Author Topic: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe  (Read 26581 times)

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DraGonflY_27z

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High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« on: January 16, 2011, 05:28:29 PM »
Hello everyone!

This morning, there has been a program update of avast! and since then, the process AvastSvc.exe uses all my CPU. It doesn't change anything to shut down all the programs running or to turn off all the shields. I uninstalled and reinstalled it, but the problem still persists.
It seems have a normal CPU usage for the first few minutes after booting Windows and then it goes crazy...

Can anyone help me figure this out?

I'm using avast! free, version 5.1.889. My firewall is COMODO and I don't use any other antivirus. I use Spybot Search & Destroy.
I've been using this set of programs for years and it's always worked great for me.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2011, 05:32:12 PM by DraGonflY_27z »

DraGonflY_27z

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2011, 05:51:22 PM »
Well, now it seems to have calmed down. XD It's been hogging my CPU for a few hours and now it's back to normal without me doing anything, I don't get it...

Online DavidR

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2011, 06:31:10 PM »
Well the avastSvc.exe should only be using CPU when the resident shields are scanning.

When it is high, are you seeing the avast tray icon rotating ?
If not then it could be conflict locking things up, what would be the question.

What are you doing when this happens, P2P download in the background, browsing, etc. what ?
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

DraGonflY_27z

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2011, 07:12:39 PM »
Sometimes the icon was rotating, and sometimes it wasn't. But the process was constantly hogging the CPU and it couldn't have been because the shields were scanning anything because it continued even after I disabled them.

I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, P2P downloads are always running in the background and sometimes I browse with Firefox. I just noticed there was high usage of the CPU after the program update.

By the way, did anyone else have this problem too? For me, it stopped on its own.

Online DavidR

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2011, 07:35:31 PM »
Well those P2P downloads are going to generate activity/scanning in the avastSvc.exe process as that is what controls all of the resident shields.

Why that didn't subside when you stop them to me tends to indicate some sort of conflict.

Spybot S&D if you don't have the teatimer running shouldn't be an issue, though I'm no fan of S&D (it hasn't kept pace with malware developments) without the teatimer running that shouldn't cause any problem.

Which leaves Comodo, I don't know if you have just the firewall element installer or if you have the AV element installed or if Defence+ might have an impact. I don't know as I haven't used any comodo products.
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DraGonflY_27z

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2011, 07:57:37 PM »
Actually, I do have TeaTimer running. What would you recommend to use instead?

About comodo, I only use the firewall.

But I've been using this configuration for years, I don't understand why there would be a conflict suddenly (maybe the update), and most importantly why it fixed itself on its own after a while.

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2011, 08:49:30 PM »
At the very least I would suggest stopping teatimer and see how that goes.

What P2P application are you using, as notably utorrent causes a lot of activity (scanning) by avast, because of the way utorrent works ?
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

Offline Lisandro

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2011, 09:17:37 PM »
Actually, I do have TeaTimer running. What would you recommend to use instead?
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

About comodo, I only use the firewall.
And Defense+?

Are you running a scheduled scanning?
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CPU5.1889

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Avast would not scan, Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2011, 11:43:51 PM »
Hi there, I too had the CPU constant 97-100% from AvastSvc.exe after installing the program update this morning. Windows XP Home. In case this is useful I thought I'd chime in as there was something else: I tried running an Avast complete scan several times after rebooting and each time it hung up after a few seconds at "tested files: 10" and "tested folders: 1". Dragonfly_27z, have you tried an Avast virus scan [full version], will it run?

I have been running Malwarebytes Pro [real time] and MS Security Essentials as well for a couple of months, frowned on I know, but there were no noticeable problems prior to todays program update.

Don't know how much further information I could give as I removed Avast: I wanted to run a scan with ESET online scanner and IE kept freezing [I usually use Firefox portable, which was freezing up as well, ESET is only available using IE]. IE ran fine after Avast was removed, Firefox is back to normal as well.

The ESET scan came up clean, as well as a Malwarebytes scan and a SuperAntiSpyware scan. I ran rkill a few times in there as well between reboots and it came up blank.

Before removing Avast, I noticed that it would "calm down" for periods as well [as mentioned by Dragonfly], but the system idle process would then show 100% CPU. It would flip between massive system idle process CPU usage and AvastSvc.exe.

OK, there it is, thanks for any info,
Matt


DraGonflY_27z

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2011, 11:52:10 PM »
What P2P application are you using, as notably utorrent causes a lot of activity (scanning) by avast, because of the way utorrent works ?
I use µtorrent, but the P2P shield doesn't scan it as it's unchecked in the P2P shield settings.


About comodo, I only use the firewall.
And Defense+?

Are you running a scheduled scanning?
Yes, there is something called Defense+ in Comodo Firewall, I don't know what it is exactly, but it's enabled.

And I had no scheduled scan.

Online DavidR

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2011, 12:13:02 AM »
Well I was wondering if you hadn't enabled scanning in P2P that's why I asked. I don't know if the file system shield might be scanning the part download files of utorrent as it creates hundreds of small files then compiles them into the single downloaded file.

I don't use utorrent so I don't know what those files are called (file type) as on creation of these small files I don't know if avast would scan them on default settings. I assume that you are using the file system shield on the default settings ?

Defence+ is a HIPS style mechanism, how much it might interact with avast I can't say as I don't use comodo. Though there are many avast users using the comodo firewall with defence+ and we don't see much in the way of related posts in the forums.
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

MAG

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2011, 12:55:52 AM »

Defence+ is a HIPS style mechanism, how much it might interact with avast I can't say as I don't use comodo. Though there are many avast users using the comodo firewall with defence+ and we don't see much in the way of related posts in the forums.
Quick check of CCleaner analysis time (W7). Without D+ 0.25s, with D+ 0.32s.

DraGonflY_27z

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2011, 05:22:11 PM »
Well I was wondering if you hadn't enabled scanning in P2P that's why I asked. I don't know if the file system shield might be scanning the part download files of utorrent as it creates hundreds of small files then compiles them into the single downloaded file.

I don't use utorrent so I don't know what those files are called (file type) as on creation of these small files I don't know if avast would scan them on default settings. I assume that you are using the file system shield on the default settings ?

Defence+ is a HIPS style mechanism, how much it might interact with avast I can't say as I don't use comodo. Though there are many avast users using the comodo firewall with defence+ and we don't see much in the way of related posts in the forums.
I do use the file system shield on the default settings.
Also, as far as I know, µtorrent creates 1 file per downloaded file and 1 "partfile" per torrent to store data from incomplete files (the pieces in Bittorrent don't stop at the end of each file, some pieces can have chunks from several files).

Nesivos

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2011, 05:33:37 PM »
At the very least I would suggest stopping teatimer and see how that goes.

What P2P application are you using, as notably utorrent causes a lot of activity (scanning) by avast, because of the way utorrent works ?

+ 10,000
:) :)

Nesivos

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Re: High CPU usage for AvastSvc.exe
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2011, 05:39:25 PM »
Well I was wondering if you hadn't enabled scanning in P2P that's why I asked. I don't know if the file system shield might be scanning the part download files of utorrent as it creates hundreds of small files then compiles them into the single downloaded file.

I don't use utorrent so I don't know what those files are called (file type) as on creation of these small files I don't know if avast would scan them on default settings. I assume that you are using the file system shield on the default settings ?

Defence+ is a HIPS style mechanism, how much it might interact with avast I can't say as I don't use comodo. Though there are many avast users using the comodo firewall with defence+ and we don't see much in the way of related posts in the forums.

AIS has found a bunch of Trojans in my utorrent downloads since I have been using AIS.  However it seems to ID the Trojans and handle them appropriately only after or during the "Seeding" stage of the download which of course is when the download is complete.