comodo Firewall: from time to time, issues with avast. it does slow down a system
PC Tools Spyware (no AV): ok, but I think it does not improve avast detection significantly. is OK but it can slow down a system
Prevx: hmmm... won't opinion. I only have tested a long time ago. is not needed with avast! and will slow down a system
Immunet Protect: don't know. is OK

Anyway, your system seems overloaded with security programs. I agree.

@ debw

What are your system specifications as to CPU type and speed and amount or RAM?

[debw]

I am running Windows XP SP3 on a Pentium D at 2.8 GHz. I have 3GB of RAM.

[Jack 1000]

I would say, do what I do:  I USED to have Spyware Blaster, AdAware, Windows Defender, and Avast.  Got rid of all the other stuff.  I just have the built in Windows Firewall XP, Avast 4.8, and Spyware Blaster, which is NOT a scanner, but a protective shield that does not use memory.

I also clean my browsers cache, history, and temp files often, and try to remember to  run check-disk and disk defrag.  Disk clean up is good.

MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up.  Internet consultant and computer trainer Patrick Crispin shows how to use it here:

It will really help your computer!  Be sure to select the correct OS!

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/index.html

Jack

[YoKenny]

MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up. 

MSConfig is a diagnostic tool not a startup manager:
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Best Free Startup Manager:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-startup-manager.htm

I vote for WinPatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com

[Alan|Cvette]

MS Config is a great tool that you can use to stop programs that you don't need running at boot up.

MSConfig is a diagnostic tool not a startup manager:
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.html

Wait, if I'm not mistaken MSConfig can be used to manage start up programs...  

Either way, here's another vote for WinPatrol. Its a must have on my computers.

[ardvark]

After the 'false positive' debacle, I had to reformat my drive and reinstall everything. As soon as I was done reinstalling everything (to the exact same configuration then before), I noticed a great degradation in my computer's performance in terms of speed as long as Avast was running. With Avast disabled, everything would once again work well and fast. I don't know what the cause of the problem is but I know that with Avast running my computer slows to a crawl.

Hi...

I have found that sometimes a given AV will work better on one system as opposed to another. In terms of speed and impact on system resources along with the "feel" of how it operates, Avira has always worked the best on my system. On my mother's laptop, Avast (in the past) and MSE have performed superbly, while Avira did not. It just depends.

MSE is a light(er) weight option that does not include advertisements in case you are interested.

May God bless you