Web Shield seems to cause slow internet connections

[gdiloren]

@ Hally

I'm on an... Up To 8Mbps - Broadband

That's the best they can do and is totally dependent on the number of subscribers on using the same link as you.

DSL vs Cable - Real-World Speed
In practice, cable's speed advantage over DSL is much less than the theoretical numbers suggest. Why?
• Cable modem services can slow down significantly if many people in your neighborhood access the Internet simultaenously.
• Both cable modem and DSL performance vary from one minute to the next depending on the pattern of use and traffic congestion on the Internet.
• DSL and cable Internet providers often implement so-called "speed caps" that limit the bandwidth of their services.
• Some home networks cannot match the speed of the Internet connection, lowering your performance

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/dslvscablemodem/a/speedcompare.htm

I pay for 6Mb/s and get close to that all the time.

I pay for a 7.1 Mbps and without web shield with Speed Test I even get 7.2 Mbps Mind you I have 4GB of RAM (upgraded recently) but my processor is rather weak (1.6GHz)

[tommytinkroom]

Hi, i've got exactly the same problem  as canonman and it seems quite a lot of other people.After winging to my isp (bt in the uk)about my broadband dl speed slowing down from 6.40mb aprox to 3mb and bt telling me there is nothing wrong with my my line and it must be a software issue,i then discovered it was the webshield in Avast 4.8 that was slowing it down.So i uninstalled it and installed the latest version with the flash new interface but still the webshield is slowing it down.I've tried ticking and unticking the boxes but the only thing that works is having it disabled.
What i need to know is am i diceing with death having webshield disabled.I also have Malwarebytes pro.Thanks in advance for any advice.
Windows 7 home premium 32-bit
amd athlon 64x2 dual core 56000+
4 gig ram
ati radeon 4350

[olddog]

What i need to know is am i diceing with death having webshield disabled.I also have Malwarebytes pro.Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you were for instance to go to Avira free version, then you would not have the web shield function, and so by turning it off in Avast, you would be no worse off.

On the one hand, any additional checking is work to be done, and comes at the expense of using additional resources. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

On the other hand if using the Web shield seriously interferes with your ability to do what you want to do with your PC, then you have to weigh up how much extra risk there is in turning it off. You would still have the File system Shield operating when you open/write/attach files, the mail shield, and some additional protection from the Network shield (which is also not in all other AV's either).

Remember that you did not buy a computer for the primary purpose of running security software, and that short of never powering it up at all, there will always be some risk because no AV or anti malware  system is perfect. 

A lot depends on your own on line habits.

[tommytinkroom]

Hi olddog,Thanks for the info. I'm running avast with webshield turned off now which increases my dl speed from 3mb to 6.40mb aprox.I.ve exhausted all eliminations of checking unchecking uninstalling etc.The only fix to this is having the webshield turned off.But whats confusing me (it does'nt take much)is my second pc which i rarely use,which has the same programes that my main pc has and runs off the same broadband hub works fine with same avast version with webshield on.The difference with my second pc is the os is windows xp sp3 and less ram than my main pc.Also i have seen other posters who have windows xp sp3 and websheild is slowing down their dl speed,more confusing.Do you think Avast will have a fix for this problem?I have sent them a support a ticket,waiting for reply.

[olddog]

....Do you think Avast will have a fix for this problem?.....

The answer to that I would think somewhat depends on how widespread Awil believe the problem is, the priority they allocate to it, and whether they can actually recreate it. As you have observed, two PC's on the same router/modem, one slows significantly, one doesn't.

There are I believe enough users posting in the forum with slow downs which disappear when they remove the Web shield for it to be more than just coincidence, but also lots that don't get the problem, and the overall number who post on the forum are possibly only a drop in the ocean when it comes to the number of downloads of the software.

The subject however is not new, and if you look around on line you will find references to it when AV companies first started to introduce web shields (it wasn't/isn't just applicable to Avast). The slowdowns are sometimes random, and even individual PC's will be OK for periods, and not OK at other times.

One line of thought is that in some cases the slowdown may be due to packet timeout/retransmission. When packets have to be retransmitted the effective line speed reduces significantly. Introducing Web scanning could push an on the edge situation over the edge with resultant slow downs, maybe more so if intelligent stream scanning increases the real time packet processing time.

Locating the cause of packet problems can be extremely complex because of the number of factors involved that and makes it harder to nail. As I said, this is just one line of thought - it may or may not have anything to do with your problem.

Mostly the advice given seems to be to either not use the Web shield if that solves the problem in an individual situation, or to try reconfiguring it to only scan executables. One source at a much earlier time suggested setting the web shield to only scan [ADE, ADP, BAS, INF, INS, MDB, MSI, JS, EXE, ZIP, RAR, ASP, ASPX, COM, BAT, PIF, VB, WS, VBE, VBS].

[gdiloren]

 No excuses for Avast Web Shield. I have Web Shield ON on On Line Armor 4.0.0.15 ++ and it absolutely doesn't affect my internet speed while being efficiently protected. How do you manage with that??? I can only give a lemon prize to the Avast team for its new AVAST 5.0 software this year, it slows computers,internet and i'm not convinced at all it is better than before (the company has changed for the worst). It's a shame.

[olddog]

Do you think Avast will have a fix for this problem?I have sent them a support a ticket,waiting for reply.

Tommytinkroom,
Any response to your support ticket from Awil yet?

[YoKenny]

Yay we are #3:
http://www.vancouver2010.com

Daily Host Video: Vancouver 2010 Day 16
http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-videos/daily-host-video--vancouver-2010-day-16_295592g110288-Ja.html

YouTube direct:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc6diEyTPkw

[tommytinkroom]

Do you think Avast will have a fix for this problem?I have sent them a support a ticket,waiting for reply.

Tommytinkroom,
Any response to your support ticket from Awil yet?

Hi olddog, No not a peep,i just checked it's status and it says recieved.I did send it Friday 26th in the evening gmt.So i think i should get a reply maybe Monday or Tuesday with a bit of luck.I will post you the reply as soon as i get it.

[olddog]

Hi olddog, No not a peep,i just checked it's status and it says recieved.I did send it Friday 26th in the evening gmt.So i think i should get a reply maybe Monday or Tuesday with a bit of luck.I will post you the reply as soon as i get it.

Great - look forward to seeing some official comment on this subject from Awil.

[tommytinkroom]

Hi olddog,Are you a dingo? Just keeping you posted,i've had a reply from awil asking for more indepth specs of my pc and a hijack logfile which i have sent them.So i'm waiting for another reply.This is the email they sent me.
Posted On: 02.03.2010 07:43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Neil!

Thank you for contacting ALWIL Software company with your concerns.

My name is Michal and I am happy to assist you today.

Unfortunately, you doesn't provide us with enough information to investigate described issue. When sending an inquiry to our Support Team, please check whether you provide us with the following:

What operating system are you using? (e.g. Windows 2000 Server...)

What version of avast! are you using? (e.g. 4.0.160 - you can find this information in the "About avast!..." dialog)

What version of VPS file are you using? (e.g. 0303-10, 04/15/2003 - you can find this information in "About avast!..." dialog)

What is your basic hardware configuration? (e.g. Intel Pentium III 800 MHz, 128 MB RAM)

How do you connect to Internet? (e.g. dial-up, using a proxy server, using a firewall...)

What is your e-mail client? (e.g. Outlook, Outlook Express, IncrediMail...)

Do you use other security software? Which one? (e.g. Norton Antivirus...)

What are the steps to reproduce the bug again? (such as what was the system doing at the time of the problem...)

Are there any error messages appear? If yes, what exactly do they say?

HijackThis log file created by following these simple instructions:

1. Download HijackThis utility from www.hijackthis.de, save it onto your desktop.
2. Run HijackThis and select "Do a system scan" and save log file (it should be as text file on your desktop with the name "hijackthis.log")text document).
3. Send us the created log file via e-mail as an attachment (not in message body!)

With these informations and with the file hijackthis.log we'll be able to help (hopefully).
__
Best regards

Michal Zrubecky
ALWIL Software a.s. 

[olddog]

Hi olddog,Are you a dingo?

No just an old street wise domestic type!

....What version of avast! are you using? (e.g. 4.0.160 - you can find this information in the "About avast!..." dialog)

What version of VPS file are you using? (e.g. 0303-10, 04/15/2003 - you can find this information in "About avast!..." dialog)

Doesn't really fill me with confidence when the response cheat sheet they are working from is so old, but I hope your efforts will result in something worthwhile. 

[psikofunkster]

Maybe im not helping with my comment but i had this issue with Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, no problems with Avast Internet Security so far regarding the same issue.

[tommytinkroom]

Hi olddog, Just got a reply from alwil,i followed they're email instructions to the letter but it made absolutely no difference.Here it is below. Regards Neil.
 Posted On: 10.03.2010 15:41

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello,

there's a new version of avast! 5 (5.0.462) available; it contains some fixes and improvements in firewall module - could you please download an install this version an let us know the result?

The recommended procedure is to perform a new "fresh" install of avast! 5:
- uninstall any existing instance of avast! antivirus usual way:
-- navigate to Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs (MS Windows 2000 and XP) or Programs and Features (MS Windows Vista and 7)
-- select the installed version of avast! 5 (avast! Internet Security, avast! Pro Antivirus or avast! Free Antivirus) then click Change/Remove (MS Windows 2000 and XP) or Uninstall/Change (MS Windows Vista and 7)
-- in avast! Setup window, select Uninstall then click Next
-- click Yes to proceed
-- reboot your computer when prompted
-- download then run avast! Uninstall utility (http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility) to remove all remnants (if the current instance of avast! is corrupt, the standard uninstall procedure above can fail to remove it completely)
-- reboot your computer
- download then run avast! 5 setup; to ensure the full administrator's rights, don't double-click the file but right-click it then select "Run as Administrator" (MS Windows Vista and 7) or "Run as..." (MS Windows XP - pick "The following user" option in the dialog then select "Administrator" and enter the password). In case of MS Windows 2000 make sure you are logged on as Administrator.
- when prompted for the license details, pick "Supply a license file" then browse for your license file
- wait until the setup is fished; reboot your computer when prompted

Vojtech Nekvapil
2nd Level Technical Support & Quality Assurance
ALWIL Software a.s.

ALWIL Software a.s. support

Avast Internet Security is available here http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_ais_eng.exe
Avast Pro Antivirus is available here http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_pro_eng.exe
Avast Free Antivirus is available here http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/setup_av_free_eng.exe


Kind Regards
Vojta Nekvapil

2nd Level Technical Support
ALWIL Software a.s.
http://support.avast.com  
 

 

[tommytinkroom]

Hi olddog, Disregard my last post,because for some reason my dl speed has returned to normal after trying again with webshield on(4hrs later) Regards Neil