Avast 4.8 dead... where to now for annoyance-free AV?

[Legoman]

Avast Pro v4.8.1368 is finally dead after something like 8 years of reliable use. Avast are no longer providing virus definition updates for v4.xx, so while it still works, it's effectively stuck in 2016 forevermore. I'm looking for recommendations for a new AV that was as easy and logical as Avast was to configure, but most importantly has the configurable ability to have the real-time system scan engine switched off.

The ability to switch off the on-access system scan engine completely is what kept me from updating Avast past v4.8.1368 believing this was the last AV program anywhere that still retained the ability to switch off the constant scanning of known clean files on every disk access (and thus slowing down the computer responsiveness). Is there any AV product out there today that still retains this option?

[uk666]

Nearly all antivirus protection programs can be temporarily disabled.

For temporarily disabling an antivirus program, not uninstalling antivirus and other programs in Windows. Additionally, the answer to this question varies from one antivirus program to another, so you may have to use some intuition. 

However, nearly all antivirus protection programs can be temporarily disabled by following the steps below:

Locate the antivirus protection program icon on the Windows Notification Area.

Once the antivirus icon has been located, right-click the icon and select disable, stop, or something similar. In some cases, you may need to open the program control centre and disable it using the program's menus.

How to disable Microsoft Security Essentials

In the previous section, I mentioned how to disable many third party antivirus programs and that some of them require more than a few clicks in the system tray. Microsoft Security Essentials is one of the special. 

Click the Microsoft Security Essentials Icon in the Windows Notification area and then click open.

Click the Settings tab then Real-time protection.

Unchecked the box next to Turn on real-time protection (recommended).

Save your changes.

Tip: To turn protection back on, follow these steps again and check the box next to Turn on real-time protection.

Disable by starting in Safe Mode

If the previous recommendations did not help you disable your antivirus scanner, you can boot into Safe Mode, which does not load any third-party programs including your antivirus program. This is helpful for times you are concerned about the antivirus program interrupting a program during an installation.

IMPORTANT:

• My recommendation in general is to leave those features turned on.
• You can try - AVG 2017 it is free and it doesn't slow the system down. 

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[Legoman]

Thanks for reply, but maybe I wasn't being specific enough. I'm not wanting to temporarily disable the entire AV program. Perhaps this isn't the case anymore with the way AV programs are written, but 8 years ago when I was last shopping for an AV program, they traditionally came with several separate 'engines' or modules for scanning specific aspects of a computer operation. For example, Avast came with the following:

Internet Mail

Outlook/Exchange

Instant Message shield

P2P shield

Network Shield

Web Shield

Script Blocking

Standard Shield

I know that both McAfee + Avast were written this way at a time. Each of these different individual engines could be configured completely independently of each other and turned on/off as necessary. Obviously, the more you were able to switch off, the less intrusive the program became and the faster your computer would run. If your computer is not connected to a network (or the network is small and secure and known to be clean) for example, then you could safely switch off the Network Shield. Same if you don't use P2P software or instant messaging.

The module that is most intrusive, most resource intensive and slows down the computer the most is the 'Standard Shield'. That's the one that scans every executable file on every read access. Scanning the same clean files over and over again is utterly pointless and only serves to slow the computer down and delay application start-ups. It is this module I want to be able to disable whilst leaving all the others activated.

Are there any AV products available today that have this same user-configurable design? I've only been able to find all-or-nothing approaches, where the only options available are to switch everything off or everything on, not just specific parts.

 

 

[geno]

Well its not free but based on you said you might check Eset as under the advance setup allows you to disable more specific parts of the program.  Sadly odds are the free ones which there aren't many choices aren't going to allow that anymore without you having to most likely purchase their paid version.  Also as far as most companies go they are aimed more at the uneducated masses to try and prevent them from either getting a virus and/or spreading it, most aren't don't care about speed of the computer

[uk666]

19 hours ago, Legoman said:

Are there any AV products available today that have this same user-configurable design? I've only been able to find all-or-nothing approaches, where the only options available are to switch everything off or everything on, not just specific parts.

You can disable individual modules/services separately in nearly all antivirus software E.g.

AVG AntiVirus FREE and AVG Internet Security Unlimited

Disabling Specific Components:

Computer protection (Resident Shield)
The Computer component ensures full protection of your computer from the inside, which makes it useful even if your computer is not connected to any network at the moment. It can detect all known types of viruses and spyware, including sleeping threats and rootkits.
You can manually disabled this module.

Web browsing protection (LinkScanner, Online Shield)
The Web Browsing component ensures full protection of your computer from the Internet. It can detect all known types of viruses and spyware, and also complex threats such as exploits and malicious websites.
You can manually disabled this module

Identity protection (Identity Protection, Identity Alert)
The Identity component protects your computer by constantly monitoring all running applications and processes, watching for any potentially malicious activity. It also checks regularly whether your personal details have not become a subject of misuse on the Internet.
You can manually disabled this module

Email protection (E-mail Scanner, Anti-Spam)
The Email Scanner component offers complete protection of your e-mails from viruses, spyware, and spam.
You can manually disabled this module

Firewall
The AVG Firewall component controls all network traffic on your computer. Based on its settings, it allows or blocks attempts to connect to a network and send or receive any kind of data over a network.
You can manually disabled this module