Performance degradation over time with Behavior Shield, Avast 5.0.545

[rvidil]

I have seen this topic posted here and there a few months back, but I've not seen any true resolution anywhere. Like many others, I experience gradual performance degradation of my Vista system when running Avast 5.0.x (currently x=545), in particular, when using the Behavior Shield. A reboot clears things up for a while, hours or even a few days, but eventually things begin to slow back down. It is most noticeable when browsing the Web (IE or Firefox) -- if I disable that particular shield, performance improves drastically and instantly.

I've tried many reboots, deleting Avast and reinstalling fresh, etc. Ever since I've upgraded to version 5.0, this problem always eventually comes back. I'd prefer to have the protection of the Behavior Shield, but for now, I keep it disabled.

[ravi16aug]

I too 'felt' the same - couldn't put it in numbers. So I just run the File, Web and Network shields.

[jaymur]

Well well..that fixed my own jsut posted about system slow down issues. Disabling this put mys peed back to 'normal' which is very fast.

[rvidil]

This leaves me with two questions:

(1) does Avast acknowledge this as a legitimate problem, i.e., as something they are working on and hope to resolve soon?

(2) what kinds of threats am I making myself vulnerable to by disabling the Behavior Shield?

[atulk]

 
Experiencing the exact same here - Behavior Shield causes high degradation over time.  CPU Usage goes up quite drastically, almost 100% sometimes. 
Process Explorer shows "System" consuming more than 75% CPU with Behavior Shield turned on, and about 1-2% with Behavior Shield turned off, and this even without any Network Connection or Internet browsing.

Please can someone look into this, or advise if there is any clash/incorrect setting causing this.  I would really prefer not to disable this Behavior Shield since I do not have any other similar security software enabled.

System Details:
Avast! Free Antivirus
Program Version: 5.0.545
Virus definitions: 100524-1
Windows XP Professional SP3
Laptop - Dell Inspiron E1705

[Spline64]

 

I have the same problem with the exception that ALL explorer windows show a 5 - 15 second delay when trying to open. If I disable only behavior shield with all other shields running, all back to normal.

thanks for the tip Rvidil

Spline64

[YoKenny]

How much RAM do your systems have

[atulk]

How much RAM do your systems have

Hi,

My Laptop has 4GB physical RAM, but since the OS is 32-bit XP Professional SP3, only 3.2GB is available to the OS.

Avast! 5 Free 5.0.545 / 100525-1
Dell Insipiron E1705
OS: Windows XP Professional SP3
RAM: 4GB
CPU: Dual Core 2.0GHz
HDD: 80GB
Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA Go 7800 Resolution: 1920x1200 @ 32bit color

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Spline64]

I'm running 2 gb. DDR2
Windows XP Pro 5.1.2600 SP3
2.4  ghz quad core
ATI Radeon HD 4670 w/ 1 gb. RAM

and might mention that the problem started the minute I installed Avast 5.0
Was working fine with 4.8

[Spline64]

and also the avast.setup process is running at about 20% while it hangs.

[ToM ™]

Hi,

we found an issue that can be related to the any av5 slowdown. This slowdown may lead after few days to avast! crash too. We hope it will be fixed soon.
sorry for inconvenience.
ToM

[xavier.tnc]

I found this post after becoming frustrated enough to look for a solution to the problem.  I'm developing a web application on my local machine using a WAMP stack and since AVAST upgrade from the "blue icon" to the "orange icon" (Sorry, i don't keep track of version numbers anymore, but it's version 5.xx something ), my pages started taking 500ms-1000ms longer to load!  Firefox also takes much longer to start.  I was reluctant to upgrade to the "new look" AVAST, but I was forced due to my registration expiring.  I eventually tried to disable AVAST for a while to see what happens, and the effect was immediate and DRASTIC.  I then fiddled with the configuration to see if I could isolate the problem and sure enough found that the Behavior Shield  was too blame.  Disabling Behavior Shield fixes my problem instantly. So, I would imagine there's still some bugs to fix in the new version and hope too see something soon (Specially if you have millions of users!)  An advisory on what to do about the problem and whether it's safe to disable this feature would also be welcome.  (Ok, so I checked... it's ver. 5.0.545   )

[ToM ™]

Hi,

this issue is related to avast screen-saver if you reinstall avast! and don't use avast! screen-saver so your speed should be ok.

ToM

[Lisandro]

this issue is related to avast screen-saver if you reinstall avast! and don't use avast! screen-saver so your speed should be ok.

I suppose this will be addressed in future versions.
Is it better to NOT use avast screensaver until next program update?

[ToM ™]

Yes, it is.