Reference number: CH001124

My computer is slow after installing an anti-virus.

Question:

My computer is slow after installing an anti-virus.

Answer:

After any anti-virus scanner has been installed in a computer, it will be loaded into the computers memory each time the computer boots. This is done to help protect your computer at all times, from any threat. When any program loads itself into memory, including an anti-virus program, it will consume some of the total memory available to the computer. If your computer does not have a lot of memory, or is already low in memory, this can affect the overall performance of the computer. To see how much memory your computer has and what is available see document CH000149.

Today most computers will have plenty of memory, however, will encounter a common system slow down as the anti-virus scanner is scanning all files on the computer to see if they're infected. You can often determine if an anti-virus scanner is scanning your computer, stop the scanning, and change how often and when the scanning should occur by opening the anti-virus properties. To do this right-click on the icon associated with the anti-virus in the Windows Systray (bottom right portion of the screen) and view the Control Center or Properties of the scanner.

For example, AVG users can adjust their scan settings by following the below steps.

1. Right click on the AVG icon () on the Systray.
2. Select Launch Test Center.
3. Within the Test Center, under the Scheduled Tasks, you'll be able to adjust how often your scan runs and when. If you wish to disable the daily scan, double-click the scheduled task and click Edit Schedule and uncheck the box.