22 replies to this topic

[The Scorpion]

Having a problem with SAS freezing my computer every time I attempt to run it. (latest version 5.5.0.1016 free edition)
When I activate it the splash screen shows briefly and then the 'bug' icon appears in the screen tray. The hard drive then begins working continuously and everything freezes up. Clicking on the icon does nothing and no other programs can be used. I have to close down my pc with the 'power off' button.
When I restart my pc normally, SAS loads automatically and again everything freezes with the hard drive working continuously. This has been up to ten plus minutes before I give up and restart.
I tried running SAS in safe mode but again the same freeze problem.
I had to power off, restart again in Safe mode and remove SAS.
With SAS removed there is no problem.
I have Widows XP Pro.
Firefox 15.0.1
Anyone else experiencing this?

[GuiltySpark]

Check to see what processes are running in the background and shut down your browser when you run SAS.

[sdept]

This is happening to me as well. I am running XP Home Edition. Starting SAS just gives me the bug in the tray and starts to consume available memory. Watching it on Task Manager, the memory usage for SuperAntiSpyware.exe is often above 300000 K, sometimes above 350000 K, and the pagefile is being accessed constantly even though there's nothing besides SAS and Task Manager (and the usual assortment of OS processes) running. (On this old computer, that's a lot of memory.) Like the Scorpion, I get tired of waiting and blow it off via Task Manager and things are back to normal.

[GuiltySpark]

When SAS starts you get a splash screen then it disappears and the bug icon appears in the task bar, click this bug icon and the programme will be displayed.

*You can turn this function off on the Home screen --- Preferences --- uncheck Show splash screen on start up.

[sdept]

On my computer, clicking on the bug icon has no effect, even after several minutes. In the past there was always a lag, but after ~30 seconds or so the program would start. Now, not only does it not present a screen, the executable just accumulates ram and the pagefile access is virtually constant.

[protection]

Use the free versionAnd activate it Then disabled Scheduled Scanning and Automatic Updates
And keep Real-Time Protection on . . . definitely will solve your problem
Because freezing and Large consumption in RAM from Them .

[GuiltySpark]

I would uninstall SAS completely (will try to find the uninstall tool) and re-install it.

Found it : http://www.superanti...lay.html?faq=47

[The Scorpion]

Thanks for the suggestions Guilty Spark.
However, as sdept found, clicking on the 'bug' does nothing. Also, I cannot access Task Manager when SAS is running as everything is frozen except the hard drive which appears to keep running continuously. I tried running SAS with nothing else (no browser, email etc) but same problem. I also tried running it in Safe Mode as said before.
I tried uninstalling and re-installing - same problem.

Thanks for the suggestion Protection.
That's not possible though as nothing can be accessed once SAS is started - not even its own menu.

[GuiltySpark]

Have just installed on a test machine and had no problems.

How much RAM do you have ?

What other Antispyware products do you have running ?

[The Scorpion]

Have just installed on a test machine and had no problems.

How much RAM do you have ?

What other Antispyware products do you have running ?

500MB RAM
Avast anti virus, Zemana antilogger and PCTools Firewall Plus
Windows XP Pro, Firefox 15.0.1
I've tried running SAS in safe mode as well though, so those programs wouldn't have been running at the time. I'm wondering if there is something that is causing the SAS loading process to loop?

[GuiltySpark]

I'm assuming you're using XP SP3, try downloading CCleaner : http://www.filehippo...nload_ccleaner/

Run the cookie cleaner (don't worry about the reg at this stage) remove all the cookie files it finds.

Restart the computer in safe mode and try to open SAS.

[The Scorpion]

Success! (I think)
I've just d/loaded SAS again and re-installed it.
Used 'custom' install and unchecked all but 'check for def updates' on completion.
The splash screen and 'bug' appeared and after 5 minutes the full SAS screen appeared and the pc ran freely.
I then clicked on 'Check for updates' to see what would happen and got ...

Checking for authentication - complete
Checking for definition updates - complete
Definitions are up to date - complete

The 'bug' logo had a small 'blue' circle on it during this period which remained there until I clicked 'close' on the def update window. I thought it must be still working and checking something but after 5min nothing else was added to the list so I 'closed' the window and the 'blue' circle disappeared.
Would that be the complete check list or was there something else being checked?

Anyhow, seems it's working now though the checking process seems to take a while.
Thanks for the replies.

[GuiltySpark]

As soon as you get All Completions then you can just close out as it's all done.

But glad it's all working for you.

[sdept]

I used the SAS uninstaller, ran CCleaner, re-downloaded SAS and installed it, and started it again. I'm experiencing the same results today as what I have previously described above. The executable escalates its use of ram. The pagefile is in constant use. The computer's performance slows to virtually nil. Ending the processes in task manager is the only alternative.

I would send a pdf of a screenprint but the forum server returns an error when I try to attach a file...

[GuiltySpark]

@ sdept ,

Try using this : http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

[SAS Customer Service]

Try disabling real-time protection and see if the issue continues.

[The Scorpion]

I updated definitions again today. I was about to give up when the update screen finished working after 10 minutes, the longest update segment seemed to be for 'Processing Core definitions'. While the pc didn't freeze this time, any other action I attempted on it (eg Task Manager) was extremely slow even though the only program running was SAS.
Even after the def's completed with SAS still loaded but not scanning, there was still an appreciable time lag in pc performance before it 'cleared' and ran as normal.
I don't have Real Time protection enabled. These later versions of the program seem to run very slowly.

[rcprimak]

I am a long-time user of Super Antispyware, and I am now having the exact same issue as The Scorpion. Same general system limitations -- 512MB RAM, no graphics RAM, single-core PEntium P4M processor on an older (2005) Winbook laptop.

SAS Core and the Updater max out RAM and Paging Files. Windows XP Pro SP3 (32-bit), fully patched, freezes and I have to use the hardware reset button.

The past two SAS program versions have been doing this.

Turned Comodo Firewall down to Training Mode for Firewall and Defense+.

SAS won't even start up in Safe Mode, but the Tray Icon (the "Bug") is present.

When installing, the Installer was able to update to the latest definitions, but when installed, the program is not updating. Rather, memory usage explodes and the hard drive thrashes.

This is definitely a classic Memory Leak, somewhere in the SAS Utilities or the SAS Updater parts of the installed SAS program. Especially at the stage when the Core Definitions are being processed (and written to a protected directory).

The Technician's Edition (SAS Portable) downloads and runs scans just fine, but I really want to install SAS permanently on this laptop.

I have no problems whatsoever with SAS installed on my recent (2010) dual-core (Intel Core i-5) Toshiba Satellite laptop with 4GB system RAM and NVidia/Intel dual-mode graphics. This is under 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, SP1, fully patched.

Clearly, the difference is mainly in the Operating System Version and in the available System Resources, especially RAM. Perhaps also a difference in the 64-bit SAS mode vs. the 32-bit mode.

While the issue is being looked into, I can continue to use the SAS Portable version on the Winbook. It's a bit of a bother to download a fresh copy every time I need to scan that laptop, but the scans seem to be of equal quality to the installed SAS program, except that I cannot build up a list of Allowed Files, such as the Nir Sofer Utilities which are always flagged as Hack Tools.

Overall, I was completely satisfied with SAS until these updates, and have continued to recommend this excellent antispyware program. I would just like for this Memory Leak issue to be resolved.

To clarify what I wrote above, I think the leak is happening when the Updater is processing the Core Definitions (and trying to write to the protected SAS directory associated with its Definitions). But there are other times when SAS and SAS Core are consuming large amounts of RAM on the Winbook.

I was involved in an exchange with SAS technical staff several years ago when a very simiilar issue was happening. Only at that time, the memory leak was so severe as to cause a Blue Screen of Death in Windows XP. It seemed at the time that the SAS Updater was failing to write to its own protected directory for some reason. The cause was found to involve at least one aspect of the Zone Alarm Firewall (similar to the Kaspersky antivirus engine). I no longer use Zone Alarm, and Comodo should have little in common with the old Kaspersky engine. And, I have reinstalled Windows XP on the Wnbook since then.

I hope some of these details help track down the present memory leak issue.

[avoidz]

deleted by user

[glow]

I am a long time fan of SAS, first the free version and now Pro. But I too am having the same problems as described above. Have had to uninstall----again! I hope these issues will be resolved soon because I will not be reinstalling until then.