Which Antivirus Slows Down Computer the Most?

Antiviruses will take up computing power, which at some point may have some impact on the software.

The general rule of thumb is that the more the antivirus is doing, the more the amount of toll on the processor.

The antivirus has to compare the network drive with several malware signatures and behaviors whenever a scan is done, which translates to a toll on the computer.

This article will look at the types of antiviruses that may take a toll on our computer, resulting in it slowing down.

Why the Computer May Slow Down

While the antivirus may take a toll on the system, it is worth noting that it may not necessarily be due to the antivirus if your system becomes slow.

Furthermore, certain levels of lagging and freezing cannot be attributed to an antivirus, as although it may have some impact, don the system may not be as much, as say how a virus would infect the same computer.

Which are some of the reasons your computer may have become slower?

1. Hard Drive Problems

You’d want first to take a look at your device and check for hard drive errors. Another problem would be a full hard drive memory, which may cause the computer to slow down.

2. Malware

Another reason for a computer slowing down may be the presence of malware, which may cause the computer to lag.

Malware tends to have a significant impact on the computer and is known to reduce the speeds tremendously.

3. OS

An OS system that has not been updated for a while will have the result of reducing the computer speeds.

If however after updating it the computer is still slow, then you can start suspecting the antivirus

4. Background Programs

If you have many background programs running, then you risk having the computer slow down.

The more the number of background programs, the more the processor speeds are shared between the programs reducing the overall speeds.

5. Active Software

There are heavy software’s which take a toll on the computer, whenever they run. This software may be the cause of your computer running slower than usual.

Top Antiviruses and CPU Usage

Some of the Antiviruses that may Slow Down your Computer System are.

Is AVG Slowing Down My PC?

This is one of the leading antiviruses in the market.

The antivirus is also fantastic when it comes to lab tests, as it eliminated 99% of the viruses and malware introduced to it.

One of the impressive features of the antivirus is the powerful antivirus scanner, which will get to and delete any malware that may come into your device.

The AVG scanner is always on and it will perform its tasks in the background, ensuring nothing risky gets into the computer.

The antivirus also comes with turbo scans, which endure that scans are performed at a faster rate.

If it finds a problem, it cannot tackle it will send the information to a threat lab team who will check it out and provide the information to the rest of the AVG users.

Apart from scanning, the antivirus also comes with a state of the art firewall, which will prevent any suspicious activity from ever reaching your computer.

You will get protection from ransomware, email-hacks keyloggers, and more.

The antivirus also comes with an ease of use that will make everyone navigate it without much support or FAQ answers. The interface is easy to use and well laid out.

You will also get a 24-hour support team in several ways, which will always be there with the answers you are looking for.

The pricing is also quite decent, and you will get three tiers of plans, including the free, security, and ultimate plans, each with different features and pricing.

AVG and CPU usage

However, according to multiple reviews, the antivirus can take up quite a chunk of your processor, impacting the computer speeds.

According to one user, the antivirus took up 30% of their CPU. The user tried to restart the computer, and even turn off the ‘enable AVG self-protection mode,’ but nothing changed.

According to support, the options provided include:

Uninstalling the AVG antivirus, and all traces of the software from the computer.
The user was then advised to restart the computer, after which they were to remove any traces of the antivirus, by deleting AVG files stored in the program files
He was then supposed to reinstall the AV antivirus and check if the issue persisted.

Read AVG Antivirus detailed review.

Bitdefender Antivirus

Another big name antivirus that will rival some of the best antiviruses out there is the Bitdefender antivirus.

The antivirus comes with the motto of ‘continuous testing,’ ‘continuous excellence,’ and ‘continuous innovating’ is one the reason the antivirus has maintained consistent results over time.

The antivirus comes with the same core protection across all the plans. This means that the antivirus will provide the same protection system for its paid and free users.

It will also analyze each new threat; log it before it removes it, meaning it has a massive database of potential threats.

The antivirus also comes with the ransomware remediation features; this will assess the more vulnerable files, and back them up.

They will also help stop ransomware from encrypting your data and information.

The antivirus also comes with a phishing detection technology, which will prevent websites from stealing your information, in the form of fake websites that require your info.

The antivirus also comes with a webcam protection feature, which will help prevent hackers from accessing your webcam.

For your economic needs, the antivirus features a safe pay mechanism, which will come in handy when doing any online transactions.

It offers the user a safe space for transacting without the scare that some hackers may get to your information.

The safe pay feature will also prevent unwanted extensions from working when you transact online.

The antivirus also features a password manager plus an ant tracking feature preventing anyone from digitally following you back to your IP.

The Bitdefender VPN is also one for the books, as it will offer its paid users unlimited bandwidth while free users will get 200MB a day, helping you surf privately without being tracked.

Apart from this, the antivirus also comes with several added features, including parental controls and anti-theft tools.

For the pricing, you will get a 30day free trial, with free users also getting a version, while paid users are getting a couple of plans to help tailor-make their preferences.

Bitdefender and CPU Usage

It has been said that Bitdefender may come with a problem of high CPU usage that may end up slowing down your whole system.

There have been a couple of complaints as to the occurrence, with devices of up to Core i5 capabilities getting affected.

The problem arises whenever a scheduled scan takes up the computer resources for the time of the scan, and switching the computer on and off will have no impact on the speed.

According to the user, the Bitdefender virus shields are the culprits and will hog up to 80% of the CPU at worst.

According to support, a high priority scan may be the problem; however, the user experienced so many problems that he ends up deleting the antivirus and reinstalling it again.

Read Bitdefender Antivirus detailed review.

Does Avast Antivirus Slow Down Your Computer?

Another amazing antivirus is the Avast software, which comes with top of the line protection mechanisms for your device.

The security system will not only check for malware and threats but also look for outdated software, malicious add-ons, network issues, unprotected and sensitive documents, and weak passwords.

Regarding detection rates, in terms of lab tests, the antivirus proved itself way above the competition, with it scoring on the higher side and the top contenders.

When it comes to features, the antivirus comes with several scan types, including a smart scan, full scan, and bot time scans.

You will also get a Wi-Fi scanner with the antivirus, which will help protect you against compromised Wi-Fi.

Apart from these, the antivirus also comes with several other features that come in handy such as the utility option.

The utility cleaner will take care of deleting junk from your computer and save you much-needed space.

You will also get a VPN feature, which will help provide some security from hackers accessing you through your IP address.

When it comes to the ease of use, the antivirus comes with an excellent looking interface, which is easy to understand, with simple menus and straightforward option. The antivirus also comes with 24hr support, at quite an affordable price.

Avast and High CPU Usage

Based on the functions that the antivirus provides, it may take a toll on the computer. Many users have reported on the antivirus, causing some lag on the CPU, making it quite hard to perform some activities.

Support has however provided a couple of ways to sort the problem out, and resume normal functioning, including the following:

Removing the Avast Cleanup

It seems that the problem associated with the Avast lagging is the Avast clean up tool. The software works in real time, meaning it is always on in the background, which means depending on the process, it may slow down the CPU.

The recommendation here is the removal of the Avast cleanup feature from the computer. How you go about this is through:

Opening the Avast user interface, click on the icon at the system tray, or find it in the start menu
Go to ‘settings’ and click on the ‘components tab.’
Click on the downward-facing arrow next to what you want to delete, and click uninstall a component, after which you can click ok to confirm the action.
Restart the PC and check to see if the problem has been solved.

It is worth noting that if this does not fix the problem, and the computer still crawls in performing functions, you can repeat the same process for the behavior shield and check to see if the problem is fixed.

Command Prompt Tweak

You can also choose to tweak the command prompt, which may have some effect on the scan frequency, setting it to the highest value.

Tweaking the command prompt may have the effect of disabling the background checks and cause some security risks; however, the CPU will go back to normal functioning.

How you go about this is by:

Using the ‘windows+X,’ key, you can open the menu and select the command prompt option. You can also choose to go through the right click on the start menu route and search for command prompt. Ensure you run it as the administrator.
Type in c: /ProgramData/AvastSoftware/Avast. You can then open the avast5.ini file and insert [GrimFighter]: ScanFrequency=99. Save the file, restart the computer, and check whether it has improved in terms of speeds.

Update to the Latest Version

There is a chance that you have an older version of the Avast antivirus, which may be why the CPU is getting slower while Avast is in use.

It is always advisable to have the latest update of the antivirus to keep it running efficiently.

Here are the steps to take to update the software.

Open the Avast interface through the start menu
You will see an update tab on the left side of the antivirus. There are two update buttons, one for the program and the other for virus definitions.
Update both the program and virus definitions and afterward check to see if the problem persists.

Avast Screen Saver Scanning Even When It Should Not

There has been suspicion that the Avast screensaver may be continuing with scanning even when the screen saver is not running anymore. This means that there might be unnecessary CPU usage that may cause it to lag.

The bad thing about the Avast screensaver scanning is that it will not show up on the Avast interface, meaning you might not even know about it.

Here is how you about solving that issue.

You will first have to the right click on a file located on the computer and choose to scan it with the Avast antivirus
The scan results will highlight which list of scans are currently running
Here you will have to locate the Avast screen saver scan and click on the stop button next to it.

Repair Avast from the Control Panel

Another reason the Avast antivirus may be causing problems to your PC may be due to wrong installation procedures.

You can simply repair the antivirus rather than deleting it and reinstalling it through the control panel.

How you go about it is through:

Ensure you are logged into the PC with the administrator account, as it is impossible to remove or make effective changes in the computer without it.
You will then have to click on the start menu and search for Avast through the control panel. The other option is through clicking on the gear icon and opening settings if you are using windows 10.
In the control panel, you can choose to uninstall the Avast program under the program area.
The uninstall programs tab will then open up several installed programs on the PC, locate the Avast antivirus, and click on the uninstall/repair option.
You will get two options, either uninstall or repair the program, select repair, and choose next to fix any installation problems that may have come up.
You will get a message asking you to confirm the choice; Avast will then get restarted after repair in the default setting.
Click Finish and restart your computer, after which you can check to see if there are lingering problems.

Disable the Mail Shield

There are times when the mail shield can be the main culprit in causing the CPU to become slower than usual. To rectify the problem, you will have to it.

Launch Avast from the start menu
Select the settings option and choose the ‘protection’ tab
Select ‘core shields’ in the protection tab and navigate t the ‘mail shield’ option.
Uncheck every option in this tab and use the ‘indefinitely’ option when doing this.
Restart Avast and check to see if the issue persists.

Disable Updater Notification

In case there are minor errors when Avast tries to send out update notifications, getting glitches due to some error, then you can expect the CPU to become quite slow.

To ensure this is not the cause of lagging, you have the option of disabling the updater notification which will require you to:

Open Avast
Click on the ‘menu’ tab and select ‘settings.’
In the settings option, click on the ‘performance’ tab on the left pane and select ‘software updater.’
In the software updater, you can then uncheck ‘notifications about new updates’ and click on ‘X’ afterward to close the window
Check to see if the issue persists.

Remove Unnecessary Avast Add-ons

One of the most feature-loaded antiviruses is Avast, which helps it when it comes to functionality.

For most users, however, additional features are not as useful, plus they take a toll on the CPU resources.

In case the Avast antivirus is still slowing down the computer, uninstalling some of these features may be the trick!

To do this, you will first need to:

Run the command prompt through ‘windows=R’ option
Type in ‘control panel’ and press enter
Click on ‘view by/ in the ‘category’ section
Click on the ‘uninstall a program’ option under ‘programs.’
Right-click on ‘Avast antivirus’ and select ‘uninstall.’
Click on the ‘modify’ option on the window that comes up
Uncheck all the unnecessary options apart from the web shield, mail shield, behavior shield, and the file shield.
Click on ‘change’ and wait for the installation to process
Check if an issue persists.

There are other antiviruses worth mentioning, that have also had some complaints against them whenever they run full scans, including the Total AV antivirus, and the BullGuard antivirus.

Read Avast Antivirus detailed review.

How Can You Speed Up the Computer

The computer may be undergoing some issues causing it to run slower due to threats and viruses.

However, there are some tips and tricks which if used can help you reduce the amount of lag on the computer, some of these tips include:

· Scanning at Night

As we have established, antivirus scans may be the reason for a slow computer, as the process may take up many computer resources.

The best way to navigate this is to do the scans at night, or do it when the computer is idle for long hours.

This will help prevent it from doing the same when working and saving up on some processor and memory.

· Clean Hard Drive

You should also ensure that you clean up the hard drive. This will come in handy in ensuring no memory is lost to junk files that may have found their way into the hard disk.

· Update Everything

Ensure that the OS, antivirus, apps, and anything that requires it is updated and the latest definitions.

· Choice of Antivirus

The choices of antivirus will go a long way in ensuring your computer stays healthy and working.

Depending on the Computer, you should always rely on the antivirus that will not be a bother rather a great addition to your work. Some of the factors to consider while choosing an antivirus is:

1. Cloud Processing

Ensure that the antivirus you choose uses cloud backup and storage systems. Instead of using your computer resources, the cloud-based antivirus will use their servers and web info.

The only downside to this is that it will not work unless you are connected to the internet.

2. Behavior-Based Systems

Previously, most computers used the option for signature databases to spot malware; however, due to the increase of foreign and unfamiliar malware, most antiviruses have pivoted to behavioral monitoring to check for antiviruses.

3. Low RAM usage

Always choose an antivirus that will use as little RAM as possible, and still churn out the best results. The lesser the RAM taken up, the lesser the lag will be on the antivirus.

4. Installation Time

Always choose the RAM that will take a short time to install. This is because some antiviruses may take a long time to install, meaning the elements it comes with are a lot and may cause your system to slow down.

Conclusion

Never settle for a slow computer based on an antivirus problem. They were created to make machines faster and not slower.

You have a lot of options out there when it comes to an antivirus, and if you are clever enough, you must have chosen money back feature, and tested a couple of antiviruses, before settling on what you chose.