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Ram usage & Antivirus software


DennisD

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Two questions in one really, which I think are more software than security. Hence posting in this thread.

 

After recently doing a format and reinstall, I decided to bow to the better judgement of others, and move away from Norton. ;) Yep, it pains me to admit this.

 

No complaints about it`s effectiveness, as you can`t get any more effective than keeping my pc clean. However, everyone, almost without exception, comes down on Norton as being a huge user of resources.

 

So, instead of reinstalling Norton, which was 90 day free with pc, I installed F-Secure, which was 60 day free with broadband supplier.

 

1: Have I ditched one resource hogger for another? (I am planning on going freeware when it runs out), and is F-Secure as difficult to remove as Norton? i.e. proper removal tool required.

 

2: I assume I need a piece of software to see how much memory various applications are using when running? If so, which would you reccomend?

 

Thanks :)

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I would go with AntiVir or AVG Anti-Virus. (Nothing else). ;)

 

The easiest way to see RAM usage is Alt+Ctrl+Del

 

or

 

Use Process Explorer:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

 

Just double click on the process and it will show all the info.

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The easiest way to see RAM usage is Alt+Ctrl+Del

 

Thanks for the quick reply and the link. Didn`t know that shortcut, but I can`t see anything relating to F-Secure. If I`m looking at the right place (processes) the biggest user is Firefox.

 

I assume F-Secure is split up into lots of seperate processes, with different descriptions?

 

I find avast is very good as well (and it's free)

 

Been looking at that as well as Antivir and AVG from places like rridgleys pinned threads.

 

Edit: Just installed ProcessExplorer, puts company names to all processes. Excellent, thanks.

:)

 

Edit2:

If you are looking for commercial, these stats are not bogus!
Thanks for the link.
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Sorry but stats that are on a certain vendors website can't be trusted. I don't care who it is.

 

As far as low resource usage is concerned AVG is the lowest. Install it and then add up all of the processes.(I don't have it on a computer right now but I'm wanting to say its under 4-5mb and probably well under that.)

 

Antivir is pretty light as well, its currently using about 6mb on the computer I'm on.

Antivir has the best detection rate out of any of the free antiviruses.

 

I hate avast. It has all of these extra shields and the interface is really screwy(even with skins turned off).

Also if you use that webshield it will slow down your surfing.(don't believe me? Turn it off and see how fast pages start loading).

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Sorry but stats that are on a certain vendors website can't be trusted. I don't care who it is.
Agreed. Manufacturers will always use the stats that suit them.

 

As far as low resource usage is concerned AVG is the lowest. Install it and then add up all of the processes.(I don't have it on a computer right now but I'm wanting to say its under 4-5mb and probably well under that.)

Yup, WELL under that. Currently showing as using just over 1Mb here, and usually less than that on my system as I have the update service turned off.

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Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

Just my query about F-Secure removal, and coincidentally, I installed zSoft uninstaller last night to try out, as Total Uninstall keeps leaving a lot of stuff in the registry, although it does show the paths to the errors it leaves.

 

I noticed that zSoft also uninstalls stuff that you haven`t actually used it to install. What I mean is, it displays all the various nooks and crannies that each program has wriggled itself into.

 

Does that mean that it is a better uninstaller than other programs, or that it just displays more?

 

Want to try to remove F-Secure (when it runs out), as cleanly as possible.

 

Am I making sense here? :huh:

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As far as low resource usage is concerned AVG is the lowest. Install it and then add up all of the processes.(I don't have it on a computer right now but I'm wanting to say its under 4-5mb and probably well under that.)

 

On the computer I am using to type this I have 3 processes running for AVG. I shut off the e mail scanner since I use web mail accounts. Here are the numbers:

avgamsvr.exe (real time protection or resident shield) 724 KB

avgcc.exe (control center) 1000 KB

avgupsvc.exe (updates) 1020 KB

 

 

I have AVG installed on both my systems and the computers of 2 other family members for a total of 4 systems. Never had a single problem with it and it's free to boot.

 

 

Norton on the other hand gets my vote for worst piece of software in the universe. Getting rid of this 1000 lbs hog is sometimes as bad as getting rid of a virus. Had to reinstall windows to undo the damage removing Norton Internet Security did on one of my systems. This was done with the help of Norton tech support over the phone and using their removal tools. There will never be a Norton product on my systems ever again.

 

Norton to me are just like drug pushers. Give the product away fro free for a trial period and make it difficult to get rid of when you want to. Lets face it. Buy a new system today and you will almost certainly have Norton or the equally useless Mcafee come preinstalled. If you don't know any better you just say to your self it's working fine and you purchase a subscription when the trial runs out. If you do know better you try to remove it with out totally trashing your system. It's a joke.

 

My way around this? I ordered a Dell and insisted that none of that preinstalled crap be installed. I let them know this was non negotiable. They screamed and squawked about how great Norton/Mcafee was and that if I did not like it I could "simply remove it no problem". I asked why they include this garbage and try to resist when I ask not to include it? They openly admitted Dell is payed by Norton and Mcaffe to put this on the computers. This is Norton and Macafee's way of advertising. I told them I don't care and not to put the junk on my system. After demanding to talk to a person higher up the food chain I got what I wanted. Not only did it not come with the Norton but I got a lot of other junk left off as well. If the computer had of come with that junk on it I would have sent it back so fast your head would spin. I would have also held them to their agreement which I had an e mail confirmation of.

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I shut off the e mail scanner since I use web mail accounts.

Oh yeah, forgot about the email scanner so probably about 2Mb usage is closer than my post of just over 1Mb (don't have the email scanner component installed on my AVG, don't need it)

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Its no big secret that computer makers get paid a bunch of money to install of that junk on their computers.

They have been doing that for years.

 

Dell will at least let you get a genuine plane windows disc if you pay $10(I think its only 10). But that doesn't make up for the crappy hardware.

 

If you have the time, knowledge, and patience its always better to build your computer instead of buying premade systems. That way you get what you want and you know exactly whats in your case.(its also fun to know that you built it to do what you want) The only real downside to this is that you tend to spend a little more. Obviously this isn't an option with laptops though.(unless you all know something I don't. :P)

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NOD32 is light but AFAIK it is taking around the 11Mb mark (kernel 9416K and user interface 2292K) on one of our systems, so AVG is very light :) .

 

I've used avast it looks nice but does have problems occasionally It lost the skin a couple of times a wouldn't load the interface, had to find a way to go back to no skin to run a scan. also conflicted with a program I was running don't remember what now...

 

hope that helps,

 

I vote AVGFree (for a freeware AV)

And NOD32 (for a commercial AV)

fireryone

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FYI, right now, using ctrl+alt+delete:

 

CA internet Security Suite total usage seems to be about 6.5 mb.

Using old subscription: Zone firewall plus CA Antivirus plus PestPatrol

Pest Patrol seems to be the hog, using about 2 mb.

 

Seems like a lot of mem usage??

 

Gonna let the old CA go when the subscription runs out, been with'em since they gave it away free in the ? late eighties.

 

Thanks to all the information on this forum I feel comfortable going to freebies for firewall and AV both.

 

Really helpful information. Thanks to Rridgely and all involved.

 

From Rridgely:

Its no big secret that computer makers get paid a bunch of money to install of that junk on their computers.

They have been doing that for years.

 

Another trick which I think is deliberate is that they put just enough ram in to make the computer run, knowing that you will need to buy more. . .seems underhanded. . .

The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-)

Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers.

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When I had Norton Internet Security 2005 running on a Dell Laptop there was something like 11 processes running in Task Manager from Norton and over 50 MB of ram being used. I actually paid for that crap :blink: When the automatic update kicked in there were a whole whack of processes that were named Call Back or something like that that would practically freeze my system until they were done. I swear there were like 7 or 8 of these things firing up regularly for updates. Ridiculous.

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I'm using AVG Free v7.5 on my P4 WinXP Home SP2 system:

 

avgamsvr.exe (real time protection or resident shield) 640 KB

avgcc.exe (control center) 840 KB

avgupsvc.exe (updates) 968 KB

 

No email scanning as it is a waste of system resources and useless because the active scanner would find whatever malware and quarentine it detects on my system.

 

Its no big secret that computer makers get paid a bunch of money to install of that junk on their computers.

They have been doing that for years.

The PC Decrapifier

 

The PC Decrapifier is designed to remove a specific list unwanted software in an unattended fashion. Before running, the user may select exactly what software should be removed. Currently, it is targeted for use on most Dell machines; however it will theoretically run on anything that has the software listed below.

http://www.yorkspace.com/pc-de-crapifier

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." - Albert Einstein

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I have nothing against AVG. Since AVG Anti-Spyware purchased ewido, I even renewed my subscription because it has some features I really like, but their anti-virus product, especially the free version, it is not highly regarded, in fact I recently saw it categorized as a "B to C" product! This link has no agenda, it's just trying to keep pc users informed. If free and low mem usage is a higher priority than protection then ignore the link. Another consideration, is the fact that the "A" anti-virus products now are really getting very good at stopping spyware also.

http://ssl1.at/av-comparatives.org/

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That decrapifier I have heard about but did not think I should have to "decrapifie" a brand new machine. Besides you decrapifie the thing and the day comes you need to use System Recovery that comes on Dell machines. Guess what happens when the System Recovery is done restoring your PC to the state it was when you first took it out of the box? You get all the crap freshly installed staring you in the face when you start up the machine. Fun time! You get to decrapifie all over again. Weee!! Total BS. Ask me how I know. Been there, done that. Never again.

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Thanks, slowday444, I'll use the link >av-comparatives.org<, another item of information to consider.

The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-)

Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers.

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I have nothing against AVG. Since AVG Anti-Spyware purchased ewido, I even renewed my subscription because it has some features I really like, but their anti-virus product, especially the free version, it is not highly regarded, in fact I recently saw it categorized as a "B to C" product! This link has no agenda, it's just trying to keep pc users informed. If free and low mem usage is a higher priority than protection then ignore the link. Another consideration, is the fact that the "A" anti-virus products now are really getting very good at stopping spyware also.

http://ssl1.at/av-comparatives.org/

There was a thread here a while back that I think concluded these comparisons were fairly worthless (it certainly is for comparing AVG as they're testing an old version - 7.1)

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There was a thread here a while back that I think concluded these comparisons were fairly worthless (it certainly is for comparing AVG as they're testing an old version - 7.1)

 

 

 

I am more interested in real life results since I live in the real world. ;) I know many people using AVG and not getting Malware. Some do but what do you expect when you open e amils from people you don't know or visit known crap ware sites. You will get infected no matter what Anti virus you use if you behave like that.

 

I personally have never had a virus on any machine no matter what antivirus I was usuing. I can't even remember the last time my realtime protection has had to alert me that it blocked something. I probably could run without an antivirus and still be clean.

 

As far as spyware/adware, I have six different programs for that and none of them are running realtime protection. I use them as on demand scanners. I scan once a week and never have anyhting except the occasssional tracking cookie. I have Spybot, AdAware, Superantispyware, AVG Antispyware, A-squared, Windows Defender, and using AVG antivirus.

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Well, it's nice to stay busy in the wintertime. . .gonna think long and hard before going to vista. . .

 

th_Scan_screen3d.jpg

The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-)

Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers.

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Dang, you have tons of security software on that pc. :P

Spyware Guard is old, since your running pest patrol I would get rid of it.(same thing for defender if you have it.)

 

The only thing I would run full time was Etrust AV. The rest you could just scan with once every week or 2 weeks.(not that you should get anything anyway)

 

How many processes do you have at start up? :D

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well, a bunch, probably about 30. And you're right, too much stuff, gonna get rid of most of it, am due to reinstall everything here in a month or so. However, I must admit to "staging" that picture for effect. . ."Spyware As Art". . .??

 

Have learned a lot about what to trust in freeware on this forum. Best forum I have seen. Wish I could contribute more , will as I can.

 

Seriously going to wait as long as possible before going to Vista. Bill Gates fields these darned operating systems, the users tune them up for him, their time and maybe money. I don't begrudge him profits, but I will wait.

The CCleaner SLIM version is always released a bit after any new version; when it is it will be HERE :-)

Pssssst: ... It isn't really a cloud. Its a bunch of big, giant servers.

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the users tune them up for him, their time and maybe money.

Haven`t really thought of it that way. Nicely said.

 

Wish I could contribute more , will as I can.

 

Have a stroll into the lounge. It`s where us lesser mortals talk about really important things (like peanutbutter & jelly/jam sandwiches) while the clever guys fix all the problems. :rolleyes:

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