Before installing aVast I read some posts about system speedups after replacing Norton with aVast.
I suspect performance with any AntiVirus problem is inversely proportional to how many features you turn on or off in the AntiVirus product.
Have not had time to become expert at aVast.
What do you suggest in terms of a configuration that offers protection while minimizing impact on system performance in conjunction with regular full system scans or other protections?
avast is the most configurable and flexible AV that I have used, overall it is light on system resources and memory, etc.
Running avast on its default settings gives the best compromise between performance and protection. This will give you plenty of time to read the avast help file and browse the forums, especially the sticky topics at the top of each of the forums. They provide a wealth of information to help you get the best from avast.
There are many different providers, but you need only have those you need enabled.
It is true. Avast is light.
Let me say what I do to make still more light.
Avast has providers (executable services) to perform the various classes of protection. One protects POP3 email, other protects Instant Messaging, other protects the network, P2P network, and so on.
I don’t use POP3 email, Messenger neither P2P (emule and the like) so I disable the corresponding providers. Avast runs like a ray.
Disabling the pop3 Internet Mail provider isn’t advised, it may be your first indication that you have a trojan spambot installed on your system as it can detect multiple identical emails in a period of time. This alerts you to your system spamming others and may also save you from an ISP that could close your account for spamming, even though you personally weren’t spamming.
If it isn’t scanning it isn’t using resources and when idle its memory use is according to Task Manager, 804Kb of Mem usage and 3312Kb VM Size, that on my system which does use pop3, so your VM Size is likely to be lower.
Oops, reactivated POP3 protection, thank you.
But I may keep P2P and messenger (wich I don’t use) deactivated, can’t I?
Hi avvidro…
I wouldn’t see why not 
Best Regards…
Yes I never use them either and they require a more complex program installed on your system to work. Unlike a very small email client, which can be as small as 16KB or so that can be installed by a trojan spambot, etc. so they can avoid using your installed email client.
Hey everyone. I’m new to avast forum, but not to avast antivirus. I have tried avg free, and of course antivir pe, but like avast more than both of those. I especially like being able to do the custom installation in which I leave out p2p, email, and outlook. I use firefox with gmail, and so far without virus problems. My question is. After reading this thread, do I still need email protection? If I understand correctly avast email, or avg free email for that matter, doesn’t work with gmail because it is through the firefox. One more note. This is one the best forums I have enjoyed reading. Thank you.
avast Internet Mail will only work with the pop3 gmail with a third party interface (like Stunnel, forums search) as the email is encrypted. The web based version of Gmail viewed through your browser doesn’t use the email protocol so won’t be monitored by Internet Mail but by the Web Shield provided it isn’t on an https (secure) web page that is likely. Both of the things I have mentioned use secure methods to protect the email so it would make a mockery of that security if your AV could break into it (so could others).
As I said some malware can install its own SMTP email client that can send mail on the usual email ports but not rely on your own email client. Without the Internet Mail provider any outbound email wouldn’t be monitored so multiple identical emails wouldn’t be detected. So IMHO even if you don’t use pop3 email you should still have the Internet Mail provider enabled, the overhead is minimal.
In my opinion, this mass mail protection should be included in Standard Shield with some minor changes. This way you could prevent almost 100% of all mass mail worms without need for signatures. Files with such behavior should be then submitted to Alwil Software for high priority inspection.
Thanks, but just so I understand. By enableing internet mail provider, it will still scan outgoing mail when sent to other people using gmail through my firefox browser? Excuse me for being somewhat dense here perhaps, but from what I’ve read in the avast forums. It seems to be a much friendlier environment than in many others, so I probably don’t have to worry about this I hope. As far as lightness. I use windows xp firewall with winpatrol free, and haven’t noticed any slow down. Right this moment task manager showing around 14,000 k between the 4 providers of avast I’m currently using. Thanks again.
No, Internet Mail doesn’t monitor browser activity (http traffic) only email protocols, it will monitor any potential malware sending email using the email port (25).
I suggest a browse of the avast help file, Resident Protection, Resident Protection Providers, which has a sort description of the providers.
Although this isn’t directly related to gmail, it is essentially web based email unless you use the pop3 gmail.
Yahoo/Hotmail are not pop3 email services (unless you pay for the pop3 service), it is web based (so the Internet Mail provider doesn’t directly protect it). Web based email is simply your email being viewed in the same way you browser the internet. The pages (that display your email) are downloaded into your Temporary Internet folder, just like regular web pages and displayed on your browser screen.
The Web Shield and finally Standard Shield will scan your files (as they are downloaded into your Temporary Internet folder) when sensitivity is set to High. You can get round this ‘problem’ using 3rd party applications to download the Hotmail messages through the pop3 server.
Okay, that’s what I originally thought. I personally don’t send or receive too much email, and feel secure with gmail. I also feel more secure in avast protection at this time with all the new virus signatures they have been adding. AVG Free was very fast on my cpu which I liked, but all the reports that claim it has trouble removing viruses made me switch back to avast. From what I understand, avast is not only better at detection than avg free, but also better at removal as well. Thanks for everyone’s help.
Glad that we could help, welcome to the forums.