Greetings all, and this is my first posting here. Please be kind ;D I searched as best I could but did not find a thread discussing this exact issue.
I recently did a clean install of windows xp with sp3. After installing chipset, network, video and audio drivers, I then installed all the latest and greatest windows updates. Lastly, I installed Spyware Doctor and Avast free antivirus (in that order I believe).
The computer itself was working perfectly after all the installs/updates. However, I noticed that when I would try to browse to a webpage in Internet Explorer 8, it would take forever to load the pages…sometimes the browser would stop responding and hang. Even if I would wait for 5 minutes, there would be no progress. So then, I tried installing FireFox. The firefox installer would hang at about 21% of it’s initial unpacking process. I would wait a minute or so…but still it would not resume.
I found out that by simply turning off the script checking from within the File System Shield’s expert settings menu, all these problems go away. So for now, I am using all default settings in Avast! free edition (latest version) with only realtime shields>file system shield>expert settings>scripting checking checkbox disabled (sorry going off of memory here, the scan scripting checkbox is worded differently but it’s the checkbox to check scripts when they are run).
Note that if I turned of the script checking, installed firefox, and turned the script checking back on, I still had the same problems browsing in firefox just like I did in Internet Explorer.
I don’t recall the older versions of avast having this feature, so do I necessarily have to use it? This same machine had the older (not so orange) version of Avast free version and had no issues. I know that scripts can be malicious and I would like to keep this on, but it kills this machine’s performance, which is an older Dell Dimension e510 with a P4 with hyperthreading. Has anyone else seen this problem before?
What version of Avast do you now have installed, and what version did you have prior to this? How did you do the clean install…using the Avast Uninstall Utility Tool or something else?
Besides SpywareDoctor, what other security software do you have, including firewall…current and previous on your machine. If previous, how did you remove it?
Are you current with Windows Updates?
What version of FF are you running and how many add-ons do you have? Please list any add-ons you have?
Have you run a Boot-Time scan with Avast?
Please install MBAM (Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware) to check for malware since you installed and made so many changes to your machine:
· Download freehttp://www.malwarebytes.org/ for an on-demand scanner.
· Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
· After install, click update so you have latest database before scanning.
· Under Settings:
o General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o Scanner Settings: Check all boxes
o Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
· Once the program has loaded, select “Perform FULL Scan”, then click Scan.
· The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
· When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
· Click the “remove selected” button to quarantine anything found. You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
· The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
· Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply if anything positive comes up.
If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts – Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process; If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.
In regards to your post, SafeSurf, I don’t think it’s as complicated as you think. Everything I did (and didn’t do) since the clean install of windows is listed in my original post. I didn’t browse to any sites other than windows update, so I doubt I have malware causing these issues. One thing I want to make very clear, this problem is occurring immediately after the clean install, and then installing software and updates. This machine was never used by it’s user prior to these problems occurring, so consider this problem as happening on a pc that is in “out of the box” condition.
I did a clean install of windows, meaning the Hard Drive was re-formatted (slow, not quick), so there is no prior software to uninstall or worry about causing a conflict. I have only ever installed spyware doctor and avast (latest versions for download). After these problems began, I installed Java just to see if that helped, but it didn’t.
As indicated in my post, I installed all the latest and greatest windows updates. My avast, IE, and firefox are the latest versions available for download.
There is no other additional software than what I indicated. The only firewall is windows firewall, and the problem still occurs when it is turned off.
I must join in here
I have turned off shields to be able to post here ???
I cannot get through to many sites.
I have rebooted my router, flushed out cache etc
FF 3.6.6 & IE8
Just done some speed tests and they show a lot of stuttering with shields enabled (virtualization makes no difference tho’)
As I did, try to narrow it down to specifically what shield is causing your issues. Once you do that, then see if you can determine what sub-settings may be causing the issue.
It wasn’t the script shield (main) but the script shield under ‘file shield’ maybe
It is not an issue with all websites
I have been doing a side by side with an iMac & the iMac is fine so it’s not the router.
I have also changed DNS & that has made no difference
Your issue seems to be different than mine then. For me, when the script checking under file system shield was enabled (which is by default) then the extremely slow browsing speeds happened on all sites. The only difference is that some more ‘lightweight’ sites would load in roughly a 30 seconds to a minute…while more modern sites with more scripting would take 5+ minutes to load, if they ever loaded at all.
Ah, you are using the free version - it is different I think??
The free one does not have the ‘main script shield’ module
If I am correct then we do have the same issue
I just checked the Avast site & the Free version is different as suspected hence the confusion
Having used Avast with the File Shield/script option off it is much better >:(
Please start a New Topic of your own as this will just confuse the current thread and we will help you there.
Go to this link, http://forum.avast.com/index.php, scroll down to the Avast Free/Pro/Suite forum and click it, click the New Topic button at the top of the list and post there. Thank you.
Have you run an Avast Full and Boot-time scan? Clean?
I still recommend you run and MBAM scan. Did you go on the Internet with antivirus protection prior to installing Avast?
You put in your signature that you are using the Pro version. The OP stated that his issue is different from yours (see his quote above), hence that is why I suggested you start a new thread to avoid confusion in trying to help the person who originally started this thread…the OP. Thank you.
I am an Avast Evangelist as well as an Avast user who volunteers my time in helping others. There is no need to flame on this forum and I and others are here to help you and others with their issues. As for any misunderstanding, I have edited my comment re: Free version for the OP as this was an over site on my part, and I thank you for pointing that out to me. Peace.
There seems to be a problem (for some of us) with this latest update. I had a similar problem, where my download speed dropped from > 10mbps to less than 1mbps after upgrading to 5.0.594. This was with both IE and Chrome. Deleting port 80 from Troubleshooting\Redirect\HTTP Port solved it.
So maybe we don’t have any ideas yet on how to solve my issue, but can anyone provide some feedback on how vulnerable my system is with the file system shield’s script checking turned off? From what I understand the scripting is still being checked by the web and network shield…so…any thoughts?