Very slow start times for all programs

[Coto]

I still support the rollback stuff. Free AVs do absolutely if little, nothing to guarantee ports/IO/services checks, but heavy "ima checking files arr arr" most temporary internet files or a whitelisting from the 1996 era, because most computers I check daily being fully loaded with virusses/malware came with avast, avira or antivir.

Paid AVs will make an i5/phenomx4 (ie: norton) look like a celeron if power magamement is set to balanced or computer has internal independent-drivers doing the power management. ie:AMD. Obviously "Service packs" or windows fixes should be upgraded to prevent some more of them. but still. Also, since most modern laptops carry a shitty HDD barely bearing up to 33/66MB/s transfer data rate disks SATA, the disk caching ends up **** pretty much everything if low ram or a completely bloated full piece of AV start paging.

 

[Rydian]

If you're behind a router (and didn't explicitly set up DMZ/+), no incoming connection can reach your computer unless you specifically authorize it by port-forwarding.

AV slowdown is often in the I/O, not the CPU (which is why the discussion started, the OP was having I/O issues). Most of the machine relies on I/O, so an I/O bottleneck can slow down the appearance of everything. It doesn't matter how faster your i7 is, if it takes 10 seconds for the drive to feed the program into RAM then it'll take at least 10 seconds for the program to start.

The above is mainly why SSDs are being pushed in expensive machines (and hopefully will be the future).

If an AV is paging, your system is fucked. Avast is using

 

[WiiUBricker]

I just clicked at a supposedly harmless video link on a harmless review site posted by some jacka** and my AV blocked access to it because it's malicious. I challenge everyone with a windows system and without an AV to click this link and see what happens.

 

[Rydian]

Often you don't even need to click a link, advertising on known-good websites can try to install malware.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/14/malvertising-hits-the-new-york-times/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/25/malvertising

You can't even trust sites like The New York Times or GBAtemp anymore without some form of protection.

 

[jalaneme]

I just clicked at a supposedly harmless video link on a harmless review site posted by some jacka** and my AV blocked access to it because it's malicious. I challenge everyone with a windows system and without an AV to click this link and see what happens.

After you...

 

[Sterling]

I just clicked at a supposedly harmless video link on a harmless review site posted by some jacka** and my AV blocked access to it because it's malicious. I challenge everyone with a windows system and without an AV to click this link and see what happens.

After you...

He's daring people who say Anti-virus programs do very little to keep shit out to do it.

 

[tueidj]

I'd be happy to do it but there's no link to click on.

 

[Rydian]

I'd be happy to do it but there's no link to click on.

Aren't you using *NIX?

I call shenanigans.

 

[tueidj]

Aren't you using *NIX?

I call shenanigans.

currently running a win XP box that was setup in 2006 and a win7 box setup in 2010.

 

[Rydian]

Oh, my bad.

 

[Coto]

If an AV is paging, your system is fucked. Avast is using

 

[Rydian]

I recommend people disable the scheduled scan because, yes, it's unnecessary. Modern A/Vs hook into the kernel and scan all files on read/write (that's where the main protection comes from now) so as long as you keep that shield running there's no need to re-scan a file that's already been scanned and hasn't changed, outside of some edge cases. Avast's UI (the thing in the tray you mentioned) is using 3.2MB of RAM for me while idle, the service is using another 3.2MB while idle, when giving the above numbers I was adding them together. I used Antivir a few years ago, but their annoying tactics pushed me away (AVG's pulling the same shit now, advertisement popups, ads in the control panel, etc.).

You will most likely run across an infection eventually, just like you will most likely be involved in some sort of collision in a car in your life. In both cases I would much rather people have protection to mitigate (if not prevent) serious damage. Saying "you're going to get infected anyways so why use an AV" is like saying "you're going to die anyways so why use a seatbelt?" The answer is to stave it off as long as possible, and so when you do run into trouble, the damage is lessened as much as possible per incident.

"Well the AV didn't stop the malware" - Yes, and a bulletproof vest doesn't stop a headshot, but you don't see cops dropping bulletproof vests, do you? They still wear them because the majority of shots fired are aimed at the center of mass, so they stop most lethal shots.

Let's say you run into a site using an exploit in firefox, and it drops a (known-bad) .exe onto your harddrive and tries to run it. With no AV, it runs. With an AV, it's caught when it tries to run, even though it's already been deposited into your machine.


EDIT: You all can be idiots in your own home as much as you want, but I'll be DAMNED if I let you all tell other people harmful advice.

 

[Sly 3 4 me]

This topic looks like it deviated into 'Whose opinion has more ground while all can't prove their ground' statements. It seems the OP solved his problem with fixing some registry errors. He should also keep those processes down.

I think if you would like to create a guide on your opinion of 'The Optimal Setup to not get Viruses and Slowdowns' then create a new one.

 

[Rydian]

This topic looks like it deviated into 'Whose opinion has more ground while all can't prove their ground' statements. It seems the OP solved his problem with fixing some registry errors. He should also keep those processes down.

I think if you would like to create a guide on your opinion of 'The Optimal Setup to not get Viruses and Slowdowns' then create a new one.

*cough* sticky *cough*

 

[Originality]

Rather than try to argue with Rydian, why not just take onboard his main point?

He's not telling you to change your own personal habits or how you use your computer, that's up to you.
He's telling you not to pass on your bad habbits to OTHER people under the guise of "helpful" advice.

There's a reason every government encourages you to use condoms. There's a reason internet experts tell you to use an anti-virus program.
Going unprotected is like begging to get infected.

 

[Foxi4]

1. Use CCleaner to clean up your registery and Startup from all the unnecessary programs. Clean the registery after all your uninstalls to make sure that no unnecessary keys are left behind.
2. Type in "services.msc" in the Run... bar of your start menu and look for Services that you don't necessary require, then set them to Disabled or Manual, depending on your liking. Here's a pretty useful table with most (if not all) base Windows services, alongside recommended settings for improved performance. http://www.blackvipe...configurations/
3. Enter MSConfig and set the Boot affinity to two or more cores, depending on your setup. The default setting is one, wheras it can use more cores to improve boot times.
4. Remove unnecessary bloatware from your computer - here CCleaner is again quite useful.
5. Scan your computer for malware, adware and viruses you may not be aware of.
6. Use the Disk Cleanup utility to remove unnecessary left-overs from Windows Update installations, as well as temporary files. You can also use CCleaner to do that for you. Add the X:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Temp\ to the cleaning routine or remove its contents yourself - some programs omit it during cleaning.
7. chkdsk /f your drives to make sure that they are not affected by any errors.
8. Remove unnecessary Windows functions using the Disk Cleanup utility. Some of them you never use, and yet they remain a part of the system. You can get rid of whatever you don't actually use.
9. Disable the Indexing feature of Windows on your drives as well as the service if you are not using Windows Search very often. Using it does make file searching take less time, but running it at all times takes a toll on overall performance when using Explorer.
10. Once all that is taken care of, defragment your hard drives. I recommend using Auslogic's Disk Defrag - it has the option to put your System Files and most often used files in the Fast Read Area of your hard drive (closer to the center of the spindle).
11. Finally, make sure that you are using the proper Power Plan - many people use their laptops using Energy Saving profiles, not knowing that they can switch to Full Performance.

These routines should help you maximize your PC's performance. Regular maintenance is key when it comes to performance, so make sure to perform it every now and then - especially after removing big files or programs.

 

[WiiUBricker]

I'd be happy to do it but there's no link to click on.

I haven't posted the link because I figured the moderators would have just removed it. But I guess it's ok post the comment in which the link has been posted.
http://tinyurl.com/bpnbf97

I have to say that I'm a bit embarrased to fall for something so obvious. Then again, there are so many different kind of people that would click this link, kids, not so smart people, people who think they are save because they have an AV, people who are just curious and so on. People do post those links with the intend to harm other people. There are so many places with supposedly malicious content that you don't expect, not just on porn sites.

 

[tueidj]

It took me to a page with a vimeo player and some other music playing applet (which started automatically) underneath. No dropped files, no new programs in task manager, no new ports open, not a thing - and this was using my XP box.

 

[WiiUBricker]

So, if this link is indeed not malicious, what was the intention of the person behind it?

 

[tueidj]

They seem to be trying to sell the music featured in the clips.