Hi. Can someone please advise me how to stop this bloated piece of junk software from running a quickscan 10 times per day? I'm so annoyed with this new version since it's been updated and how it does whatever it wants. I do not need it running a scan on my computer every few hours, it's unnecessary and drains my computer's resources. And who's bright idea was it to add all the garbage, like; disk defragmenter and registry cleaner, anyway? I'm beginning to think it's a better idea to pay for the version that isn't so bloated with excessive and wasteful features, than it is to use the free version that comes with my Comcast service.
Hi archmedes,
First of all a Quick Scan is run whenever a new virus def is downlaoded and the system goes into Idle - in other words - while you are not doing anything, so perhaps it is something else that is bogging down your systems - perhpas something like not completely removing another AV program prior to you installing Norton Security Suite.
Also, what you are calling garbage can be turned off and those tasks do not have to be run as part of the program.
You mentiond new version - could you tell us which version you had before and which version you have now? How long it has been since you installed NSS and how you installed it - did you remove any other AV prior to installing it? You can find the version number from the main [page of NSS by selecting Support > About.
Perhaps if you tell us specifiaccly more about your operating system, how and when you installed NSS, exactly waht you are tryng to stop and how you can tell that it is the Quick Scan that contiues to use your resources we can help you.
The previous version was nowhere near as bloated and resource-wasteful as the current one, but I'm unaware of its version ID.
Currently -- Norton Internet Security Suite, Version: 21.1.0.18
OS Platform (seemingly irrelevant to the problem): Win7 Home Premium x64, Intel i5 M520 2.4GHz with 4GB RAM
Turning off the unneccessary bloat features was the first thing that I did. Not everyone has a high-end, let alone a mid-range machine, and perhaps Norton and Comcast corporate should take that into consideration before adding features which have nothing to do with securing us from internet hazards -- e.g. disk defragmenter and registry cleaners. Keep it small and simple, not excessive.
Okay, so how do I change the setting to disable automatic updates to avoid the QuickScan from running 20 times per day? I'm not all over the Web visiting malicious sites getting infected, and am confident that being able to self-update my definitions is sufficient protection.
Thanks for the bit of feedback you provided, but you did nto answer all of our questions:
"Perhaps if you tell us specifically more about your operating system, how and when you installed NSS, exactly what you are tryng to stop and how you can tell that it is the Quick Scan that contiues to use your resources we can help you."
You mentioned a previous version of NSS - when was it first installed? I ask as NSS has been the Comcast product since sometime in 2010 and with each year's new product the footprinthas gotten smaller and lighter on users' systems. Also, all the "unecessary bloat features" have been a part of this product since it was first offered (about 4 versions ago).
The setting for Automatic LiveUpdate is located in the same spot as it was in previous versions of NSS. From the Main page > Settings > Quick Controls (right hand side of page) uncheck Automatic LiveUpdate.
I am still curious how you know it is the Quick Scan that is running "20 times a day". Also if you had another AV installed (even a retail copy of Norton) prior to installing NSS?
Have you tried to verify your installation by going to Support > Get Support from the main page of NSS and see if ti repairs anything or reports an error?
All previous versions of NSS on this machine have been from Comcast, but apparently I don't recall them having a disk defragmenter or registry clearner embedded within them. I noticed that NSS was consistently overusing the system's resouces by checking the Task Manager when I noticed the computer slowing down while trying to run other resource-demanding programs simultaneously. The update was done on its own and don't recall the installation date. I've since unchecked the auto-update concerning new software version.
I can't believe that I overlooked the option to disable Automatic LiveUpdate. Now hopefully it won't be scanning constantly thoughout the day when it isn't needed. The footprint may be getting smaller, however when it's using 19-25% of the processor for 15 minutes, 10 times per day is when it becomes excessive. But I suppose that's just my opinion.
Problem solved to the best it can be, I guess.
Well, I'm back again, already. All idle time scans are disabled and the scheduled scans are set to take place once per week during the middle of my night, but I noticed QuckScan running after I disabled Automatic LiveUpdate option. I have no idea how to get this thing to stop running scans on its own.
Once again - what is telling you it is the Quick Scan running? Have you gone into history (from main page > Tasks > Check Security History) and select Scan Results. I show two Quick Scans - one @ 7:26 this AM and one @ 11:23 AM. That's the only two I show for today. You can also slected LiveUpdate and see if it shows any since you turned it off - to verify that.
I would also suggest selecting Perfomance form the main paghe, let it flip and on the bottom chart, select CPU and you will be able to see what is being used by NSS (yellow) and what is being used by the rest of the system (blue). You can hover over the spikes with your mouse (it will display a blue arrow pointing down) placing this on the spikes and left clicking will display which processes are using the most CPU. By doing this you will be able to double checkif it is in fact the yellow (NSS) or blue (other system functions) that are using high CPU. In some cases the process will tell you what is using the CPU. N360 .exe is for NSS - but it doesn't break down what it is within NSS. Sometimes you can match the different history entries to the NSS CPU useage timewise.
One more thing I would like to suggest is to go into Control Panel > Program & Features and check to see if there are any other security programs installed, [perhaps an old AV, MBAM Pro, SAS Pro, or Spybot S & D (with Tea-Tmer running).
Let us know what you find out.
"what is telling you it is the Quick Scan running?"
Okay, I wasn't able to verify it was QuickScan that's been running -- I was assuming it still was the culprit based on previous experence. Upon examining the Check Security History > Full History, I was unable to determine what it is that's actually running. But something is running/scanning like clockwork and I can't figure out what it is. Auto LiveUpdate is disabled and no other scans are scheduled. However, the PC TuneUp options for Diagnstic Report and Startup Manager will not allow me to disable/uncheck their boxes. The aforementioned tuneup tasks display last run dates which do not coincide with whatever NSS is running regularly on this machine. The only options that are remain checked on the Settings > Quick Control are: Smart Firewall and Norton Tamper Protection. I've also checked the Get Support to see if there are problems with the installation, but it displayed that no errors were detected.
"I would also suggest selecting Perfomance form the main paghe, let it flip and on the bottom chart, select CPU and you will be able to see what is being used by NSS (yellow) and what is being used by the rest of the system (blue). "
"check to see if there are any other security programs installed"
Performance Monitoring is disabled because I exclusively use Windows Task Manager for that purpose. But I'll re-enable this Norton feature the next time I notice this unknown process is running in hopes of identifying what it really is. Lastly, there are no other antivirus, antispyware, or other security programs installed on this machine that would lead me to believe it was anything other than NSS running. At this point, I'm baffled at what Norton is doing that continues running at a regular intervals. I don't have the patience for this software anymore and feel it's better to just pay for a different antivirus program that allows me full control over it, rather than keeping this free Norton/Comcast product which runs according to its own unadjustable settings.
I*'ll be awaiting your next response after turning Performance Monitoring on and seeing what in NSS is really using all the CPU - or perhaps in fact that it is not NSS that is using all the CPU - but some other function running on a regular basis. Of course the choice to pursue this is up to you and I can understand your frustration.
If you decide to go with another program, please remove NSS via the Control Panel, reboot and then run the Norton Removal Tool in order to avoid any problems with your next AV program.
One more thing if I may, this Norton program is a basic "set it and forget it" type of program - it is not one that advanced users have found much room for modification in, so perhaps it is in fact not meant for you as it sounds as you have changed quite a few options and are still not satisfied - or perhaps expect too much?