slowdown in computer

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

I experience a slowdown in computer when my internet connection is having issues(when its down), apparently it makes my programs load slower like ccleaner when I try to open it(takes like 20seconds) , also avast takes like 20seconds to load after a computer restart ( all my icons beside the clock would already have finish loading and avast icon is the past to pop out).

When I try to execute the program for the first time of each computer restart/ day, it takes pretty long to execute like 20 seconds compared to 3 seconds on a normal day when my internet isn’t dropping. However after the first execution of the program without internet, it seems to load relatively fast like 3 seconds
Hard drive only makes a loud hissing noise when I do not have internet access and I’m trying to execute a program for the first time of the day/restart. Consecutive tries are silent.

Just wondering is it due to the programs unable to access internet the first time I execute em? Seems to me that they check for updates everytime it is launched for the first time of the day.

Already did avast full scan , boot time scan and malwarebytes full scan and apparently all the results are clean.

2

Use CCleaner to clean out your cache and temporary files.
You can also use CCleaner to set-up “start-up” items.
Mostly I think you need to clean-up your computer and internet caches. :slight_smile:

3

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Avast is trying to update as soon as possible and while continuing to stay in this process, it slows down the computer when you aren’t connected fast enough or can’t establish a connection for a while.
You might want to try looking for other AV programs since there are many who don’t block the start like Avast does when it’s waiting for the updates to finish, though I won’t name any, so take a look for yourself and try it out in a virtual machine, on a secondary computer or after an image backup + clean uninstall of Avast.

4

Try this and then Avast will wait before doing the update

5

OK…that is a neat trick…how long will it wait ?
Does it affect the “auto update every” polling over time after the PC is up ?..your screenshot of 240min.
FYI, in the new Avast suggestions I asked them to put in a time delay function that is settable by the user on login…kind of like you can do for Windows Schedule items.

6

I love Avast, and have been using it for years, recommending it to friends and family, and even strangers at the library where I volunteer. It works fairly well, seems to have a relatively low overhead (perceived), and I enjoy the wide array of versions with different levels of features. I use Premier, and anyone I support remotely also uses Premier (because I insist upon it). I used to use VNC, but Premier AccessAnywhere “just works” even through firewalls.

Having said all that, many of my friends and family are using Windows 8.1 (including me), and a few of them have experienced extreme slow-downs immediately after installing the latest version of Avast. Having read the forums, and learned of a few tips and tricks, I’m curious - am I doing something wrong? I mean, I should just be able to install Avast, and it should work just great.

Example: My friend bought a brand new tank of a computer - top of the line. I’m having her use a Samsung SSD, the laptop has a quad-core, with 16GB, discrete graphics card…it’s a super fast laptop. Boots in, what, six seconds or less? But after installing Avast, apps start to hang, login is slower, Task Manager, etc. The first time it happened, we weren’t sure. The second time, we did reboots and restore points, and tested after each step. Each time, things worked snappy until after Avast was installed.

Now what I’m seeing in the forums is that it’s only during automatic updates that it causes this odd behavior. Is this the case? Is there an official statement from Avast? Is someone looking into it? Is it an official bug, with a timeline for an official fix? Honestly, my anti-virus should never cause a “high-performance” system ($2,000 laptop) to grind to a halt.

I’m saying this, again, as a long-time vocal, highly-technical advocate of Avast, who wants to continue recommending this application.

Thanks!

7

Disclaimer: I am neither Avast Team or even Moderator…just a poster like you…but some thoughts.

A lot of people claim there are other A/Vs that don’t do this…I have not seen them.
I also have fast PCs but the only time they are fast on boot is as you say…when you first buy them. :slight_smile:
Question, why does your friend have PC shutdown ?..why not leave booted ?..if you don’t like power drain have it go in STBY.
I ask because for me and “PCs” it is almost standard procedure/expectation from me that a PC takes a while to boot and “settle”.
I usually walk away from PC after login and let it settle…not just A/V but other tasks are banging away.
My only point is that that Avast is trying to keep you updated and protected and it has no idea how long PC has been shutdown…ie, how many updates needed. Essexboy showed a way to “delay” this above…did you try ?

I’m like you…don’t like anything slowing down my PC but A/Vs and background imaging software are the #1 software that do this.
I think the nature of how invasive A/Vs have becomes in order to protect your PC means they take more time to update as well.
Combine this with other competing tasks on boot and there is a slowdown.

So, with all this said I think it comes down to a level of "acceptability’ versus protection.
I personally don’t judge a PC’s speed on boot unless it locks or takes more than 5 minutes from login screen to home screen “settling”.
It is my own metric but as long as this “for me” is in this range…and more importantly the PC runs fast during settled operation…I’m OK.

Just my thoughts…not sure if it answers anything or not. :slight_smile:

8

I totally agree that Avast has become much more resource consuming the last year or so.

From the N to the S to the A?:wink:

9

It really has nothing to do with a bug or slowing things down.
It has to do with updating your Virus Database.
There are also probably many other programs that call home to check for updates right after you computer starts.
Maybe doing a little research of what’s installed on your computer and looking at which programs call home,
night give you a clue as to which programs you can stop or delay from doing that.

10

My computer is still running and starting fast on boot because I’m booting from a SSD. :slight_smile:

11

Thx for your reply Bob,

Believe me, I’ve done it all! Event log, MSconfig, CCleaner, Revo Uninstaller, Safe mode, Process Monitor, Services.msc, MBAM, Dupefinder, cleaned Autostart, removing .tmp-files, Combofix, monitored task manager, Hijackthis, Spybot, Anti-Spyware, Ad-Aware, reinstallation, deleted all unnecessary files etc etc.
You name it, I’ve done it.

FYI I’ve even have several computers with Avast and all of them share the exact same symptoms.
And I’m not the type who clicks on suspicious links, surfs on suspicious sites, installs unknown applications/toolbars or use cracked software. I even use Mailwasher to bounce/delete emails from unknown senders. In other words I’m the careful kind, and very aware of the do’s and don’t’s in this digital era. I always keep my OS’s clean and to a minimum, just to be sure they are safe, stable and fast.

And btw as I said in the other thread that you referred from; -“Updating virus definitions, especially considering it’s incremental and I use my PC (Intel Core i7 2.67GHz, 16GB, Intel SSD 320) every day with my 100mbps broadband, can’t hardly be the only reason for Avast occupating all PC resources for several minutes at every log in.”

So thank you, but all this lagging only has one name; Avast! Nothing else!

But it goes to show that no software goes safe from becoming one of the bloaters.
And Avast managed to resist it for many many years, you gotta give them kudos for that:)

12

My computer isn’t anywhere the powerhouse of yours so it’s strange that you suffer from a malady
and my computer with only 4 Gig of ram and on an i5 processor doesn’t experience something even worse than you.
I’m currently using some deprived Wifi in a hotel and I still don’t have your problems. ???

13

I’m sorry, but updating the virus database shouldn’t cause a delay during login. System boots in seconds (like, five or less) and after login, things hang - but having methodically installed Windows 8.1 Pro clean, I know that nothing on my system is delaying my logins aside from Avast, simply because I’ve timed boot and login (using the stopwatch on my phone), and this time does not change until after I’ve installed Avast - (the latest, paid Premier) Windows doesn’t seem to slow down much when there are updates: it gives me the option to load them, I do, maybe things slow down a little, but not hanging for minutes at a time. It feels like something’s wrong.

14

Quite interesting. Which program version of Avast are you running? Because I’ve discussed this on another forum and a majority shared my experience. And those who said that they hadn’t noticed any delays, it turned out that they had only upgraded the virus definitions and ignored installing newer program versions of Avast. While at it, which Windows version are you using? 7, 8, Ultimate, Enterprise, Pro etc and is it 32 or 64bit? Intel CPU?

15

My forum Signature is up-to-date. :slight_smile:

16

One thing I do is to not connect to the Internet until the system is fully up and running. This avoids all issues you are seeing.

If wired, connect only once the last taskbar icon comes into place, and set wireless to connect only on demand. Boot time to usable desktop on this old W7 machine is about 45 seconds with the current setup and running an old SATA II drive. Still as fast on boot as the day it was first started. (Actually it is faster, since the first boot ever was without an a/v solution installed.)

(Note: No registry cleaning has ever been done on this system.)

17

Thx for that Bob,

I kinda hoped that you would have Avast Premium - then that could be the explanation.

Wondering if Win 8.1 Pro is the solution then, hmm.

Do you have the default settings in Avast? I do.

I can see there are some settings that maybe could make some difference, but they all seem to disable too much from my POV.

For example;

  • I still want Avast to update the virus definitions automatically, and I do want it to show the popup for when it’s done.

  • I still want Avast to automatically check for new program updates, and just alert me that there’s one available - so I can choose to update it instantly or later.

  • But I don’t want Avast to scan my registry or harddrives in the background, unless I personally give it permission on demand.

  • And I don’t want Avast to give me intimidating ads/popups/alerts about Grimefighter/Optimize my PC and so on.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQs5ysvGSAI0sTDz_lsQ10xXgZ9UyWoX8j2Frytx7HRdOhA9h6b

http://www.getavast.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/avast-grimefighter-pop-up.jpg

(ATM I get these kind of alerts a couple of times a day. That’s what I wanna get rid of.)

To sum it all up; I just want Avast to be an antivirus. Nothing more nothing less.

18

Control Panel > Program Files > avast! Delete Repair Change> Select Change> Uncheck Grimefighter and any other
modules you don’t use.
Grime Fighter doesn’t install on my computer because it’s not compatible with my system. :slight_smile:

19

Thank you yet again Bob:)

Seems like I’ve had a lazy day when I last installed Avast. I usually always make sure to choose “Custom Install” to uncheck all unwanted tools and gadgets, but in this case I must have missed it.

Apart from Grimefighter, which of these tools would you guys say are safe to uncheck?
(Considered that I regularly do manual scans, use MBAM and other safety tools.)

http://i57.tinypic.com/2q3do2e.png

20

Habits are easily broken and systems are easily compromised by not sticking to a routine.
Always use custom install, Always. :slight_smile:
What to uncheck depends on how you use your system.
If you only use on-line email like gmail, hotmail, etc, then you don’t need the MailShield
If you haven’t paid for SecureLine, you don’t need it.
If you don’t intend to purchase Grime fighter, you don’t need it.
Avast! Gadgets ??? I don’t install it - up to you
Browser Cleanup - Gets rid of Toolbars and other PUP’s
Your computer so some choices have to come from you.