Does MSE Work Well With Avira?
Microsoft Security Essentials does not work well with Avira because both programs perform the same function on the computer. To do their jobs effectively, they need exclusive access to your hard drive and operating system. By learning more about how antivirus programs work, you can gain a better understanding of why you should only have one running on your system at once.
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MSE and Avira
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Both MSE and Avira are antivirus programs. This means that they actively scan files you have stored on your computer, as well as any new files you download from the Internet. They both have much more access to Windows than other programs do, which is why they are able to scan other programs and files. You can scan your hard drive with both programs at the same time, but if you do, you will likely experience problems.
How Antivirus Programs Work
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You can think of an antivirus program as an extension of the operating system. They are said to have "low-level" access, which means they can obtain information from Windows about other files and programs such as their location, their date of creation, their size. Antivirus programs can even see the code of executable programs. They compare this information with a database of malware objects, and this is how they determine whether or not a file is a virus.
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Problems with Concurrent Scans
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If you scan your hard drive with MSE and Avira at the same time, your computer may slow to a crawl or even become unstable. Both programs have full access to Windows, and both programs can attempt to quarantine an infected file at the same time. If they do, they may create a loop in which one program locks the file down while the other prompts Windows to release the file to them. Aside from this, antivirus scans typically require a lot of computer memory, and your computer can slow to non-responsive levels if you run two scans concurrently.
Update Conflicts
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When an antivirus program connects to the Internet to update its virus signatures, it reserves a lot of the system's RAM to ensure that the update takes place smoothly regardless of what other programs you are running. This is why you may find your computer slower than usual at this time. If both MSE and Avira attempt to update at the same time, your computer may freeze until both updates are complete. This can equate to a daily period in which your computer is completely unresponsive.
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