SLOW: spybot teatime? + avg: do both run realtime

[mrjyn]

i installed spybot s&D after avg because i had a virus thing...well, anyway, things are looking much slower around here. and i'm wondering if avg does realtime scans like spybot's teatime, and which one should i keep in that mode if yes.

and in the forums' collective experience: is there any advantage or disadvantage to having both installed on an old dELL computer with not much memory anyway [RUNNING WINDOWS xp + sp2] which probably also has security running?

what i'm asking is, if you haVE a recommendation to EITHER reset SETTINGS for Type or Frequency or Realtime [TEATIME?] so that my PC performance is Affected as little as possible.

Also, i'm wondering what the common thought is about needing both spybot and avg?

Do they do the same thing? DEPENDING ON THE ANSWER: which one would you recommend, regarding my slowed-down system, EITHER UNINSTALLING OR ADJUSTING FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY.

EVEN TYPING THIS EMAIL, I HAVE TO WAIT FIVE SECONDS FOR THE LETTERS TO APPEAR. I'M ALSO GETTING VIRTUAL MEMORY LOW POPUPS, AND I SWEAR I'VE GONE IN AND SWITCHED EVERYTHING FROM VISUAL TO CACHE TO DELETING TEMPS THAT IS RECOMMENDED.

I RUN ON FLOCK BETA, WHICH I KNOW IS A CHUNK, BUT WHEN I READ THAT SPYBOT WOULD IMPROVE PERFORMANCE I GUESS I SET MY HOPES TO HIGH; HOWEVER, I DO FEEL THAT IT'S A GREAT ADVANTAGE AND WOULD HATE TO HAVE TO UNINSTALL, SO I'M LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS.

mrjyn

thanks,

mrjyn

[drragostea]

and in the forums' collective experience: is there any advantage or disadvantage to having both installed on an old dELL computer with not much memory anyway [RUNNING WINDOWS xp + sp2] which probably also has security running?

Waiting for five seconds for a letter to appear sounds pretty bad. Make sure you are running the latest version of AVG (8.x). You said you have a 'virus'? Have you run a scan with AVG and did it detect anything?

Re (quote): There shouldn't be any disadvantages of running Spybot and AVG alongside one another. Problem is, do you have the resources (more interested in your processor and RAM)? The "security" in Windows XP SP2 is more like the patches that Microsoft provides you that plugs in exploits and vulnerability holes. Besides the default firewall they provide you with, there's no much security unless you install anti-virus.

Also, i'm wondering what the common thought is about needing both spybot and avg?

True, that both software include Resident Shields but they do not work the same way. AVG will prompt you of opening a malicious file and offer to block it, delete it, or quarantine it. Spybot, however, works a different way. Briefly describing it, Spybot's Resident Shield (TeaTimer) will prompt you of critical registry changes with includes Browser BHOs, Startup entries, toolbars, ActiveX, etc. It's pretty useful.
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/faq/33.html
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[skrekk]

I run AVG & SpyBot on all my machines without any difficulty...except for really old, slow machines. I just installed Win XP SP3 on a 500MHz Celeron with only 192MB of RAM, and in order for this to run acceptably I had to disable AVG's scheduled scans, and most importantly, disable TeaTimer. TeaTimer is a resident process which monitors in real time all other processes for potential registry access - this can really bog down an old machine. I had exactly the same symptoms you're having.

To disable TeaTimer, first uncheck all the TeaTimer options in the SpyBot icon on the system bar. Next, you can either run msconfig and uncheck TeaTimer on the Startup tab, or better yet, use an applet like "Startup Control Panel" from www.mlin.net, which is far better than modifying the load sequence from msconfig. Also, don't stop TeaTimer from TaskManager - that can result in an unstable system. Just disable it in the startup sequence, then reboot. I think you can also just disable TeaTimer directly in SpyBot from Mode->Advanced mode->Tools->Resident.

Also, be aware of what you're losing: TeaTimer is a significant aspect of SpyBot...but if it makes the machine unusable it's better to disable it.

Disabling the AVG scheduled scan is, in my view, the best option anyway. Just manually start a scan when you're not going to be using the machine for a bit. You can tell when it's scanning because the AVG icon will have a white triangle in it.

[mrjyn]

thank you very much for the detailed, comprehensive advice.
i have not explored or initiated any of the suggested changes yet, because i wanted to write first and personally thank someone so helpful.

let me give you a few particulars, which i was reprimanded for omitting on my first post here, and before i do something which may not be necessary.

i have my avg set to run at a particular time. i definitely notice significant slowing, which i accept as normal if during its run i happen to be on computer.

Being ignorant to most inner workings of my PC [except what i learned by fire, recently, when completely wiping the old xp because of a dll virus, which gave me the screen of death]]

i learned quite a few basics from the cleaning windows xp for dummies book.

Wiping the xp and reinstalling was the best thing that I've ever done and one of the most frustrating. But, that said, it's not that it runs faster, plus it still freezes every once in a while, but not in a force mode, which was its main problem before: it would freeze every hour or so, or rather force me to shut down, which thankfully has not occurred as of the wipe.

i use an intel (R) pentium (R): 4CPU 2.66 GHz: [level 2 cache: 512 KB] with 256 MB of Ram. version 2000 with SP2

and although, i'm sure that means something to most people, to me, it just means that it's got shit for memory.

i installed avg first, and thought everything would be hunky dory, but a month or so after the wipe and installation, i was hit by a new virus or hijack, which while not disabling, would not let me download or do anything else for that matter, besides connecting to the net--but only after popping up a window saying something about 'this is a binary file do you want to save?' which i'd cancel and could surf, but do nothing else.

so i stuck the disc back in and this time did just a repair, which initially didn't seem to work, until i deleted my user account and created another.

Problem solved! Although, i know, probably not technically orthodox, it seems to work so far.

i also, at this point installed spybot's search and destroy.

the only other thing i can tell you, is that, i am a video blogger, and use FLOCK as my browser, which uses mozilla, and which provides a wonderful tool--photo uploader and photobar, used for dropping videos into blogposts; but i'm sure i'm losing a lot of performance speed and virtual memory from flock's size, with all its bells and whistles, but i'd hate to give it up.

after going to the dummy book and reconfiguring things for memory, etc. i do get notifications pretty regularly, usually two tabs up and video related, that notify about low virtual memory and that windows is doing something to correct or expand, but it doesn't seem to affect enough to do any major overhaul.

*i just checked the spybot schedule and this one: "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDUpdate.exe" /autoupdate /autoclose

runs weekly at 9AM, but there was another one above it i'd not noticed before:

"[C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SpybotSD.exe" /AUTOCHECK]

which i copied and pasted here, after setting it to run unsuccesfully, which is listed as disabled.

I checked after trying to enable it to autorun at a certain time, but it wouldn't change its status. After clicking properties, it brought me to a folder that said 'start menu': so i'm wondering what it is, and if it is just a shortcut that i don't have to worry about.

your advice seems clear and painless, though, i would like to know the ramifications, security-wise to the option you gave for disabling teatime?

As i do venture widely on the net, and would not like to get stuck with another virus; i'm wondering if it might not be a better idea for me to just live with the slower performance.

thanks for your help and if i can ever assist you with anything "outsider folk-art" related or any jerry lee lewis memorabelia, let me know.

sincerely,

mrjyn

I run AVG & SpyBot on all my machines without any difficulty...except for really old, slow machines. I just installed Win XP SP3 on a 500MHz Celeron with only 192MB of RAM, and in order for this to run acceptably I had to disable AVG's scheduled scans, and most importantly, disable TeaTimer. TeaTimer is a resident process which monitors in real time all other processes for potential registry access - this can really bog down an old machine. I had exactly the same symptoms you're having.

To disable TeaTimer, first uncheck all the TeaTimer options in the SpyBot icon on the system bar. Next, you can either run msconfig and uncheck TeaTimer on the Startup tab, or better yet, use an applet like "Startup Control Panel" from www.mlin.net, which is far better than modifying the load sequence from msconfig. Also, don't stop TeaTimer from TaskManager - that can result in an unstable system. Just disable it in the startup sequence, then reboot. I think you can also just disable TeaTimer directly in SpyBot from Mode->Advanced mode->Tools->Resident.

Also, be aware of what you're losing: TeaTimer is a significant aspect of SpyBot...but if it makes the machine unusable it's better to disable it.

Disabling the AVG scheduled scan is, in my view, the best option anyway. Just manually start a scan when you're not going to be using the machine for a bit. You can tell when it's scanning because the AVG icon will have a white triangle in it.

[drragostea]

How frequently do you schedule your AV scans?
If it is very frequently like every 3 days or so (I'd usually do it every 2 weeks) it can be a strain on the hard drive.

Your machine does not have a lot of resources either, I'm assuming it is a Windows 2000, Intel P4 2.6Ghz 256MB of RAM. A Pentium 4 is pretty slick back then in 2002-2004. Compare it to a, let's say, Intel Duo Core. I'm just saying it is pretty good if you were to use it back then. Anyways, your processor is fast enough but what's lacking is the 256MB of RAM. Considering that you run Teatimer (usually takes a good 50MB for it's good solid protection) alongside with AVG's Resident Shields and then a scheduled scan once more, it can really slow down your machine itself since it is doing all this work at once.

that notify about low virtual memory and that windows is doing something to correct or expand, but it doesn't seem to affect enough to do any major overhaul.

Usually that occurs when you don't have enough 'memory'.

[GooberPP]

I had the same question as to whether SpyBot added any benefit over AVG. I'm running it on a fairly new computer with Vista and have not really noticed a performance hit.
When I ran AVG on older computers, I scheduled the scan for a likely time and if I wanted to use the computer when it was scanning, I stopped the scan. The AVG scan will bring an older computer to a slow crawl.

[drragostea]

When I ran AVG on older computers, I scheduled the scan for a likely time and if I wanted to use the computer when it was scanning, I stopped the scan. The AVG scan will bring an older computer to a slow crawl.

Old or new, when you run a thorough/standard AV scan it'll usually bring your PC to crawl but this scan is memory intensive. This effect might not be so noticeable with newer machines with surplus resources (RAM).