Avast Free/ Question about RealTime Shields

[Slider51]

I'm new to Avast but so far really like what I see.  I do have a question about the use of the RealTime Shields.  When I have them "On" I get a long (4-5 minute) period at boot-up where my hard drive just chugs away like I'm doing a major download or the processor is maxing out.  This is a bit unnerving, and slows my computer performance down considerably.  When I deactivate the real-time shields, I don't get this.  Are the real-time shields really that much of a resource drain?  Is this flurry of processor/hard drive activity normal?  I'm really trying to avoid AV bloat, a serious flaw in other AV solutions out there, but I like the idea of real-time protection.  I intend to buy Avast after a reasonable amount of evaluation time, but I don't want to end up with more of the same resource hogging that other companies end up causing with all kinds of real-time stuff going on.  Am I still reasonably protected not using the RealTime Shields?

Thank you very much in advance for any guidance you can offer.

 

[Eddy]

Give STARTUPDELAYER a try.

[YoKenny]

You could try to delay loading avast! after other system services in SETTINGS then Troubleshooting

How much RAM does the system have?

[Slider51]

Thanks, Eddy and YoKenny!

I will definitely give the star-up delay a try as soon as I leave here. 

Machine is a new Pentium Dual Core E6500 2.93 Ghz, 2 GB of RAM.  RAM hasn't been an issue to me before even running AutoCAD in full 3D mode.  I may have exaggerated the system slowdown a bit, but it does get just a litytle "chunky" with all the activity going on.

How truly essential is the real-time stuff anyway?  I'm used to running weekly scans "after the fact", and of course have had virus attacks in the past, but in all cases have been able to clean the machine relatively easily with MBAM and other AV packages.  I just don't want a large chunk of my resources permanently tied up with background running, and that has happened with so many other AV solutions in the past.

Thanks again, I'll come back with how the delay works out...

[schmidthouse]

Thanks, Eddy and YoKenny!

I will definitely give the star-up delay a try as soon as I leave here. 

Machine is a new Pentium Dual Core E6500 2.93 Ghz, 2 GB of RAM.  RAM hasn't been an issue to me before even running AutoCAD in full 3D mode.  I may have exaggerated the system slowdown a bit, but it does get just a litytle "chunky" with all the activity going on.

How truly essential is the real-time stuff anyway?  I'm used to running weekly scans "after the fact", and of course have had virus attacks in the past, but in all cases have been able to clean the machine relatively easily with MBAM and other AV packages.  I just don't want a large chunk of my resources permanently tied up with background running, and that has happened with so many other AV solutions in the past.

Thanks again, I'll come back with how the delay works out...

Very essential. The Real-Time Shields are what protects your system while usiing it. As far as picking up viruses, I think you've been pretty lucky. Viruses and malware can be extremely hard to get rid of and not to mention cause (at times)irreversible damage to your computer! Viruses and Malware can also cause other systems to become infected, via email, Flash Drives etc.

[YoKenny]

Machine is a new Pentium Dual Core E6500 2.93 Ghz, 2 GB of RAM. 

Are you running XP, Vista or Windows 7 and are they 32bit or 64bit?

The Real-Time Shields are what protects your system while using it!

[Tarq57]

Hi, Slider51,

What was the AV on the machine when you got it, and how was it removed?
Any other security programs (aside from MBAM) installed?

Is it Windows7?

Don't try startup delayer just yet. It's very good, and useful, but it's best to get to the core of the problem, first.

[Slider51]

Ok, I understand, the real-time shields are the heart of the package.  I'm running XP Pro, all 32-bit.  Holding off migrating to Win 7 as long as I can, I own a small business and we're talking 5 non-networked machines and no time to wipe drives, etc. to change.  Besides, XP is the strongest and most stable AutoCad platform we've ever run.  We'll eventually be forced to change, I know, but the PC-based CAD world is usually the last to make OS moves and usually then only by force.  

The flurry of HD activity is less prevalent with the delay turned on, but still happens, just later.  Is that normal?  

Again, I really like what  I see with Avast.  I'm a tired old veteran of "the latest and greatest" in AV solutions, including the AVG debacle that just happened, which prompted total AVG uninstalls on all our machines after 3 of them bricked.  Been there done that with Norton, McAfee, Symantec, all of them, paid for those experiences with no support or ridiculoulsy priced support, huge resource draws with bells and whistles slowing down CAD operations, etc., etc., etc.

[Slider51]

Tarq, I was typing that last reply when your post came in...I think it answers your questions, though.  AVG free was on this particular machine, and we had a less-than successful uninstall, lots of left-overs, but I think we got all the operational stuff.  A clean wipe and OS re-install is out of the question on this particular machine, though, uptime is everything.

Thanks

[Tarq57]

Try the AVG remover, from the download/tools section.

[YoKenny]

I do not have experience with AutoCad but a lot of experience with XP and Windows 7 is way better especially the 64bit version.

I do see a lot of hard disk on my XP system but that's due to limited RAM.

Does AutoCad have drivers that consume RAM
What version of AutoCad are you using

[CraigB]

Slider51, you can find removal tool's for the other av's you had here http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/ as there are probably still remnant's of all those other av's you previously had still in your system, download the tool's then run them in safe mode.
You can speedup boot time by turning off unnecessary program's from startup with with a good program like ccleaner or by typing in the run bar- msconfig then go to startup's and disable what you dont need.

[Eddy]

Slider, several options have been suggested here. Please try them one at a time and let us know what happens. And since it is windows... after making changes (adding/removing things), reboot to make sure the changes take effect.

[Slider51]

Hey, thanks, Eddy, YoKenny, and Craig!  I really appreciate you guys helping out. 

Let's see, yes, Autocad uses RAM very heavily, epsecially in 3D mode when we rotate, zoom, and do other dynamic things with the models (drawings).  Fortunately, the package is written very tightly and very well, and unless the models get inordinately large with alot of layers turned on and others turned off, the dynamics remain very smooth with redraws being totally invisible to the eye.  The package worked beautifully on our last set of machines with only 1 Gb RAM, 2 Gb is more than enough.

We're actually still using AutoCad 2004, most upgrades since then contain alot of import/export features we simply don't need in our business and new fetures that are nice but not really necessary.  Most other software that old would almost be considered "legacy" but AutoDesk is great about realizing that their stuff is very expensive and needs to be used for a long time without forced upgrades.  And our 3D stuff is still 100% forward compaitble, so we're in no hurry to have the "latest and greatest".  add to that the AutoCad platform is so stable I can't remember the last time we needed any support of any kind.  Once our engineers learn it, not much ever goes wrong.

I'm definately going to take your advice on the AVG uninstallers,relizing that they might not actually work due to us manually going in and renaming some things just to stop their usage by what is left.  It wasn't really the smartest way to go about it, I know, but at that moment we had 3 machines bricking and just getting back up and running was priority one.  An idle designer is very, very expensive, you know?

We'll be sure to approach it in small steps and document changes we make along the way.  System Restore is a big friend of ours . 

I know Win 7 is really getting rave reviews, and we'll eventually go there for sure.  But right now, XP Pro is an excellent OS that we all know inside out and just the learning curve of five of us over five machines makes an upgrade an expensive undertaking.  Sort of an "If it ain't broke don't fix it" thing, you know?

Thanks guys again, you're all very helpful people and I'm gald to have found this forum.

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[Slider51]

Craigb, eddy,and all,

Thanks once again...We downloaded an AVG Remover from the site craigb suggested, and it worked like a charm.  The only thing left after the uninstall on all 4 machines affected was the AVG folder and a few remnant files, which deleted quickly and easily.  I can't say whether or not our registries are free of any remnants...I never had the time to learn much about the Windows registry and how it actually works and how to navigate it with any sort of comfort...sad, I know, but the business of earning a living limits my time to using what's there and not questioning how or why things work.  Best to leave playing the around with a loaded gun to people who have more knowledge, like you guys.

I also found a Flash Cookies Cleaner and ran that on all 5 machines just to be safe.  I give my employees alot of latitude on the use of their machines during lunch and on their own time, being all guys in the office I don't mind if they cruise adult sites or other entertainment as long as they are careful with it.  Anyway I like having that bullet in our belt too.
 
I DID just discover the Avast Boot-Time Scan, and I love it!  So much easier than going into safe mode first and the two-click scheduling and re-boot interface is so freindly my guys didn't even grumble when I asked them to run this feature once a week or so.

I am getting quite fond of Avast and the excellent no-nonsense user interfaces. The invisible and quick auto-updates don't slow us down in the least, and for the very first time I am comfortable with an auto-update feature.  I've always immediately turned those off on any software package due to updates coming at the least opportune moments and effectively stopping any work going on while they chug away.

In a nutshell, I'm starting to feel pretty warm and fuzzy about the protection we're getting.  We run a laid-back show here, and giving my employees freedom to surf wherever they like on their breaks opens us to a unique set of concerns with our business machines.  But the ease with which they can take care of their PC's like they were their own with Avast is making me really comfortable with the thought of buying the full program 5x sooner rather than later.  So far, so good...

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