I recently had my Thunderbird email client come to a crawl when it logged in to check email. I opened task manager to see ashServ.exe using up to 98% cpu utilization. The only way to get it to stop was to totally shut down Avast. I had even tried shutting down each Avast service one at a time till none were running, but it didnt help. ashServ.exe still drug the system down by hogging the cpu. It was like clockwork. I had Thunderbird set to check for email every 10 minutes, so every 10 minutes it would make my system useless till it was done.
As most people do, I didnt have the “show detailed information…” box checked, as that gets annoying. It does however come in handy when you are wanting to see what Avast is doing. Come to find out, Avast was scanning multiple & huge log files created by the webmail extension for Thunderbird. I have always used the webmail (and both yahoo & hotmail) extensions to allow Thunderbird to retrieve my internet mail, but had only checked the “enable logging” option yesterday. In less than 24 hours, it had created over 60+MB of logs that Avast (ashServ.exe) was scanning each time it checked for mail. The log files are found in C:\Documents and Settings\Your User Name Here\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\Your Profile # Here\extensions{3c8e8390BIG long name here}\logfiles.
At this point, I deleted the log files named “hotmail…” and “yahoo…” and turned off the logging option. This fixed my problem INSTANTLY. Im not sure Avast needs to scan these files regularly anyway. If this is the case, I may turn the logging option back on, but add the log files to the exception list of what files to “not” scan.
I have read several articles on this site about different instances of ashServ.exe hoging the cpu. Plain and simple, Avast IS scanning something if this is happening. Use your detailed view to find out what. Here’s hoping you find your fix as easy as I did mine.
The guidelines for solving of the problem “ashServ.exe using too much CPU” has always been the same:
Check if the avast tray icon is spinning (while CPU usage is high)
If it is, click it (wait for the dialog box to open), and check which file is being scanned (the Last Scanned field); the Scanned Count value should be increasing (spinning icon means a scan is in progress)
Find out which of the providers is scanning the file (click “Details” button and check out the Last Scanned value for each of the providers). The most common providers that may cause this are Standard Shield, P2P Shield and IM Shield.
Was there really a need to post that reply? First off, when the “ashServ.exe” problem hits, it can bring your system to a halt so bad you cant even SEE the Avast icon spinning… it freezes like everything else. Therefore it may hard for people to understand what is taking place. Secondly, I posted what I did as it was aimed at Thunderbird users who also use the webmail extension with logging enabled. This is a specific group of users with a specific problem. Even though the end result is the same (ashServ.exe hogging the cpu) if you dont know what “caused” certain files to be scanned all of the sudden, you wont be able to rectify the problem. Some posts just simply dont need a reply from anyone in charge. Just remember, what may be simple to you, isnt always simple to every user. Next time Ill just keep my mouth shut and not try to help.
I was just trying to help. This problem has a difficult and non-standard troubleshoot.
I use Thunderbird with avast, just use Stunnel and not webmail extension.
No need for that. avast forum is a place to help each other, if you don’t participate, you won’t share experience and knowledge.
Sorry if I wrote something ofensive.
I do use Thunderbird - I use the Thunderbird Webmail extensions for multiple Webmail accounts all the time. I also have logging enabled all the time (have for a long time) and I do not see the problem you are reporting.
What level of sensitivity are you running the Standard Shield at?
Have you selected extra options beyond the defaults?