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Snowman
Contributor
Message 1 of 8

Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

When I do a Google search with McAfee SiteAdvisor on there is excessive CPU usage, (averaging 5 % more than would otherwise occur ), after the search  has been completed, which continues as long as the Google page is open, i.e. indefinitely: it looks like one of those stuck-in-a-loop patterns of CPU usage, (see attached graph). 

If I disable the McAfee SiteAdvisor add-on this excessive CPU does not occur.

If I use WOT instead of McAfee SiteAdvisor the excessive CPU does not occur.

Can anything be done to prevent this waste of CPU by McAfee SiteAdvisor  ?

The exact same problem occurs with Internet Explorer and FireFox browsers.

[I’m using Windows Vista if that is relevant]

on 13/01/11 21:07:36 CST

Message was edited by: Rob A on 13/01/11 21:08:35 CST
7 Replies
Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 2 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

I checked this problem with my setup and it doesn't show up on Task Manager - well, hardly at all. A minimal series of blips, barely 0.1% of CPU, and that's just SiteAdvisor checking home for site status updates I reckon.

I'm using XP SP3, IE8 for the browser. SiteAdvisor version is 3.3.0.173 (still! It should have been updated to 3.3.0.176 by now. Oh well ..)

I just Googled for "SiteAdvisor", waited for the ratings to appear on screen, then went off and watched the CPU for a bit. Nothing.

What's different about your setup?

Snowman
Contributor
Message 3 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

What's different about your setup?

The high CPU problem occurs with both IE and FF browsers.

The only common denominators I can think of are the OS (Vista) and the antivirus which is MSSE not McAfee*.

Attached is a HJT screen grab showing all the processes running on my machine,

Since I discovered that WOT is compatible with my preferred search engine, and SiteAdvisor isn’t, then solving  this problem has now become an academic point.

[* I do have a valid subscription for McAfee SecurityCenter, but I uninstalled it an replaced it with MicroSoft’s Security Essentials, so I’m (was) using the free version of Site Advisor ]

PS I've just uninstalled SiteAdvisor and noticed that a new version had been automatically installed on 12th Jan 2011,

i.e. the CPU problem may be due to this update, ( which was installed without any notification ).

Message was edited by: Rob A on 14/01/11 18:59:30 CST
Hayton
Reliable Contributor
Reliable Contributor
Message 4 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

Aaah ... you say your SiteAdvisor was updated on the 12th?

Bingo.  *That's* what's different. You've been updated to 3176, and I'm still on 3173. Thank you, I've been waiting for some feedback from someone who's got the new version - it's been tweaked to work in Chrome, and then tweaked again to work properly with Gmail. The CPU spikes may be something to do with that - or, as you say, may be because you're running (were running) SA as a standalone BHO. I'll have to wait until the updates are available here - I think it's a phased process - and then see if I can replicate the problem. If I can see it too before Monday, the SA team will be told about it then.

If you're using WOT, there is a difference in the way their ratings are achieved - WOT's appear to be based mostly on user input (but there are some dedicated site investigators working on the WOT analyses for whom I have the greatest respect). McAfee's site reviewers have only a limited influence in setting site ratings on SiteAdvisor; mostly the SA process is automated (and extremely complex. There's a White Paper about it on the McAfee site if you're interested).

Thanks for the feedback, and don't worry, I don't mind academic points at all  🙂

If ever you change your mind and return to SiteAdvisor I'd be happy to see you back on the forums.

Snowman
Contributor
Message 5 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

Just reinstalled to check “saSetup3.3.0.176_p2”, the high CPU (loop?) is still there, (see attached graph) ...

Message was edited by: Rob A on 17/01/11 11:57:39 CST
Snowman
Contributor
Message 6 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

Update 10th Feb 2011, no change : different style graphs of same CPU problem attached ...

Message was edited by: Rob A on 10/02/11 01:07:16 CST
georgesz
Former Member
Message 7 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

I have been experiencing similar problem in Firefox 3.x. After a number of experimentation, I have been able to put the blame squarely on McAfee Site Advisor. In my case, I would more describe this as a CPU leak. The CPU usage keeps increasing by a few % each time I do a Google search. Here are the simple steps to reproduce the problem in Firefox:

  1. Exit all Firefox processes.
  2. Start Firefox and browse to http://www.google.com. Once Firefox stabilizes, CPU usage (in WIndows Task Manager) is around 0%.
  3. Type a search string Eg: McAfee SiteAdvisor CPU usage, and click "Google Search". Once Firefox stabilizes, CPU usage is around 2-3%.
  4. Click the Back button in the browser. Once Firefox stabilizes, CPU usage is still around 2-3%.
  5. Repeat step 3 and 4. At each cycle, after Firefox stabilizes, the CPU usage increases by a few %, and it keep adding up, until I have to close Firefox.

Disable McAfee Site Advisor (either through Firefox add-ons or through Site Advisor's menu) and the CPU usage always stabilizes to around 0% in the test above.

Until this issue is fixed, I will disable McAfee Site Advisor on my machines.

For information, I am experiencing this problem on Windows XP with the latest updates from Microsoft Update, latest Firefox 3.x. I haven't tried Firefox 4. McAfee Site advisor version is 3.0.1.163, which according to the "Get Latest Version" item in Site Advisor is the latest version. I don't know where to get the versions you are talking about such as 3.3.0.176.

Message was edited by: georgesz. Fixed typo in % CPU change. on 4/2/11 5:13:30 PM CDT

Message was edited by: georgesz. Removed Windows 7 and IE on 4/2/11 6:29:47 PM CDT
Snowman
Contributor
Message 8 of 8

Re: Excessive CPU use by SiteAdvisor (stuck in loop ?)

georgesz wrote:

I haven't tried Firefox 4.

Changing to FireFox 4 doesn't help Georgesz ...

Just tried the stand-alone version of SA (dated 16 March 2011 14:50:36), with FireFox4.

The high CPU problem still exists, (the "SA enabled" CPU graph does seem different from previous though) ...

CPU problem,110403 FF4 standalone SA.png

The high CPU problem with SA isn’t browser specific: it also happened on IE8.

Only common denominators in my case I can think of are the OS, Vista, and the antivirus, MSE.

[ Maybe conflict between SA and MSE ? ]

Message was edited by: Snowman on 02/04/11 22:02:38 CDT
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