File Guard impact on Internet access

[geecee]

Hi
Can anyone help/shed any light on this problem

I have an oldish with PC 1.3GHz + 512MB ram.
I have been running 4.1 and when Ver 5 very first came out I updated but went back due to the bugs and the impact on my PC.
I decided last night to experiment and see if the latest version would run better on this system.

As of writing Ver 6 seems not to slow the general running of the computer but the opening of certain websites (ie BBC) is very slow and can make IE7 hang/not respond.

However, if I disable File Guard the problem goes away and all runs normally.

How much protection am I losing by not having File Guard enabled especially in respect to the protection I used to have on Ver 4.1.

Returning to 4.1 is not a problem as I have a copy of all the SD versions saved since ver 4, but as Ver 6 seems ok bar this I would like to persevere with it.

Many thanks in advance
GC

[mjq424]

Hi
Most detections are through File Guard, as this guard monitors processes and scripts being run. You can change it's settings to just monitor processes and see if that helps web browsing.
Hope that helps

[Adi]

Hi Geecee

I had a problem with my pc slowing down to a snails pace after downloading version 6. I knew it was specifically the Spyware Doctor software as when the software was switched off my pc ran fine. I also found that it was when Intelliguard protection was switched on that the problem occured (turning Intelliguard protection off, but keeping Spyware Doctor on, did not slow my system).

To see specifically which function of Intelliguard protection was causing the problem I switched each of the components on individually. All the individual components were ok EXCEPT for File Guard. Switching File Guard on slowed the loading on my internet pages to such a degree that the internet became unusable. However, when I was able to switch File Guard off, the internet pages loaded normally. Maybe you could try this too - see if your speed problem resolves. Having all the Intelliguard components switched on except for File Guard does slow my pc a little, but not to a degree that I would be overly concerned about it - at least it is useable (although no slowing would be best of course!!)! This is how I am running things for the moment.

I reported my findings to customer support who, after reviewing my pc system, told me that I have the Real Time File Scanning feature turned on from Norton Antivirus and it was possibly this that was slowing down my system. They told me that if I have File scanning from Norton enabled, I can just disable File Guard from Spyware Doctor. This is how I am running Spyware doctor at the moment. I guess that with customer support saying this is ok to do, I still have the same level of protection as i would have if File Guard was switched on - I hope thats the case anyway!!

I am using a Compaq Presario pc with AMD Athlon 64 processor 2.41GHz 2 MB ram, with Microsoft XP SP3, Norton antivirus, Zone alarm firewall and PC Tools Registry Mechanic

[geecee]

Thanks all for the replies.

Matt
The change to processes only did speed up the internet access, not quite as good as when on SD4.1 but about acceptable.

Although the PC speed seem ok to start with it was only when working during the day did I notice the overall slowdown in the computer with applications slow to open or respond to commands. As I work in CAD this became a bit tiresome when working on large drawing files.
I put this down to the demand on the PC's limited resources available.

Adi
I didn't really want to start turning off Guards and so possibly compromise my security in some way.

I'm not convinced enough to rely on my NIS 2005 software to cover the disabling of File Guard.

This PC is only going to be a backup machine long term as I have a new workstation waiting in the wings.

So as this was only an experiment I have returned to 4.1 on this PC.

Once again many thanks

GC

[c_edge]

Have you tried disabling Norton's real time protection to see if this helps. I would suggest to only keep one programs real time protection on as turning on both will really slow your computer down especially if they are doing the same thing :)

c_edge

[geecee]

c-edge

Thanks for the comment
I believe I am not running 2 similar real time products.

SD4.1 or Ver 6 are/were standalone no AV

NIS 2005 AV & Firewall. There is no spyware component in NIS 2005

I do not have any speed issues with 4.1 & NIS with all guards running.

I think the general slowness was down to the amount of RAM 512Mb and possibly Processor speed, added to the fact that Ver 6 is a services based software. I could be wrong here, and I'm willing to be corrected.

GC