Spyware Doctor 7 SLOWS and CONFLICTS Windows 7 64 System [Archive]

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caljamcal

11-11-2009, 09:03 PM

I have just installed the New Version 7 of Spyware Doctor (Stand Alone) on a Windows 7 64 Bit operating system PC and it has slowed my system to a crawl. I installed Windows 7 64 Bit from scratch. I then added all my drivers including Auzentech's Home Theater HD Audio Drivers. I then installed some software including the latest ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall and Eset NOD32 64 Bit Antivirus. Spyware Doctor 7 was the last thing installed on the new system.

Spyware Doctor 7 (Stand Alone) appears to be conflicting with something. Possible candidates are ZoneAlarm Pro, Eset NOD32, and Auzentech's XFi Home Theater HD driver as they also install drivers in Windows 7.

After uninstalling Spyware Doctor 7 (Stand Alone) everything was fine. I then installed the new Spysweeper Antispyware program (Stand Alone) and did not experience any problems. I have also installed Malwarebytes Anti-malware and this works fine also.

It appears that Spyware Doctor is becoming too intrusive. While it provides great protection, that protection is not worth a system that is SLOWED substantially. I would rather have less protection with minimal impact on my system. As a long time user of Spyware Doctor, I have noted that this program always has impacted system performance somewhat, even in Windows XP. But the performance hit back then was worth the protection.

I am not sure what the problem is here, but the fact IS that other PCTools' competitor programs like Spysweeper and Malwarebytes Anti-malware work fine on my system. This does not make Spyware Doctor look very good, and supports my belief of the gradual decline of this program as it becomes more and more bloated over time with new features. I have seen this before with Symantec's Norton, Adobe, and other software products, and NO LONGER USE THEM!.

My questions to PC Tools: Are you aware of any Spyware Doctor 7 conflicts with other security software and/or audio drivers? Why would Spyware Doctor not work with my cleanly installed system when other competitor's products (Spysweeper and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware) WORK FINE on my system?

Are you working on a FIX, assuming you even know that there is a problem with the new Spyware Doctor 7 program on Windows 7 64 in some cases?

You should be testing your program against other mainstream security software that users install with your program including Antivirus, Firewall, and other Antispyware. You should also be testing compatibility with video and audio drivers from NVidia, AMD, Creative, Auzentech, and others. Again, there is a FINE LINE between PROTECTION and FEATURES, and IMPACT on system resources. PCtool's is just about to cross that line in my book. If you want a perfect model, use Eset's NOD32 Antivirus program. It provides the PERFECT BALANCE between Protection and Features, and impact on system performance. I am sure others who use this program would agree. While I understand the pressures to constantly add NEW features to get people to upgrade every year..............you had better TREAD VERY LIGHTLY here. I am about ready to put you on my list with Norton, Adobe, and others. I HATE BLOAT.

A very disappointed LONG TIME customer who will be forced to switch to another Antispyware program.

AChen

11-12-2009, 03:13 AM

I will give the following a test with the applications you have listed in your post and will see if I can recreate the problem. We are constantly working on fixing bugs that we come across and also concentrate on resource/performance issues. We also test with other security apps and majority of apps out there. If we do come across problems, we will fix these. I will keep you posted.

caljamcal

11-12-2009, 04:42 AM

Thank You.

lucid

11-12-2009, 12:26 PM

I've used ESET NOD and that application uses heuristics and protection for both virus and spyware, so wouldn't that be a potential conflict straight away, with you using more than one active application to combat the same type of malware. That would also apply if you were using malwarebytes for anything other than offline scanning.

Another thing worth looking at is zonealarm, like other apps you mentioned this has become extremely intrusive and is known to cause a variety of conflicts with several other programs including browsers. Even though it is intended in your version as just a firewall I'm pretty sure that it also installs other elements of its security software which although may not be active can and do often interfere with other applications. I have come across this several times and it's not immediately obvious as to the cause.

As to the intrusion protection that ZA offers it's pretty poor.
http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php

Ranked as "Not recommended" in the tests.

caljamcal

11-12-2009, 05:05 PM

Thanks for your comments Lucid. Generally I shut down most of the Real Time Scanning when I have one or more Antispyware Programs installed with NOD32. I always use NOD32's Real Time scanner. However, older versions of Spyware Doctor were able to run with most of its real time scanning running with ZoneAlarm Pro and NOD32. I would usually shut down the Site and EMail real time scanners in Spyware Doctor though as a precaution, although it was not absolutely necessary.

Right now I am writing this with Malwarebytes Antimalware real time scanning running along with NOD32's! I plan to also install SpySweeper again for manual scanning, but will shut down its real time scanner. My point is that I have always been able to run NOD32's real time scanners with most or all of the real time scanners of one selected Antispyware program including Spyware Doctor.

As for your comments about ZoneAlarm Pro, I have been using it for at least several years with no issues. The New 9.1 version works great and has been stripped down to just a basic Firewall. They actually Streamlined it! It feels lean and mean on my system. Give it a try. Works great on Windows 7 64 Bit!

As far as your Source for testing Firewalls, this foreign testing firm has come under criticism for their testing results. It appears they cannot be trusted. In fact, their results conflict with the numerous ratings of previous versions of ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall by many many reputable sources. I am not talking about the ZoneAlarm Security Suite, just the stand alone ZoneAlarm PRo Firewall. Please see Wiki link about your source (look under Criticisms):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matousec

Here are a few more links calling into question the people who run this site (if you Google this guy you will probably find even more info calling into question the integrity of this site and the people running it):

http://smokeys.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/matousec-and-his-firewall-challenges-hall-of-shame-2008-awardee/

http://smokeys.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/matousecs-firewall-challenge-wrinkle-conflict-of-interests/

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21928994-Matousec-has-posted-new-results

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20905485-firewall-tests

ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall (I only use the Pay version as it is better than the free version, but the free version is still rated well) has always been rated as one of the top notch Firewalls by MANY MANY reputable sources over the past several years. NEVER TRUST just ONE SOURCE without knowing for sure its reputation and how it is viewed by its peers in the industry! Draw your conclusions from a SEVERAL sources! Now there are other good Firewalls too, and the NEW ZoneAlarm 9.1 has not yet been rated, but I suspect it will still rate as one of the BEST, as it always has, by the known REPUTABLE sources including Consumer Reports, PC World, Computer Shopper, PC Magazine, Maximun PC, and many of the reputable online Hardware Review sites including HARDocp, Anantech, Tom's Hardware, and others.

Finally, one of the most reputable sites for Security testing of Firewalls is "Sheilds Up" at grc.com:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

The PIT

11-12-2009, 07:42 PM

Too be honest you don't need all that stuff running at once unless you like looking at dodgy websites all the time.
I just run a virus checker all the time and do the odd check manually with anti spyware software. Zero infections and a fast machine without any conflicts.

llizard

11-12-2009, 11:10 PM

Ditto

11-12-2009, 11:30 PM

Thanks for your comments Lucid. Generally I shut down most of the Real Time Scanning when I have one or more Antispyware Programs installed with NOD32. I always use NOD32's Real Time scanner. However, older versions of Spyware Doctor were able to run with most of its real time scanning running with ZoneAlarm Pro and NOD32. I would usually shut down the Site and EMail real time scanners in Spyware Doctor though as a precaution, although it was not absolutely necessary.

Right now I am writing this with Malwarebytes Antimalware real time scanning running along with NOD32's! I plan to also install SpySweeper again for manual scanning, but will shut down its real time scanner. My point is that I have always been able to run NOD32's real time scanners with most or all of the real time scanners of one selected Antispyware program including Spyware Doctor.

If you've only disabled Siteguard and Email guard that means you've only disabled some part of SD real time protection which means that you were running THREE different realtime protection at one time with SD installed.

Running multiple realtime protection does not give you an extra protection, so make sure to completely disable other applications realtime protection and choose one that you'd like to use.

Also if you enabled behavior guard from myaccount, make sure to disable it as it will always run in the background(threatfire service) while SD is running.

As far as your Source for testing Firewalls, this foreign testing firm has come under criticism for their testing results. It appears they cannot be trusted. In fact, their results conflict with the numerous ratings of previous versions of ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall by many many reputable sources. I am not talking about the ZoneAlarm Security Suite, just the stand alone ZoneAlarm PRo Firewall. Please see Wiki link about your source (look under Criticisms):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matousec

Here are a few more links calling into question the people who run this site (if you Google this guy you will probably find even more info calling into question the integrity of this site and the people running it):

http://smokeys.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/matousec-and-his-firewall-challenges-hall-of-shame-2008-awardee/

http://smokeys.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/matousecs-firewall-challenge-wrinkle-conflict-of-interests/

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21928994-Matousec-has-posted-new-results

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20905485-firewall-tests

ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall (I only use the Pay version as it is better than the free version, but the free version is still rated well) has always been rated as one of the top notch Firewalls by MANY MANY reputable sources over the past several years. NEVER TRUST just ONE SOURCE without knowing for sure its reputation and how it is viewed by its peers in the industry! Draw your conclusions from a SEVERAL sources! Now there are other good Firewalls too, and the NEW ZoneAlarm 9.1 has not yet been rated, but I suspect it will still rate as one of the BEST, as it always has, by the known REPUTABLE sources including Consumer Reports, PC World, Computer Shopper, PC Magazine, Maximun PC, and many of the reputable online Hardware Review sites including HARDocp, Anantech, Tom's Hardware, and others.

Finally, one of the most reputable sites for Security testing of Firewalls is "Sheilds Up" at grc.com:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

I believe latest SD installs Browser defender that might conflict with zonealarm pro according to their feature set. So try to install SD and remove Browser defender and disable SD's realtime protection completely. It might work, who knows? :)

I'm curious of what you call reputable sources, because I don't fully trust reviewer's review. I tend to trust more user review than reviewer's review as one that works great on someone's PC can be a disaster on others. Well It's just me anyway and they are just a guideline to a better buy.
So how does Zonealarm hold up against shield up test?

caljamcal

11-13-2009, 03:46 AM

caljamcal

11-13-2009, 03:52 AM

If you've only disabled Siteguard and Email guard that means you've only disabled some part of SD real time protection which means that you were running THREE different realtime protection at one time with SD installed.

Running multiple realtime protection does not give you an extra protection, so make sure to completely disable other applications realtime protection and choose one that you'd like to use.

Also if you enabled behavior guard from myaccount, make sure to disable it as it will always run in the background(threatfire service) while SD is running.

I believe latest SD installs Browser defender that might conflict with zonealarm pro according to their feature set. So try to install SD and remove Browser defender and disable SD's realtime protection completely. It might work, who knows? :)

I'm curious of what you call reputable sources, because I don't fully trust reviewer's review. I tend to trust more user review than reviewer's review as one that works great on someone's PC can be a disaster on others. Well It's just me anyway and they are just a guideline to a better buy.
So how does Zonealarm hold up against shield up test?

I tried disabling all guards on Spyware Doctor to no avail. ZoneAlarm Pro is still one of the best Firewalls. Does Excellent on Shield test.

ItsNotMyFault

11-13-2009, 03:56 AM

You have a point, but I have always run with NOD32, ZoneAlarmPro, and Spyware Doctor with most of the REal Scanners running in the past with no problems. It is the new version of SD that may not be allowing me to run that way now.

The same could also be said that the other programs are not allowing SD's new version to run like it should ;) When something like this happens, it is very hard to determine the problem and who's at fault especially if you are running loads of programs where conflicts can occur. New versions are always needed because the threats on the web these days are becoming more difficult to detect with old traditional scanning engines etc

caljamcal

11-13-2009, 03:56 AM

If you're on Win 7 64bit, with other security software installed as well, you may want to try flipping the "Kernel Compatibility Mode" setting (on the Settings -> Advanced screen of the SD user interface). It may make a difference for you. Let us know either way.

Thanks.....I did this but it did not help.

caljamcal

11-13-2009, 04:02 AM

The same could also be said that the other programs are not allowing SD's new version to run like it should ;) When something like this happens, it is very hard to determine the problem and who's at fault especially if you are running loads of programs where conflicts can occur. New versions are always needed because the threats on the web these days are becoming more difficult to detect with old traditional scanning engines etc

Interestingly, I am typing this with NOD32 Real Scanners running with ZoneAlarm Pro. I am also running MalwareBytes Antimalware Real Time scanners too.......No Problems.

I also tried turning on some of the Real Time Scanners in Spysweeper which I use for manual scans. Everything runs ok in the short term.

MHz Tweaker

11-19-2009, 05:54 PM

Spyware doctor 7.xxx.508
turns my 64bit windows 7 PC into an unusable machine
version 6.1 worked OK but I had all sorts of issues installing 7. Program crashed a lot and would not uninstall. Finally had to kill processes/services and delete the Spyware Doctor DIRectory to remove it.

I run Eset NOD32 64bit ver 4.0.437.0 (not latest version)
Comodo 3.13 firewall (latest version)
My PC is state of the art with eVGA classified 759 and i920 overclocked to 3.8Ghz for 8months now and is very stable

The system becomes so slow that even bringing up the task manager takes like a minute. I unload Spyware Doctor from memory and everything is back to normal.

I do not use windows firewall or Defender but I do use a Blackberry and have a web cam installed along with 3 ATI video cards and 10 hard drives

I hope you guys work these issues out.

I have just installed the New Version 7 of Spyware Doctor (Stand Alone) on a Windows 7 64 Bit operating system PC and it has slowed my system to a crawl. I installed Windows 7 64 Bit from scratch. I then added all my drivers including Auzentech's Home Theater HD Audio Drivers. I then installed some software including the latest ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall and Eset NOD32 64 Bit Antivirus. Spyware Doctor 7 was the last thing installed on the new system.

Spyware Doctor 7 (Stand Alone) appears to be conflicting with something. Possible candidates are ZoneAlarm Pro, Eset NOD32, and Auzentech's XFi Home Theater HD driver as they also install drivers in Windows 7.

After uninstalling Spyware Doctor 7 (Stand Alone) everything was fine. I then installed the new Spysweeper Antispyware program (Stand Alone) and did not experience any problems. I have also installed Malwarebytes Anti-malware and this works fine also.

It appears that Spyware Doctor is becoming too intrusive. While it provides great protection, that protection is not worth a system that is SLOWED substantially. I would rather have less protection with minimal impact on my system. As a long time user of Spyware Doctor, I have noted that this program always has impacted system performance somewhat, even in Windows XP. But the performance hit back then was worth the protection.

I am not sure what the problem is here, but the fact IS that other PCTools' competitor programs like Spysweeper and Malwarebytes Anti-malware work fine on my system. This does not make Spyware Doctor look very good, and supports my belief of the gradual decline of this program as it becomes more and more bloated over time with new features. I have seen this before with Symantec's Norton, Adobe, and other software products, and NO LONGER USE THEM!.

My questions to PC Tools: Are you aware of any Spyware Doctor 7 conflicts with other security software and/or audio drivers? Why would Spyware Doctor not work with my cleanly installed system when other competitor's products (Spysweeper and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware) WORK FINE on my system?

Are you working on a FIX, assuming you even know that there is a problem with the new Spyware Doctor 7 program on Windows 7 64 in some cases?

You should be testing your program against other mainstream security software that users install with your program including Antivirus, Firewall, and other Antispyware. You should also be testing compatibility with video and audio drivers from NVidia, AMD, Creative, Auzentech, and others. Again, there is a FINE LINE between PROTECTION and FEATURES, and IMPACT on system resources. PCtool's is just about to cross that line in my book. If you want a perfect model, use Eset's NOD32 Antivirus program. It provides the PERFECT BALANCE between Protection and Features, and impact on system performance. I am sure others who use this program would agree. While I understand the pressures to constantly add NEW features to get people to upgrade every year..............you had better TREAD VERY LIGHTLY here. I am about ready to put you on my list with Norton, Adobe, and others. I HATE BLOAT.

A very disappointed LONG TIME customer who will be forced to switch to another Antispyware program.

PJWilkin

11-19-2009, 07:49 PM

I have Windows 7 (32 bit) and find that Spyware Doctor 7 slows my Quad Core machine down to a crawl.

I have ESET Smart Security 4.0.467.0 and the Latest Firewall module

On booting my PC (With Spyware Doctor Enabled) windows is dire.

If I shut it down (and also stop the PC Tools Startup and Shutdown Monitor service) my machine returns to normal service

If I then start Spyware Doctor it seems OK, only on reboot with the thing enabled is it slow

Shutting down SD and rebooting ... all is OK

AChen

11-20-2009, 01:02 AM

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the feedback. We are currently breaking down each post and looking into each issue individually. It seems there may be a conflict with NOD so we will investigate this and see what we find.

Could you confirm what Kernel Compatibility mode is set to in SD?
And PJWilkin, do you have Registry Mechanic or Desktop Maestro installed?

AChen

11-20-2009, 03:58 AM

PJWilkin, if you have RM installed, can you uninstall this and see whether the problem goes away?

PJWilkin

11-20-2009, 08:11 AM

Achen

I have deinstalled RM, and will monitor over a series of reboots/uses

PJWilkin

11-20-2009, 07:16 PM

caljamcal

11-20-2009, 08:37 PM

AChen:

I too had RM Installed with the Security Software and Audio Driver I mentioned earlier.

We all appreciare your active role on these boards. While tis whole experience is rather frustrating, we appreciate PCTools taking an active role in trying to resolve this. I know it is not easy to test against every scenerio with a new OS and other Software Vendors who then rewrite their programs.

AChen

11-22-2009, 11:56 PM

Achen

the few tests I have carried out (after de-installing Registry Mechanic) shows the system is faster. I will leave overnight (as that is when I have scans scheduled), and report on results.

[Update]

It still seems OK after running the overnight scans

Looks like RM + SD + ESET is not a good combination on Windows 7

Lets hope this can be fixed asap

One last thing to try out:
Could you uninstall SD and only run RM with ESET and see whether you notice any slow downs?

On my test PC, I have SDA installed, including ESET Smart Security and RM but couldn't reproduce the problem.

greenzeto

11-23-2009, 12:08 AM

I m using windows 7 32 bits as well. 4 GB of ram (new PC, just got it last month).

Running SD 2010 or SD 7 (I am not sure) + RM 9 + ESET + some 2 free security programs (lava soft and malware bite).

NO ISSUE so far... everything runs so smooth...

so? it is weird... this may only happen on a particular computer. my suggestion is try to play around with those applications. remove 1 at a time or install 1 at a time. Then u can find out which 1 is causing the problem. I dun think all of them... try this...

1.Remove all
2. install SD + RM
3. Check how it goes
4. Install ESET and see how it goes
5. then, u may try anther way around
6. install ESET, then SD --> test it
7. then, install ESET then RM --> test it

you shuld be able to find out which program is the main problem.

Just get all setup files ready on ur desktop, and it would not take a very long time...

but seriously, i m runing find with those all applications.. that is why i have 4 GB of ram..

I love SD and RM :):D

PJWilkin

11-24-2009, 05:02 PM

Achen

I have not yet been able to schedule a de-install of SD and install of RM

However, when ESET did a full virus scan I found that afterwards SD was very slow, and would not shut down.

A reboot has fixed it, but at the moment it looks like a conflict between the two applications

[update]

just had slowness occur after PC was in low power mode , system was unusable. for the moment I have disabled the power mode detection to see if it re-occurs

caljamcal

11-24-2009, 07:35 PM

Hello GreenZeto:

This may only be a problem with Windows 7 64 Bit, Spyware doctor 7, and Eset NOD32 64 bit.
That is what was on my system along with the other programs I mentioned.

AlexWebley

12-19-2009, 01:35 AM

lucid

12-19-2009, 02:19 AM

In case it helps....

I have the problem with Windows 7 64 Bit, Spyware doctor 7, and ESET Smart Security 4 64 bit.

RM is installed also.

Once SD7 is removed my PC behaves normally. I have checked this twice.

Eset is anti virus and anti spyware no wonder you have issues you have 2 active apps installed at the same time. Even if you're not using the AV side of spyware doctor the anti spyware components will conflict with each other if both active at the sme time.