slow scan & can't "ignore"

[codysmom]

Hi Greyfox et all (again)...

wyrmrider--------My last "upgrade" I did by Uninstalling Spybot 1.4 through Control Panel Add/Remove; then Installing Spybot 1.5....

I don't have Teatimer on.....I had a problem with it when it was first included and I've had it OFF ever since.....

Noone mentioned the Scan Speed in Settings.....It's set to Normal---as recommended.....What about changing it to Faster.....or....Fastest.....?????

Also, in going through various files / folders etc etc....I came across a couple of other questions that I'm going to post seprately so they don't "gum up" the original question in this posting.....They concern---1) Start up items 2) Spybot Registry Inconsistencies.......I'm not sure I'll have time to post them today (probably tomorrow)....

Thanks again for all your continued interest....

[md usa spybot fan]

codysmom:

I suggest that you try Spybot 1.6 and see if that improves your scan times.

… Noone mentioned the Scan Speed in Settings.....It's set to Normal---as recommended.....What about changing it to Faster.....or....Fastest.....????? …

There is no "Scan Speed in Settings". There is a "Scan priority". That sets the priority that the system assigns to the scan in relationship to other processes in the system. Spybot is quite CPU intensive. If you set the Scan priority higher you may find yourself in a situation where you can not get other things done during a scan.

If you are having difficulty running other things during a scan, you could try to lower the priority at which Spybot scans. If you go into Spybot > Mode > Advanced mode > Settings > Settings > in the option tree under Main Settings there is a Scan priority section. Choose "lower" or "lowest".

[PepiMK]

Haven't read anything, but I have a comment about one thing in the initial post:

.Double the time (2 hours plus) because my husband and I each have our own Windows Log-n....

That shouldn't be necessary; if one of them has admin privileges, that one would be able to scan nearly everything (except for Internet Explorer history and bookmarks and cookies, which I'ld call neglectable ).

[codysmom]

Hi .....PepiMK.........&.....md usa spybot fan...

PepiMK-----Your info is very helpful.....Sounds like that should help reduce the total scan time (total 5 hours to do both).......That would still leave me with a longer scan time on Version 1.5 compared to previous versions---So, I'll consider 1.6---once forum grumbles ease up......

md usa spybot fan----Yes, you're right----I used wrong wording.....It's the "Scan priority" in Settings that I was referring to.....I "assumed" the "Higher" and "Highest" meant just what you said....It's not a matter of being able to get other things done while a scan is in progress; it's a matter of speeding up the scan time---that's why I mentioned 'faster / fastest'.....

Thanks to you both.......

[Greyfox]

codysmom,

As has unfortunately been the case before, I missed seeing information contained in you signature, namely that you are running AVG version 8.

I can't comment about the recent service upgrade that was issued for AVG 8, but I did experience a very significant slow down in Spybot 1.5.2.20's scan time when I upgraded from AVG 7.5 to AVG 8. During the Spybot scan, the antivirus is also being called on, and at the time I suspected that the slowdown was as the result of AVG having added some spyware detection into their product and perhaps some duplication of effort.

At the time I was also not happy with other features of AVG8 and because continued support for AVG 7.5 was in doubt I moved to another product (Avast! Free home). Spybot scan time returned to what I considered was normal when I had been using AVG 7.5. The only way for you to guage the effect AVG 8 is having on your scan time is to perhaps do a scan without it, but you need to be off line so that you don't risk infection and ideally after first having done a full virus scan to ensure there are no resident problems.

[codysmom]

Hi Greyfox.......Aha---!!!.......I've been considering the very same thing about the interaction of Spybot with AVG 8......

Not only am I experiencing the increased Spybot scan time but it seems everything is going slower----ie---log on; log off; opening programs (WORD / Excel) etc......

I've been seeing increasing numbers of favorable comments about Avast....But since I'm not one to jump on the band wagon, I thought I'd wait to see what the comments are a few months from now.....

In the meantime, your suggestion about closing down AVG while doing a Spybot scan is what I'll do.......(I usually run scans while off line anyway)....

I do have a question about Avast.....How are their auto-updates scheduled...??.......Is it daily....??.....AND..... Is it the same time every day...??......

I ask that because with AVG 8, there are now 2 potential updates every day AND they're no longer at the exact time every day (as the previous versions)......There's now a 2 hour "window" during which the update(s) can come in.....That's causing me problems with other maintenance (ie--running Spybot etc).......Before, I knew that exactly at 7:12am every day I was due for an AVG update so I needed to do whatever other stuff before /after that magic moment.....Now---I'm never sure when the updates are coming etc etc.....

Thanks again.....

[Greyfox]

Codysmom,

With Avast! you have the option of using an automated update, an "ask when update is available", or completely manual. There is also a time setting you can alter (auto update every xxxx minutes). From memory the default setting was 240 minutes (4 hours) but it can be increased to 1440 minutes (24 hours).

I don't let anything update automatically. I prefer to initiate updates myself on a regular basis so if a problem occurs I know what update is likely to have caused it. The recent fiasco with the Microsoft update that behaved very badly with Zone Alarm reinforced my faith in this choice.

If you do decide to try Avast, please note that you must make sure AVG has been completely removed. I have been running Avast! Free Home edition for about 6 months now and it does what I want quite nicely.

[wyrmrider]

Same as Greyfox Codysmom
AVG to Avast
(and if you ever had anything else like pre-installed suite or AV or other previous AV lest us know before you try and change) AVG has a FAQ about removal- so if you ever do decide to change do what the FAQ says or Avast (or any other AV) will not play nice.

Spybot basically updates once a week
Was Fridays
now Wednesdays just do it manually once a week- re-immunize

Incidentally spywareblaster had a update yesterday- highly recommended for addition of ActivX blockers and some restricted site- and it does not bother anything else

I've found that scans are faster after a fresh boot or safe mode as nothing else is in the way
off line sounds good- let us know if AVG off makes a difference