I’m using Second Life . . . I was wondering if the following (for anti-virus and firewall, below) is still relevant? Reason: A friend told me that today’s anti-virus programs don’t have this issue.
Second Life uses Vivox:
Vivox Partners . . . http://www.vivox.com/partners
Player Support . . . http://vivox.com/gamers/help/22
SL Voice distorted? . . . My understanding / Added to / Summarized from:
Voice and sound issues . . . vivox.exe . . . slplugin.exe . . . https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/82694-voice-and-sound-issues/
Issues Related to Anti-Virus Software . . . slplugin.exe . . . High CPU Usage - There is at least one anti-virus program which will scan every file placed on your computer, even if created by an authorized program. This affects Firestorm (and any viewer really) in that it will scan each and every texture placed in cache, slowing down performance of the viewer significantly, and keeping CPU usage high. If you find yourself in this situation, see if you can exclude the viewer cache folder from being scanned. Ideally, you should exclude the entire settings folder as well. You can determine the current location of your cache by looking at Preferences → Network & Folders → Disk Cache Location and Sound Cache Location (if this is set) . . . http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/antivirus
Whitelisting the Viewer in Anti-Virus Software . . . https://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/antivirus_whitelisting
vivox.exe . . . which installs the voice software on your PC . . . I don’t see this .exe anywhere
slplugin.exe . . . which allows SL sounds to play through your system
SLVoice.exe . . . what about this one?
The Voice and ambient sounds issue is most likely as a result of .exe files in your viewer being blocked by your anti-virus program [ What about Windows Firewall? ]
These files are notorious for being swept up by anti-virus programs, especially Norton. You could turn off your anti-virus program, but that is not recommended.
The way to solve this is to make exceptions in your anti-virus Exclusions . . . [ What about Windows Firewall? ]
File Explorer / C:\Program Files\Firestorm-Releasex64\slplugin.exe
File Explorer / C:\Program Files\Firestorm-Releasex64\SLVoice.exe
File Explorer / View / [check, to see] Hidden items / . . . C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Firestorm_x64\
In Avast, you can make the whole folder an “Exclusion” - for the .exe’s, and the Firestorm cache:
C:\Program Files\Firestorm-Releasex64\
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Firestorm_x64\
In Windows Firewall, you just make .exe’s “Exclusions,” not whole folders:
slplugin.exe
SLVoice.exe
Another possible reason for voice and streamed media to disappear . . . You may have your Maximum Bandwidth set too high
That slider should normally be set at around 1,500 [click the link at that setting, to see instructions] . . . it can leave you with no available bandwidth for voice
Network & Files / Maximum bandwidth / 1500 Kbps