Member Avatar for SebastianMWS

OK, I admit I'm posting a lot these days, ever since I installed a multiple anti-everything protection. Feeling much safer is a good thing, but now I'm facing another extreme...machine is painfully slow in everything I do - mouse pointer, typing, windows opening, websites downloading. The source of this is Winpatrol application - everything works fine until "Scotty" (icon on desktop bar) starts to chew this Ying&Yang ball or what ever that is, then everything starts to work with jerking action, letters just crawling on display while I type, in short - the machine is hardly usable for any serious work.

If someone knows what can be done about it, please advise. If there's no workaround, I'll be better off if I uninstall Winpatrol.

Thanks in advance !

Sebastian

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A short diagnostic and practical steps to try before removing anything permanently.

Rather than uninstalling right away, confirm whether WinPatrol/Scotty is actually the cause. Exit WinPatrol from the tray (right‑click the Scotty icon → Options → uncheck “Automatically run WinPatrol when Windows starts”, then Exit) and reproduce the slowdown while watching Task Manager for winpatrol.exe or other high‑CPU processes. If performance returns to normal with Scotty stopped, WinPatrol is the likely culprit. (forums.malwarebytes.com)

Why this happens: resident security and monitoring tools all hook deeply into Windows (file/registry/activity monitoring). When several resident engines or registry‑intensive utilities run at once they can compete for the same resources and cause UI stutters, slow typing, and jerky mouse movement. That behavior has been noted by Microsoft and by the security community; WinPatrol itself has had updates to reduce CPU usage and avoid conflicts in later releases. (learn.microsoft.com)

Practical options that keep protection but reduce the pain: update WinPatrol to the newest build; run it on demand instead of as a resident task (disable auto‑run), or add the WinPatrol folder to the AV exclusions so both programs are not scanning the same files at the same time. Keep only one resident antivirus engine and use other scanners as on‑demand “second opinions” rather than leaving multiple real‑time shields enabled — this follows common best practices endorsed by security communities. These steps fit with the ideas already mentioned by and while giving a reproducible way for to verify the cause. ()

Quick checklist: 1) Stop WinPatrol and check responsiveness; 2) If winpatrol.exe shows high CPU, disable auto‑run or update; 3) Remove or disable overlapping resident protection (leave one real‑time AV); 4) If unsure, capture a short Task Manager/Process Explorer snapshot with WinPatrol running vs stopped and compare — that proves the root cause before any permanent uninstall.

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Member Avatar for tayspen

Hmm, I would uninstall Winpatol, and stick with only one AV, as more than one can just cause problems as you have seen. I would go with AVG Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Member Avatar for SebastianMWS

Thanks, that's what I thought..too many guards makes crowd at the gates.

I already have Norton Anti Virus 5.02.04 installed and regulary updated. Can you point out with few words what would I benefit from replacing NAV with AVG ?

Member Avatar for tayspen

AVG Is:

[list=type]
[*]Free
[*]Light Wieght
[*]Performs the same as NAV
[*]Doesn't steal 90% of your system resources like Norton.
[*]Did I mention free?
[/list]

Member Avatar for SebastianMWS

Now I'm curious :) I might give it a try, can't be worse than once-upon-a-time NAV for Win98, as a bonus it's available in Windows and Linux - perfect marriage for my new double OS machine.

Thanks !


One more thing (sorry to jump in!); I've just been through some readings, some of which are suggesting double-check setups, like having AVG as resident and Avast for manual double check-ups..or vice versa, I don't think it's completely irrelevant which one you use for what role. Any comments or different suggestions for such twin configurations ?

Member Avatar for 'Stein

Heh sorry for a late reply, but I personally would go with AVG as the resident, and Avast as the manual second.

Thanks.

Member Avatar for SebastianMWS

Done already, but thanks !

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