Hello AVG! Multiple postings on this forum complained about the intrusiveness of Norton Anti-virus programs. I have been using Norton for years up to and including 2004 version. Today, I dumped it, using RegSeek to clean the registry afterwards..........result, an 80% reduction in those obnoxious 1-3 second pauses every 1-2 minutes of flight. I installed the free AVG from grisoft.com and it is perfectly compatible with my system. Sorry Symantec........you've lost my business.....NOTHING stands in the way of a nutcase FS9 simmer like me!!!! ......by the way, frame rates are unchanged, but performance is roughly doubled for me!!!Randy Jura, KPDX

80% reduction in those obnoxious 1-3 second pauses every 1-2 minutes of flight>>>>Can anyone give me a reason WHY Randy should have found such a difference? I too have pauses as he describes - I have not always had them, but for the last few months they've been happening - and I'm at a loss to know what causes them. All I can think of is virtual memory trying to catch up, as sometimes I get a texture refresh as the screen unfreezes; but I do run Norton Internet Security and Norton AV and don't turn them off when I sim (although I do configure Live Update so that it doesn't happen at random).Any input would be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, maybe I too should try AVG. I've heard other good reports.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

Norton is a bloated piece of junk - I really like NOD32, www.nod32.com - much lower memory footprint and has a perfect track record of picking up viruses.AVG is good too. (and free, which is a plus)

Hi Mark,"Can anyone give me a reason WHY Randy should have found such a difference?"Norton is a nice product, but it is not a good choice for a gaming machine. Norton roots itself deeply into the OS and has a number of background processes running even when one thinks they've shut down all the background processes. Even using Ken's FSAutoStart all the Norton stuff can't be stopped.Here's a good example of what it's like... when running Norton SystemWorks I would boot to desktop and show approximately 150Mb of RAM usage. That was with only Norton AV starting at boot-up. After formatting the same system and then installing all the same apps except Norton my boot-up memory usage showed 75-80Mb. And that was with AVG running at start-up.Memory usage is only a benchmark in my example, but keep in mind that the more memory being used (both Ram and virtual) the more system resources are being used. And those resources are better used for simming. :-) Cheers,GregP.S. Randy... how much are you willing to bet that you still have some Norton stuff on your system? You might want to visit the Symantec site to get some tips on getting rid of it all. There is alot of info on the web about this also.

MarkI am by no means an expert in computer technology so take this with a grain of salt...I too, had an irritating, even threatening to find another hobby, 1 to 2 second pause, occurring 1 to 2 minutes apart. The problem was that the video hung during that 2 second pause, but the FS processing continued so that when the video freed up, one would find one's self off the runway, through the ditch and careening across a parking ramp. And with the landing speed of say, B777 at nearly max landing weight, the arrival at the gate is, well let's just say a sudden event :)I finally traced this stutter to a *.dll file that I had added. It was an autosave feature that I got somewhere but don't remember where. The only suggestion I have is to look for autosave.dll. If you have that, isolate it, re-boot FS and see if that helps. It completely eliminated all stutters for me.I use Norton's 2002, with a completely up-to-date virus definition. I don't notice any adverse effects while simming. Of course, it may be my machine also. It's a hoss...Hope this helps!BobL

I checked the Symantec site and there is a complex and confusing series of articles about removal. I'm too tired to follow it now, but I may do it later. Actually, I think RegSeek probably did the trick, but it couldn't hurt, that is, after I back up the registry. It's been a process I tell you!!!Randy Jura, KPDX

I never thought of autosave, but I thought it made a new file every 5 minutes or so, not once a minute. Good to check on though!Randy Jura, KPDX

By coincidence I too used RegSeeker to clean Norton's stuff out of my registry. Difficult to get it all out... Norton uses some rather unique registry keys!Greg

The thing I also find interesting with NIS is not only the anto-vir, but the firewall. Given you can now have what sounds like a nicer alternative like AVG, what then would be the norton-replacement FW of choice?Besides, if you don't run a FW, could it be that the stutters you get are because of unwanted traffic coming in to your computer?

I was an avg fan for several years-unfortunately-I found that I routinely got several worms and viruses while I had it. Running avg I would get a message that the virus was found, but that the program could do nothing about it.When I got my new machine 8 months ago-it had Norton on it. I reluctantly decided to give it a try (I had some past horror stories with other Norton products). In 8 months time I have had no virus/worms like I used to get, and I haven't noticed any performance problems.Could all be machine specific-I am not sure there is an ideal solution that works for everyone.....http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

I use NAV 2004 and don't notice any pauses occurring in FS. Sometimes I use FS Autostart to shut things down, but even then I don't really notice any signficant performance difference.Don S.

I would like to echo a few sentiments from this thread.1) NAV is an overwieght piece of junk really, it is to large, and cumbersome for what it does.2) Nod32 is such a better program, its leaner, and has such a small footprint, also it can scan all 3 of my 120gb HDD's in under 10 mins, something NAV would take many hours to do3) Geoff, I totally agree with you, I too had problems with AVG and viruses, it in fact missed 2 viruses even while its defs being up to date, you get what you pay for.Dan.

I'm also a former Norton Internet Security and Antivirus customer. Today I'm using NOD32 for AV and Kerio for Firewall. I must say like earlier posts - it's a big difference in reduced stutter. I'm very pleased with NOD32 and Kerio./Jan B.

Since WindowsXP SP2 I am running a free half year trial of F-Secure Internet Security 2004. It includes a virusscanner and firewall. Both can be fully configured to your likings. So far I like it a lot, multiple update checks per day. I too stopped using Norton to increase available system resources. Anybody else using F-Secure here? If you're interested in this trial, a link to the download can by found via Microsoft's security page:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...us/default.mspx

I've read many times here that anti-virus software causes stutters but never had the nerve to switch it off - I have Norton anti-virus and Kerio firewall.After endless hours tweaking, I have resorted to pulling the plug out of the wall and killing both with Autostart.I have to say that stutters are MUCH less since I've been doing that, although I don't think I'd be brave enough to kill both if I were connected while flying.