Does Antivirus Software Slow Down Mac
Summary :
Nov 18, 2017 A popular question I see is “Does Antivirus Slow Down My Computer” and I’ve been wanting to do a video about this for a long time because it’s been almost 2 years since my last antivirus video so for this one I’ve teamed up with HP and Webroot so I can finally answer this question once and for all and find out how antivirus software. May 29, 2020 Also, the software can update automatically after turning on your computer. If you choose remote assistance, this can slow down your PC. So, the option should be unchecked when not required regularly. In a word, the answer to this question “does Avast slow down your computer” is yes. Avast can slow down your computer.
Does Avast slow down your computer? If you are looking for the answer to this question, this post is written for you. The answer is yes, and you can know why Avast slows down computer and what you should do to fix the slow PC issues caused by Avast. Also, how to improve your PC is told to you in this post from MiniTool.
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To keep the data on the computer safe, most of you choose to install an antivirus program to ensure security by detecting and removing some malicious software and viruses.
On the market, there are many antivirus programs. And as far as we know, Avast is one of the widely used and most reliable apps since it can keep your computer clean and offer help in many ways.
But sometimes you may encounter the issue of the slow computer when using this antivirus program. Then, you ask: is Avast slowing down my computer? Now, get the answer from the following part.
Does Avast Slow Down Your Computer
To some extent, an antivirus can have some influence on the overall speed of your machine.
Since the antivirus program performs automatic scans, the CPU usage can keep constant. While installing a new app or downloading a file from the Internet, Avast can perform a scan.
And it compares the network drive with several known malware signatures and behaviors during each scan. As a result, the list of malware types is growing greatly and the databases that Avast uses are large.
Luckily, the security company has noticed this problem and now they use the provider’s server to power the processes instead of the customer’s. Besides, there are some other reasons for Avast slowing down computer. For example, an additional tool or component that isn’t really needed is installed when you install Avast.
Also, the software can update automatically after turning on your computer. If you choose remote assistance, this can slow down your PC. So, the option should be unchecked when not required regularly.
In a word, the answer to this question “does Avast slow down your computer” is yes. Avast can slow down your computer.
Well then, what should you do if Avast slows down your computer? There are some methods you can find to speed up the computer. Now, let’s see them.
Solutions to Avast Slowing Down PC
Option 1: Load Avast After Windows Services
This is one of the easy and ideal solutions if the slow PC issue is triggered by Avast. Sometimes, this antivirus program and Windows services conflict with each other, leading to PC slowing down.
If you load Avast after Windows services, then everything will turn on after loading Windows. Just follow these steps to do this work.
Step 1: Run Avast Free Antivirus in your system.
Step 2: Click the Menu button to choose Settings.
Step 3: Under the Troubleshooting tab, ensure the option of Delay Avast startup is checked. In some old versions, the option is Load Avast services only after loading other system services.
After selecting the option, Avast services start only after your other computer services have started. Then, it may be helpful to fix Avast slowing down computer.
But this operation can leave your computer unprotected during startup. That is, the PC may get infected during that time. So, use this with discretion.
Option 2: Disable the Background Updates
You should know Avast can impact the computer speed because of its background updates. Avast may start downloading the latest version while you run the PC and want to check something on the Internet.
This behavior can slow down the PC. Besides, this situation can also occur when you are playing the game on the computer or working on the Internet. How annoying it is!
To get rid of this trouble, you can choose to disable the background updates to improve the computer’s performance by following these instructions below.
Step 1: Run this antivirus program on your computer.
Step 2: Go to Menu > Settings > Updates.
Step 3: Under the Virus definitions section, click More options and you can choose Ask when an update is available or Manual update.
If there is an available update, this program will show a notification and you only need to click the Update now button.
Option 3: Free up Disk Space
If your hard drive is full, you should free up the disk space since it can be the reason for Avast slowing down PC.
To get free space, you can choose to delete some unnecessary files, images or videos, remove the Recycle Bin, etc. Here, you can use Avast Cleanup to scan for your computer, find and remove unwanted files.
Option 4: Add the Memory to Computer
Sometimes the issue of Avast slowing down the computer happens since the machine has insufficient memory.
Some old computers have low RAM and memory, so they cannot run the latest and advanced software including Avast. If your computer becomes slow, ensure it has at least 4GB RAM and 500GB hard drive to run any new program.
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As to memory, you can add RAM to your computer. In our previous post - How to Get More RAM on Laptop—Free up RAM or Upgrade RAM, you can know some tips on getting more memory.
As to the disk, you can choose to upgrade your small disk to a large one. Also, this post - How to Upgrade to Larger Hard Drive Without Data Loss may be what you need.
Some Other Tips to Speed up PC
If Avast slows down the computer, there are some other easy methods you can try to speed up the machine.
Uncheck Avast Community and Data Sharing
Step 1: Run Avast and go to Settings > General > Privacy.
Step 2: Ensure these two options - Participate in the Avast community and Participate in data sharing are not checked.
Switch off the Mail Shield
If you are not using any email client on the computer, you can choose to switch off the Mail Shield. Just go to Settings of Avast to find the Mail Shield component and choose Stop permanently to disable it.
Remove Avast Tools
Avast has many tools that you don’t use. When this antivirus program slows down your PC, you can remove these tools from the PC.
1. Just open Control Panel and go to Uninstall a program under the Programs section.
2. Right-click the Avast tool and choose Uninstall.
Antivirus Mac Free
How to disable (stop or close), remove (or uninstall) Avast antivirus in Windows and Mac? This post shows you multiple methods for this work.
Now, we have shown you the answer to the question of “does Avast slow down your computer’ and how to fix the slow issue caused by Avast. In the next part, let’s see some common and useful tips to fix the slow PC caused by other reasons.
What to Do If Slow PC Is Caused by Other Reasons Rather Than Avast
Upgrade to SSD
If the Windows is running on an HDD, it may run slowly. If you install Avast, it may be much slower. To get rid of this situation, you can choose to upgrade your disk from HDD to SSD.
Best Free Antivirus Mac
How can you do this work? Professional PC cloning software – MiniTool ShadowMaker can be used to clone the hard drive to SSD. At first glance, you find it is a Windows backup software. Also, it can be used for disk upgrade since it offers a feature called Clone Disk.
Now, get MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial Edition by clicking the following button and install it on your computer.
Step 1: Run this cloning software by double-clicking the icon, click Keep Trial, and choose the local mode by clicking the left Connect button.
Step 2: Go to the Tools window, click Clone Disk.
Step 3: Choose the HDD as the source disk and your SSD as the target disk. Then, click OK and Yes to start the cloning operation.
Step 4: After finishing the clone, shut down your PC, remove the HDD, and install the SSD to the original place. Then, you can boot your PC from the SSD. Just enjoy the fast speed.
Make Sure the OS Is Up-to-Date
If the operating system is too old, the performance of the computer is low. Thus, make sure your operating system is the latest version.
In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security and click Check for updates in the Windows Update page. Then, Windows will start downloading available updates. Restart the PC to finish the operation.
Uninstall Some Unnecessary Programs
Some outdated programs may lead to errors and incompatibility issues, making the PC slow. Thus, you should uninstall some old and unnecessary programs from the computer.
Fix Disk Errors
If the disk is logically or physically damaged, PC can also slow down. You can use chkdsk to find & fix the logical errors and shield bad sectors. Just run Command Prompt with admin privileges, then type chkdsk x: /f and chkdsk x: /r in turn and press Enter after each one. (X is the drive letter)
A Suggestion: Back up Your Computer
After knowing the answer to the question of “does Avast slow down your computer” is yes, you choose to fix the issue. But some of you may directly remove Avast and don’t use antivirus software. Or you choose to install another antivirus program.
If you keep the PC safe by only the antivirus program, it is not enough since viruses always exist and the program may cannot completely block them. Thus, we have a suggestion for you: back up your important data or create a system image to avoid data loss or system breakdown due to viruses.
To do this work, MiniTool ShadowMaker can also help you. It is useful to back up files & folders, Windows system, disks, and partitions.
Here are some related articles:
Bottom Line
Does Avast slow down your computer? The answer is yes. And in this post, you know how to fix Avast slowing down PC, some tips to speed up your PC, and a suggestion to protect the machine.
If you have any idea about this topic or have any question when using our software, leave it to the Comment part or send an email to [email protected].
Does Avast Slow Down Your Computer FAQ
Mac Antivirus Scan
After any antivirus scanner has been installed in a computer, it will be loaded into the computer's memory each time the computer boots. Loading the antivirus program into memory helps protect your computer at all times, from any threat.
When any program loads itself into memory, including an antivirus program, it will consume some of the total memory available to the computer. If your computer does not have lots of memory or is already low in memory, this can affect the overall performance of the computer.
Today, most computers have plenty of memory. However, they can still encounter a system slow down as the antivirus scanner is scanning all files on the computer to see if they're infected. You can check if the antivirus program is scanning your computer, stop the scanning, and change when and how often the scanning should occur. You may also be able to change how intrusive the scan is, in terms of how much memory it uses when scanning.
Change when and how often scan occurs
Your antivirus program allows you to change when a scan is done (i.e., time of day) and how often a scan is done (i.e., day of the week). As each antivirus program is different, general steps are provided below to help you change the scan frequency.
- Open the antivirus program's console by right-clicking the icon associated with the antivirus program in the Windows Notification Area (bottom right portion of the screen).
- In the antivirus program menu that opens, select Properties, Settings, Control Center, or something similar.
You may also be able to double-click the antivirus program icon in the Windows Notification Area to open the console.
- In the antivirus program's console window, look for an option to update the scan schedule. It may be named 'Scheduler' or similar. The option may be located in a Settings or Advanced Settings section.
- In the current scanning schedule, modify the scan schedule to a frequency of your choosing. We recommend the scan run at least once every two or three days, to keep your computer protected against virus threats.
For example, users of the AVG antivirus program can adjust their scan schedule by following the steps below.
- Right-click the AVG icon () on the Windows Notification Area.
- Select Launch Test Center.
- In the Test Center, under the Scheduled Tasks, you can adjust when and how often your scan runs. If you want to disable the daily scan, double-click the scheduled task, click Edit Schedule, and uncheck the box.
Change scan intensity
Some antivirus programs may allow users to change the intensity of the scan, the amount of computer memory that is used during the scan process. Adjusting the scan intensity can help prevent the computer from becoming very slow during the scan process.
NoteYour antivirus program may not provide the ability to change scan intensity, so the steps below may not be applicable for your computer and antivirus program.
- Open the antivirus program's console by right-clicking the icon associated with the antivirus program in the Windows Notification Area (bottom right portion of the screen).
- In the antivirus program menu that opens, select Properties, Settings, Control Center, or something similar.
You may also be able to double-click the antivirus program icon in the Windows Notification Area to open the console.
- In the antivirus program's console window, look for an Advanced Settings option or section.
- In the Advanced Settings, look for a section named 'Scan Settings' or 'Scan Quality'.
- Look for a checkbox or drop-down menu that allows you to change the scan intensity to a lower setting or low memory usage option.
Additional information
- See our antivirus and slow definition for all links relating to slow computers.