Norton Internet Security / Norton AntiVirus

[nikki605 Super Contributor]

Is it normal for ccsvchst.exe to take up 50% of my CPU for a period of about 10 minutes?

I am running NIS 2012 v19.2.0.10

WinXP Pro 32-bit SP3 current with all MS critical updates

3.2GHz Intel P4

2.5GB RAM

120GB HDD with 55GB free

I see similar spikes running the same NIS product/version on my Intel i7 laptop (Win7 Pro 64-bit SP1; 8GB RAM) but it is only taking 25% of the CPU.

What exactly is this process? What function(s) does it perform and is this kind of usage normal or an indication of a problem?

I have no other a/v (security software) programs installed on either PC.

Here are detailed specs for the WinXP desktop and the Win7 laptop.

[PapauZ Norton Fighter · Accepted solution]

Hi,

this is completely normal. During idle times (when you are not using your machine) some idle time background tasks will run. These includes daily quick scans, and (on default settings) a monthly full system scan of your machine. You can check what jobs can be done during the idle time please open the product, click on Performance, and on the left side click on Norton Tasks.

Let us know if you have more questions :).

[nikki605 Super Contributor]

Seeing that the activity was during system idle time, I was wondering if it was related to the Quick Scan.

Thanks!

[ryan69]

If it last for more than 15-20 minutes it is not a quick scan I believe causing this. I choose to do manual live updates to minimize disk usage. I would go through in Norton the Misc settings use Silent Mode and Norton Computer settings and disable ide time scans if it helps lower your Cpu from being accessed constantly.