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pap
Contributor
Message 1 of 40

McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

Hi,

I'm currently using Mcafee AntiVirus plus software.

My operating system is Windows Vista (latest service pack)

Recently I have been experiencing problems with very slow start-up of my internet connection.

Prior to this, when I turned my PC on I would be connected to the internet almost instantly.

Now I turn my PC on and it takes a full 8 minutes before I can connect to the internet.

Once I am connected (after 8 minutes) everything runs fine.

My concern is this 8 minute delay.

I have traced the problem to the McAfee Antivirus software.

When I uninstall the Mcafee software everything works ok and my internet starts up instantly.

When I re-install the Mcafee software it’s the same problem . . . 8 minutes to connect to internet.

I have further narrowed down the problem as follows;

Today is May 26th 2012.

If I perform a Windows system restore to a restore point from before April 25th 2012 everything works fine. There is no problem with McAfee and the Internet connects instantly.

After I restore my system to the above restore point I then download the latest McAfee updates and when I restart my PC I have the same problem again. 8 minutes to connect to the Internet.

The mere act of downloading the McAfee updates after April 25th is what is causing the problem.

So what is in these updates that is causing the problem and what do I need to do to fix it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Further Note: I have tried disabling and enabling the McAfee firewall. It makes no difference to the problem.

The problem is some 'dodgy' update from McAfee that was downloaded by me after April 25th 2012

39 Replies
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 2 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

There is a known issue with the software interfering with the Internet connection at Startup.  You may wish to open a case with Technical Support which is free via phone or online chat, linked under Useful Links at the top of this page.

They need as many examples of it as possible in order to troubleshoot it.

I use Vista also and have the problem intermittently.  I find simply right-clicking the Network icon near the clock and selecting Diagnose and Repair usually fixes it in a jiffy.

Meanwhile you can stop the software looking for updates immediately on bootup.

Double-click the taskbar icon to open SecurityCenter

Click Dismiss if any notice is displayed

Click Updates, then Settings

Adjust the options there if you wish.

Don't keep using System Restore as it's pointless because the software will continue to update anyway and you could feasibly cause an insecurity that way.   It's taking longer than usual to sort this issue out due to a severe fire which rendered the Technical Support building uninhabitable for several days earlier this past week.

(Click image to magnify if needed)

Capture.JPG

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 26/05/12 7:10:33 EDT AM
pap
Contributor
Message 3 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

'Ex-Brit', thank you for the quick reply.

I have already opened a case with technical support and the answer I received from them has absolutely nothing to do with the question I sent them.

Hence my post on this help forum.

Someone in Tech support can’t be bothered reading my message. Instead I get sent a standard email with the standard fix for the standard problem which is NOT even my problem.

To be specific the guy that ‘answered’ my email says that “you seem to be having problems browsing webpages” . . . . Huh!!??

I have absolutely no issue whatsoever with webpages. I never even mentioned this.

My problem is as outlined in my post above and as explaind to tech support via email.

Then he tells me to disable & then to enable my firewall and that should fix it.

Again he didn’t even bother reading my email because I mentioned that I have already done this all with no success.

He then tells me is a problem with my ISP.

It has nothing to do with my ISP.

The issue is as outlined in my post above.

Before April 25th everything is working fine then I download McAfee updates and everything goes pearshaped.

I then do a system restore to April 25th (before the McAfee updates) and everything is working fine again. I then update McAfee again and again I get the dramas.

Another system restore to Arpil 25th and everything’s perfect. Update McAfee again and dramas again.

IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY ISP!! And everything to do with a dodgy update from McAfee

This was explained crystal clearly to Tech support, but someone there is not bothering to read my email or if they are they can’t understand English.

It’s sort of like me asking this question;

“What is the Capital city of France”?

and then getting this answer;

“Yes, Croissants are very tasty aren’t they”

Sheesh!! Talk about frustration plus!!

Ex-Brit thanks for the suggestion re: right clicking on the Network icon & running ‘Diagnose & Repair’. Unfortunately this procedure does not work for me.

Also I have already disabled backups on bootup quite some time back. Thanks for the tip though

Now as far as Windows system restore is concerned, the reason I have used this is to prove a point . . . and that point being that prior to April 25th all is ok but after McAfee downloads are installed post April 25th everything goes wrong.

Doing this kind of investigation has narrowed down the culprit . . .and the Culprit is . . . . McAfee !!

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 4 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

Yes, obviously they didn't quite understand the problem.  However it's best at that stage to pursue it further and ask for an escalation but don't use the email method of contacting them.  It is free to call them by phone or us the online chat client, and it is available 24/7 in your area.

Asking for an escalation means it goes to the next level of support.

It's an issue well-known in the forums and by the support staff we are in contact with so you can tell them that.

Support was in a bit of a turmoil for the last few days due to a severe fire that put their main office building out of action, but it should be almost back to normal by now.

.

Message was edited by: Ex_Brit on 26/05/12 9:29:26 EDT AM
hbrew4u
Former Member
Message 5 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

Hi Guys, This is the very same problem that I am having. I have a Dell running 32/64 bit Vista with SP2. When I boot up everything is accessible but McAfee and the internet tray icon. By accessible I mean that I can roll my mouse over everything else and get a response from them. The McAfee and "Two Computer Icon" is not active. It takes about 3-5 minutes for everything to clear with the McAfee icon "coming alive" first and then a connection to the internet is made. Other than this I have been pleased with the performance of the Anit-Virus protection supplied by McAfee. I had my ISP (Time Warner) check out my broadband connection and everything seems ok with it. I removed the McAfee program and then things worked just like they should. Reloaded the protection and the problem is back. When I get home tonight/at work now, I think I will do the online chat with them and see what is going on. It does make me feel better to know that I am not the only one out here with this problem. Hope a "fix' comes soon.

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 6 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

If it makes you guys feel any better I have the issue too and at least one other of the Moderators has it also.   Support is the best bet here and ask them to escalate it.

pap
Contributor
Message 7 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

hbrew4u, definitely send your concerns into Technical support and post your findings here if you can.

I will be doing the same.

The way I see it, the more people that contact Tech support with this issue the quicker will be the resolution.

As we all know . . . . . .  “the squeaky wheel get the oil”

I don’t really want to change over to another AntiVirus software as McAfee has served me well for years, however if this issue cannot be fixed in a timely manner then that’s the road I’m going to have to go down unfortunately.

Anyway, If I hear anything from Tech support I will post back here

hbrew4u
Former Member
Message 8 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

Hello Pap,

Well I spent about an hour last night with Technical support and have absolutely nothing to show for it. They did a remote removal and re-install and nothing has changed. I kept telling the guy that this was not just an isolated case, but it still felt like reinventing the wheel. I'm not real savy with the computer by any means but I did find that the service host hangs during startup. I looked back thru the logs and it started the first week in May.

I'm still hopeful that we can get this fixed and move on.....

pap
Contributor
Message 9 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

Hi hbrew4u,

Yeh, some of those Tech service guys are as useless as tits on a bull!!

Anyway, I spent the last couple of hours searching the ‘net for some kind of a solution to this problem and found that it may have something to do with the startup service called ‘Bonjour’

‘Bonjour’ is bullshitty little program that allows apple itunes (as well as other Apple software) to advertise & discover services on the local network and allows you to connect to hardware devices like Apple TV. Like I said, a bullshitty little program that seems to serve the Apple corporation whilst eating resources on your PC

On my Windows Vista I have apple itunes so naturally I will have ‘Bonjour’.

When I check my startup services I see that ‘Bonjour’ is set to start automatically.

To do this I type,     services.msc       at the windows ‘run’ box.

This takes me to a window where I can see that I’m running ‘Bonjour’ automatically.

If I double click on this ‘Bonjour’ I have the option to have this start ‘Automatic’ or ‘manual’ or ‘disabled’.

I selected ‘manual’, saved the change then rebooted my PC.

In my original post I said that it took a full 8 minutes to connect to the internet when my PC starts up. Now with ‘Bonjour’ set to manual it only takes me about 2 minutes.

This is still 2 minutes too long but hey it’s better than nothing.

Strangely enough, If I set ‘Bonjour’ to ‘disabled’ this doesn’t really help for me.

It only helps a bit if I set it to ‘manual’

Yeh, I don’t understand it either.

Doing this doesn’t seem to affect the running of itunes (as far as I can see).

I wasn’t game to delete ‘Bonjour’ outright as itunes may depend on this somehow and I don’t need another headache with itunes not working.

Now, I’ve always had ‘bonjour’ on my pc because I’ve always had itunes so why has this drama suddenly happened now.

I speculate that recent Mcafee updates and the ‘Bonjour’ service are somehow playing havoc with each other.

If anyone has another explanation, I’d love to hear it.

o.k. to summarise;

It seems that the startup service ‘Bonjour’ is a piece of this puzzle and setting it to start ‘manually’ seems to alleviate this problem that I’m having.

As I said above it’s not a total fix but at least (for me) I don’t have to wait 8 minutes to see the internet when I start my PC (I only wait about 2 minutes now)

Anyway, I hope that helps someone.

Here is an interesting link for those that are interested

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Bonjour-Can-Kill-Vista-SP2-039-s-Internet-Access-109665.shtml

tonyn412
Former Member
Message 10 of 40

Re: McAfee Update slows down startup of internet connection - Advice needed please

I too have this problem. In my case it happens on two PCs. I have a laptop running Windows 7 which is where I first noticed the slow startup problem sometime during April 2012. Then sometime during early May the problem appeared on my other PC which is a desktop running Vista. The problem in both cases is a protracted time before before I can get internet access - typically 5 minutes instead of the almost instantaneous connection I used to get. I don't use iTunes/Bonjour, so this can't be my problem. Disabling  MacAfee during startup doesn't help. I don't really want to uninstall McAfee and I have a feeling this won't help since I think the problem is caused by a Mcafee update that has screwed up the registry.

Message was edited by: tonyn412 on 28/05/12 01:01:35 CDT

Message was edited by: tonyn412 on 28/05/12 01:06:24 CDT
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