Attention: All TheBAT! users!

[CodeTRUCKER]

I have been chasing rabbit trails for several days.  I think I may have finally ferreted out the problem being Avast! AV Home , but before I proceed any farther I would like to know if anyone has been using TheBAT!(4.0.38), AntiSpamSniper and Avast! together without problems of major slowdown and errors like...

Connection to host broken (last commands sent were: "DELE 414", "RETR 423"

[f0dder]

I've used TheBat + AntiSpamSniper (freeware version) and no antivirus for quiet a while, and haven't had any problems.

When I used the BayesIT antispam plugin I had freezes several times a month, though.

[Innuendo]

I'm using the The Bat! Professional v4.1.14.2 RC2 + AntispamSniper Pro v3.2.0.6 and while I'm not using any antivirus or firewall now I have used NOD32 v3 & v4, Eset Smart Security v3 & v4, and Outpost Security Suite Pro.

I haven't had trouble with any of these programs interacting and I'm the type to leave my email program running 24/7. Avast is a good candidate for your troubles, though. It's wreaked havoc in the past with programs like Newsbin Pro.

[CodeTRUCKER]

Thank you, Folks! 

Yes, the writing on the wall is pretty clear for Avast! and TB!  I did suspend A! and have been able to download about 3,000 mails in 11 hours.  Much better.

So, if I understand correctly, f0dder, you and Innuendo are not using any A-V for your mail without problems, but can we clarify if we are using any A-V at all?

[Innuendo]

The only AV I am currently using is called Common Sense v1.0. Unfortunately, it's not sold in any store and it's hard to find more than a handful of people who actually own it, let alone have it installed and are actually using it.  

Seriously, though, my email patterns make it very, very unlikely that I'll receive a virus that way. For everything else I think it through before I run anything. Another thing is I'm the only person who uses my PC. If you have anyone else who uses your PC that opens up who knows how many unknown attack vectors.

EDIT: A solution to your problem is to just add an exclusion to The Bat!'s mail directory to your AV's real-time scanner. Any viruses will be picked up when you unarchive the file and try to run it anyway.

[CodeTRUCKER]

...
EDIT: A solution to your problem is to just add an exclusion to The Bat!'s mail directory to your AV's real-time scanner. Any viruses will be picked up when you unarchive the file and try to run it anyway.

Ok, I did this (I think), but just to be sure... I have gone into Avast!'s settings and added an exclusion for A! to not monitor the top-level mail directory.  Regardless, this did the trick.  I have A! running normally and TB! is downloading as fast as it did when I had A! suspended!

[f0dder]

I haven't used any AV for quite some time. My combination of FireFox+NoScript+AdBlockPlus mixed with common sense has helped a lot . My NAT'ing router keeps me safe from automated internet attacks, and running a 64bit XP reduced the attack surface a bit further. And now I'm on Win7 which means I have UAC...

No, this isn't a guarantee against viruses, but I've been clean for quite a while.

[f0dder]

EDIT: A solution to your problem is to just add an exclusion to The Bat!'s mail directory to your AV's real-time scanner. Any viruses will be picked up when you unarchive the file and try to run it anyway.

This won't work if the antivirus program is monitoring the POP3/IMAP traffic though, rather than just monitoring files on disk?

[CodeTRUCKER]

You are so "on the mark" when you say that common sense goes a long way in AV strategies!

EDIT: A solution to your problem is to just add an exclusion to The Bat!'s mail directory to your AV's real-time scanner. Any viruses will be picked up when you unarchive the file and try to run it anyway.

This won't work if the antivirus program is monitoring the POP3/IMAP traffic though, rather than just monitoring files on disk?

f0dder, if what you say is true, how does on account for the fix I am presently enjoying?  No criticism.  I am just puzzled?

[f0dder]

EDIT: A solution to your problem is to just add an exclusion to The Bat!'s mail directory to your AV's real-time scanner. Any viruses will be picked up when you unarchive the file and try to run it anyway.

This won't work if the antivirus program is monitoring the POP3/IMAP traffic though, rather than just monitoring files on disk?

f0dder, if what you say is true, how does on account for the fix I am presently enjoying?  No criticism.  I am just puzzled?

My guess would be that the AV program doesn't filter the protocol, but only the files - otherwise it sounds pretty strange

Btw, I wouldn't suggest common sense as the only measure for other people. There's just so many things that can go wrong on the internet, and it only takes one hacked advertisement server for you to fall prey to a drive-by attack on a legitimate site.

[CodeTRUCKER]

Good advice even for geeks!

Since this thread is an offshoot of another thread how about we migrate over there to keep things uncluttered?