Ive recently downloaded avast virus protection..?

Question

as my email account was hacked a few weeks ago and I lost access to it. Ive set up new email address, started running avast, its picked up some bugs, which ive put into the chest, (is this right?) and now every time I go into my emails, it takes ages for the page to load and clear etc. Is this because of avast or is someone trying to hack in AGAIN!??

Does the avast cover spyware or should I download something else too.

Thanks

Answer 1

I don't know if avast is slow but I have heard of other virus checkers being memory hogs, and slowing systems. I also don't think it protects from other Malware.
I personally recommend AVG and all of the following FREE software.
Disable avast before running AVG because 2 anti virus programs will fight each other and your computer will be the loser. (lol) that's another way of saying they wont work together at the same time.
Anti Spyware programs CAN be run with your anti-virus, and some of the other programs will always run in the background to protect your computer.

Or just keep Avast but use all the other Free software to protect your computer.

I use all of the following Free software with Windows XP SP2 and Internet Explorer with MSN toolbar and the pop-up blocker turned on and have never had a single problem with my computer sense Microsoft came out with SP2. (knock on wood.) (And be sure to keep Windows and the following software Updated)


The best Anti-virus is: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. (www.grisoft.com)

The Best Spyware defense is: SpyBot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)<--English version

AND: AdAware SE (www.lavasoft.com)
AND Spyware Blaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.info/kb/)
The best Firewall besides the one that comes with Windows is: Zone Alarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/co... or just (www.zonelabs.com) and select the FREE version.

These are all FREE and are all that are required. There is no reason to pay for this kind of software, except to give a donation to the writers if you can.
ALL the above programs are recommended and should be run on a regular basis. With some the free versions they must be run manually.

The best way to avoid getting any Malware (virus, Trojan's, spyware, etc) is to practice safe computing. Microsoft and many others have countless articles on the subject of safe computing. (something I think should be taught in schools)

for further information on computer safety. http://all.net/journal/50/cybercop.html

Answer 2

Although Avast can detect some trojans, you should get separate antispyware software, free or paid for.

Here are links to free antispyware products you can trust
Spybot
- http://www.filehippo.com/download_spybot...
Adaware SE
- http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-awa...
Windows Defender
- http://www.filehippo.com/download_micros...
Spywareblaster
- http://www.filehippo.com/download_spywar...
Ewido Antispyware
- http://www.filehippo.com/download_ewido/...
Spycatcher Express
- http://www.tenebril.com/consumer/spyware/spycatcher-express.php

Both Spybot and Windows Defender will actively protect your system and can be used together; Spywareblaster sits in the background protecting you from bad sites - just enable protection for internet explorer/firefox and update it regularly.
Ewido provides active protection free for trial period only.

As for Avast and email. Are you using an email client like outlook express or thunderbird, a pop3 client or just webmail?

Right click on your avast icon in the system tray, click On Access
Protection Control.
Now click the button that says details>>>

Scroll to the Internet Mail module, click on it and on the right hand pane, click on the customize button. Under POP and SMTP you can disable email scanning to test if avast is causing the problem, or if you already have a firewall doing this for you. There could be a conflict.
Under the heuristics tab, you can set sensitivity to low. Again permanently or as a test.

If after this you're still not happy you can try different free antivirus software such as AVG or AntiVir but uninstall Avast first!

If you're using webmail, avast also has a web shield module which could be slowing things down. Click on web shield, under Provider Actions click on terminate. Avast will ask do you want this change to be permanent or not; select no if you are unsure, then you can restart the shield if you find that turning it off makes no difference.

Answer 3

Avast is antivirus protection (from what you tell us and as far as I am aware) - to prevent hacking you need a firewall - try Zonealarm its free and its good.

As far as I am aware no it doesnt cover spyware so I would suggest Adaware and Spybot Search and Destroy - also good and also free. AVG is a good and free antivirus program.

You should have a firewall, antivirus, and antispyware programs on your system. Your firewall should always be on and the others you should run on a regular basis. - Always virus check downloaded files from emails or websites.

You can probably get the all from cnet.com (under download tab) or just type them into your browser search engine

Answer 4

You need spyware too, have found my computer runs more slowly with Avast, but that is because it is a real time anti virus so checks everything as it searches and loads, it takes time, but at least you are protected.

Answer 5

Spyware, Virus, Trojan are all different terms with different significance. Antivirus installed on local system may eat up system resources affecting performance causing pages to laod a little slower. It would be hard to tell you if the cause of slow performance is due to Antivirus.

If you are using operating system based on NT technology, right click on Taskbar and select Task Manager and click open the Processes tab and look for service having highest number with column 'Mem usage' that can help you identify which process is taking up most memory.

For features & details on avast visit website http://www.avast.com, select your product on which you need information. If you are looking for a spyware removal tool, http://www.spybot.com is one of the best freeware that Patrick has created - many thanks to him

Answer 6

i have avast on one of my systems and have found it quite good,any anti-virus will take up memory so i allways recommend you allow 256mb of your systems memory for anti-virus and security
for example if you play games and video edit you really need 512mb ram so you should add 256mb for security and this means you need a installed ram of 768mb
this may seem a bit drastic but a 256 ram can be bought for £20 and its a small price to pay for security
avast dosent cover spyware,a good program that runs well with avast is spybot avalible from http://www.safer-networking.org/,this will cover all spyware issues
did you know that you can download skins for avast,you just download them and they install themselves
you can get them at http://www.avast.com/eng/skins.html
good luck

Answer 7

go to the chest and delete what is in there (you don't want it)
get avast to do a boot scan (half way down main menu)
avast does scan incoming and out going mail (doesn't slow it down)
you need to empty your cookies temp and temperary internet files (use search )
and defrag your system
i also use noadware this gets the ones avast has missed

Answer 8

get rid of it and get a good security system personally i dont use them so i suggest u get a good password