Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[Apostolos Spyware Scolder]

Hi, SantaFe,

If you are still using NIS 2012 could you please go to the main Norton UI, then click on "performance" and then click "Norton tasks".

On one of my 3 laptops, the oldest, with XP Pro SP3 and single core processor, sometimes the "tranparent" task "Product Maintenance" while usually it take 1 or 2 secs to complete and uses almost no CPU resources,, in random occasions while it previously failed to complete, it uses 100% of CPU for about 1 minute.

Furthermore, one time it used 100% of the CPU and took 17!!!!!! minutes to complete.

I do not know what triggered that behavior but maybe a failure of that process (which is included in ccsvchst.exe process), could be the reason.

It would be helpful if you could provide a screenshot of those tasks so we can see if all Norton tasks are successfully completed.

Hope this helps,

Apostolos,

[Edjr60 Super Phishing Phryer]

I'll join the crowd. Mine is either similar or different from others. Ever since the upgrade from 19.6.2.10 to the current 19.7.0.9 is when my problem started. Mine is when the system goes into idle time. If I so much as go to the kitchen to grab something cold, or to the bathroom, or outside to get the mail and talk to the neighbor, the CPU goes through the roof at 100%. This is crazy. I have an older system which is listed below, and I'm not about to have it ripped to pieces by NIS 2012.

To be perfectly clear, this only started since NIS Engine 19.7.0.9 was installed from live update when it came out. No problem of this sort before that. This computer has always had plenty of idle time so Norton could perform all of the background tasks that it needs to do.

I'm not going to do an uninstall and reinstall, which is the common suggestion, again since this only started since the last upgrade. Maybe other XP users are having this also, I don't know. Until there's a fix on this, I have taken the silly route of installing that Mouse Jiggle thing and so far it works.

I know people will say, you shouldn't do that because now your system won't go into idle time. I couldn't agree more. At the same time, I'm not going to have my system run right through the floor when I step outside either. I've been using NIS since 2007, upgrading each year and keeping a constant subscription the whole time. I hope to keep doing so. Until this is resolved, I guess the mouse jiggle tool and I will become friends.

Edjr60

Windows XP Home SP3 32bit  *  NIS 2012 (19.7.0.9)  *  Chrome 18.0.1025.168   IE8  *  MBAM Free

[Topopurim47]

i have winxp,sp3,ie8,nis2012.   old machine768mb of ram      with nis2011,  i have machine set to go into standby after 30min and have to press any key to start using again.   now, with nis2012 the cat walking into the room brings the machine out of standby .  it seems like nis2012 is always performing some kind of background task/update every hour 24/7 thus not allowing the hard drive to rest.  i'm not getting large cpu but hdd just runs all the time(its old and could be failing).  i turn the machine off at night now before i go to bed.

[petercf]

I am also getting the same issue.

Windows XP, SP3 running Norton AV 2011 and with the issue of,

- either the pc is idle and takes seconds to wake up as NAV is busy doing another scan

- pc is being used (like now) and CCSVCHST.EXE is running at between 40 to 60% CPU utilisation

I also note that NAV takes from 5 to 10 seconds to do an email check when my email client retrieves new email, especially if NAV is doing some other activity in the background.

So I do not see this as a 2012 issue, it exists in 2011 as well.

[crisoco8722]

Hello SantaFe, 

SantaFe wrote:

Problem
CCSVCHST.EXE causes a CPU usage of 90-100% and will not go off.  In other words, ccsvchst is running at full CPU utilization.  Fan goes into extreme run mode.  When I shut down the computer and then turn it back on it goes back to CPU usage of 90-100% and will not go off. 

Things I have tried
I've used Norton Removal Tool and reinstalled NIS.
I have tried to solve the problem by turning Silent Mode ON.  This helped for a while.
I installed Mouse Jiggler to keep the system from going into idle. It seems to help sometimes.  
I will not reinstall Windows from scratch!  I will buy another product first.

Yes, you are certainly on the right lines with a number of your settings. I had been suffering with the dreaded Norton Automatic Scan issue for a long time before I finally solved it. I say finally solved it because the remaining issue of scans running in idle time still ran once a day.

Now I read your post and want to thank you very much for Mouse Jiggler as this should completely solve that problem.

In my case I have quite an old processor designed for Windows XP which will not cope in Windows 7 with the extended high cpu while Norton runs its idle time scan.

If you are interested I have a lot of postings on the subject. Perhaps if you were to look at all my posts by clicking my username you will find what you want to know but if not it is described here.

or to summarize I do it like this .......

1. Turn off Automatic LiveUpdate. Run Windows Task Scheduler updates instead. Minimum 30 secs delay 1st. Logon +.

2. Block Automated Quick Scans by running NIS in Quiet Mode continuously.

3. Run Quick Scans from Windows Task Scheduler at set intervals during the day. Minimum 30 secs delay 1st. Logon +.

4. Set a number of programs into NIS that will put NIS in Quiet Mode immediately at startup.

5. Set Resume Delay to 20 minutes. Set Tasks Delay to 20 minutes & Idle Time Out to 30 minutes.

6. Turn Idle Time Optimizer off.

7. Set Enable Boot Time Protection to Normal (so that Norton can be placed in Quiet Mode at a very early stage)

8. Turn off LiveUpdate, Pulse Updates, Download of New Version & Smart Definitions.

9. Install DriveGLEAM to continuously check the cpu usage in the Notification Area. Will continually show cpu usage.

10. Make sure you have a Windows account User Name & Password set up to run Task Schedules in Norton.

11. Wait a couple of minutes before entering the password. (ensures NIS enters Quiet Mode straight away).

12. Install WinPatrol. Set none urgent startup programs to delay start. Allows LiveUpdate schedule at startup to run cleanly.

13. Delay the start of programs that are not required immediately or may overlap in cpu usage.

14. Change the default Full System Scan to run via Windows Task Scheduler at a specific time of day.

15. Avoid setting anything to run in idle time when you cannot see what may be causing the problem.

and of course now........

16. Install Mouse Jiggler and set it to Zen Jiggle.

I do not think that many users really want to take the trouble to disable so much in Norton 2012 and re-schedule the tasks in Windows Task Scheduler but I can assure everyone that it does work. I have had it running for some time now and have made slight adjustments to the time that Background Scans run so as not to interfere with other computer usage like scheduled LiveUpdate etc. Works a treat. It is really a question of whether you want to continue using Norton Internet Security 2012 and spending time to set it up another way or move on. If it is any consolation I have tried other security programs but still return to Norton. I have also gone back to NIS 2011 and the same problems exist there eventually.

Thanks to you I have now installed Mouse Jiggler and placed it in Zen Jiggle mode and will monitor the Scan Now / Custom Scan / Quick Scan date and time, which is where I can see if any Automated Idle Time Scans have run that day.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

PS. I am also going to suggest to the Norton Developers that they consider having an option to change the scan time for Quick Scans & Full Scans as this is where the problem exists. I would suggest having a slider bar that can set the time according the users processor, slow for my processor or fast for users with todays high performance processors. In that way users can determine what cpu is being used at the various settings. Then the current Quick Scans which usually take around 3 or 4 minutes at 90%+ cpu with an older processor can be set to run slowly in the background unnoticed for 10 or 15 minutes at say only 30% cpu.

[crisoco8722]

crisoco8722 wrote:

I have now installed Mouse Jiggler and placed it in Zen Jiggle mode.

---

For anyone that is interested I have found a much better mouse movement simulator called ......

Caffeine from http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk

Mouse Jiggler worked fine but it had no means of starting with Windows or quickly shutting down when started from a shortcut.

Caffeine can be started with Windows and places an icon in the Notification Area where it can turned on or off as required.