AV Slowdown

[Wepynx]

In short, I have a friend that can't afford an upgrade at this moment. Running on 2GB RAM, was using Immunet without a problem, wanted more protection so he switched to Avast Free, now his browsers take forever to load and open. 25 seconds before the Chrome homepage opened and 15 for Firefox. I suggested Panda Free, Bitdefender Free or 360 Internet Security for such a low end system. Any ideas or suggestions ? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[yoda5]

One thing to check for is the web browser protection stuff that comes with Avast. If he did a default install then it's probably there, you can do a custom install and deselect it. It seems to cause more problems than it prevents.

 

[Wepynx]

Thanks yoda5, I'll be sure to let him know.

 

[lxskllr]

What was wrong with Immunet?

 

[Wepynx]

Hey lxskllr, nothing was wrong with Immunet, but so many people told him that it was really made to be a companion AV, that he was afraid that it wasn't good enough protection all on its own.

 

[lxskllr]

Hey lxskllr, nothing was wrong with Immunet, but so many people told him that it was really made to be a companion AV, that he was afraid that it wasn't good enough protection all on its own.

That's what they claim in their documentation. I asked because I used to use it on Windows, and recommend it to others for people that want a lightweight av. I enable the clam offline definitions, and I'd estimate it's a little better than MSE, which is to say not great, but good enough if you're careful. It's kind of hard to judge since I don't get viruses, regardless of what is used.

I don't use Windows anymore, and have clam installed to scan files occasionally, mostly for the benefit of one friend who is still on dialup(and Windows) for the time being. I sometimes fetch large files for him, but he should be getting cable pretty soon.

 

[Wepynx]

I think he went with Panda Free, he also liked Bitdefender free also but Panda is what I think he opted for.

 

[John Connor]

I seen your post on TechIMO. LOL

I used to use Panda, but it messed up so now I use Bitdefender Free. Avast was an abomination on my computer.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Anti-Virus (signature scanning) is a pig, and is also outdated and veritably useless.

Go naked!

 

[John Connor]

I wouldn't go that far. There are many forms of malware that a malware scanner casn detect and stop. I use Bitdefender Free, but I also use Sandboxie. But when I download a file I scan the crap out of it or use Total virus online scanner. How else are you going to trust a file?

 

[Wepynx]

I seen your post on TechIMO. LOL

Hey John, yea I threw this question out everywhere, Lol. If you don't mind me asking, how did Panda mess you up ?

 

[John Connor]

Hey John, yea I threw this question out everywhere, Lol. If you don't mind me asking, how did Panda mess you up ?

I had Panda on my laptop and netbook and when it updtaed both were all screwed up so I just uninstalled. I use Bitdefender Free on the laptop and Immunet on the netbook. The desktop has no anti-virus as it messes with my gaming and that is what the desktop is primarly for, i.e gaming. I use Sandboxie on all computers.

 

[Wepynx]

I use Sandboxie on an old desktop running XP sp3 that I mainly use to find and save drivers on until I need them and then I put them on a stick and install them where needed for whoever needs them.

 

[game_boy]

Yeah, AV often causes such slowdowns. I found out that when I switch the game mode on and my PC is a little bit faster. Hope this works for you too.