SpySweeper 4.5 with Sun Java 1.5.0_06 & IE6 slow startup

[Dave M]

Anyone experiencing very slow IE 6 browser openings after installing the latest
Sun Java with the latest SpySweeper 4.5.7 installed?
Workaround is to temporarily disable Sun's Browser Helper Object (ssv.dll) in IE
Tools > Manage Add-ons, until they get it straightened out.
You can observe it fix IE just by closing SpySweeper. I'll post the repair here
when it comes down from Sun or Webroot.

 

[Guest]

does the new version fix the automatic update definition issue, SS can't
download definition automatically when it's available. this is the #1 reason
i had to uninstall it.

 

[Gary]

I am have the same problem here.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

I've seen others complain about issues with new windows opening in the
browser (i.e. that this is slow)--and tieing that to the new Sun Java
version.

I'm not sure whether I'm seeing that or not, and can't vouch for the tie-in,
but this is something others are seeing.

 

[Dave M]

Hi balem;
I'd say yes, it does work better than 4.0, although I initially had some
problems with my firewall and autoupdate. The WRSSSDK.exe needs full
permissions to access the internet. Version 4.5 autochecks and downloads
signature updates on a daily basis with software upgrades free for registered
users.

 

[Gary]

I've seen others complain about issues with new windows opening in the
browser (i.e. that this is slow)--and tieing that to the new Sun Java
version.

I'm not sure whether I'm seeing that or not, and can't vouch for the
tie-in,
but this is something others are seeing.

When I installed the new Java Update6 IE started to take eight seconds to
open. I think it is a SpySweeper problem with the way it handles ActiveX. If
I only disable ActiveX protection in SpySweeper IE open right away.

 

[Dave M]

I hear you Gary, but I did some more checking and though I can't pinpoint all
the changes with Java 1.5.0_06-b05, most of them seem related to security
exploits that have never been observed in the wild yet. I think I'd rather have
the ActiveX protection for everything else rather than Sun's BHO, even though we
have ActiveX RTP duplicated here in Beta1. The disabled BHO doesn't seem to
limit Java that I can see from a user perspective.

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/ReleaseNotes.html#150_06

And that reminds me... Have we all checked our refresh rate on Sun Java?... The
default is Monthly... seems somewhat seldom.
Control Panel > Java > Java Control Panel > Update tab

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Also remember not to install the Google toolbar each time an automatic
update is offered, and to remove the old, vulnerable versions from your
system, especially since each one eats more than 100 megs of space.
--

 

[Guest]

Dave M,
Thanks for the insight. This problem has been driving me crazy for awhile.
Even contacted my ISP to see if they're having a problem. IE launch delay
was in the 30-45 second range for me. I even think that there was a delay
opening each & every new web address. Its back to normal now that I've
disabled the new add-ons. I wonder if Sun and Webroot both know of the issue?
And if it will ever get fixed? PLEASE keep posting any new insights about
this issue here. Thanks very much!
______________

 

[Dave M]

Webroot has begun to acknowledge the problem, though it's not my bug report.
Sometimes these things take a while to make it beyond Level 1 support. I will
post here when there is a fix and I've tested it. 30-40 seconds?... you must
have been going crazy.

 

[Guest]

Dave,
I'm in south Florida and we've had a lot of infrastructure problems here
since hurricane Wilma. So I naturally thought it may be a problem with my
DSL/ISP, or had a malware problem. Had a long chat with BellSouth about the
delays, with no resolve. So I was very relieved to see your post, and
disabling the new Java add-ons work great for me. Back to normal browser
speeds again. Cheers!
For what it's worth, I submitted a tech support ticket with Webroot and
notified Sun tech support of the conflict, too. Thanks so much for your help.
______________

 

[Guest]

Here is Webroot's in response to the support ticket I opened asking that they
address the JRE conflict issue:

"You should uninstall your current version of Spy Sweeper (using the
Add/Remove Program option in your Control Panel). Restart your computer, then
install the new version. Now, go to Options and uncheck Load at Windows
Startup. For some reason on your system there is another application that is
causing this conflict on reboot. You should be able to start Spy Sweeper
manually and you should no longer have the conflict."
Sincerely, The Webroot Team

Translated, this says: "Maybe we can fool you into thinking we care, but we
really don't know how to fix it so get off our back." Their response is
nonsense and doesn't solve a thing.
______________

 

[Dave M]

Oh my... The problem is you're at Level 1 support, and talking to someone that's
typing you a prepared script. My experience, from having spent 8 long months in
customer support for a systems software company, is that you have to go through
several iterations of this before you get bumped up to Level 2, and even at that
level he may have to go ask the boss. It's sort of like trying to get past the
automated voice response system at the DMV, until you finally get a prompt to
speak to a live person. I once had Webroot attempt to give me that sort of
answer for a false positive, even knowing it was a FP and knowing that I was
waiting on new signature definitions to be released.

 

[Gary]

Here is Webroot's in response to the support ticket I opened asking that
they
address the JRE conflict issue:

"You should uninstall your current version of Spy Sweeper (using the
Add/Remove Program option in your Control Panel). Restart your computer,
then
install the new version. Now, go to Options and uncheck Load at Windows
Startup. For some reason on your system there is another application that
is
causing this conflict on reboot. You should be able to start Spy Sweeper
manually and you should no longer have the conflict."
Sincerely, The Webroot Team

Translated, this says: "Maybe we can fool you into thinking we care, but
we
really don't know how to fix it so get off our back." Their response is
nonsense and doesn't solve a thing.

Here is my response. The first response was the same as yours and here is
the second.

Thank you for letting us know that the Active X shield resolved your issue.
We're aware the under certain conditions the Active X or BHO shields can
increase the load time of IE. This is normal to protect rogue programs from
loading into the OS. We're not happy with this degradation, and are working
towards increasing that performance in future builds and releases. Thank
you.

 

[Guest]

Finally got a real Webroot person to respond to my (resubmitted) service
ticket. They say that Webroot has received numerous complaints on this issue
recently, and their developers are working on a "fix". In the meantime, they
suggest turning off the ActiveX Shield. Though, wouldn't it be preferable to
simply uninstall the latest Java JRE update 6, so as to keep the ActiveX
Shield enabled?
______________

 

[Dave M]

Well lucky us, we've got MSAS ActiveX RTP to backfill so you could do that
without much jeopardy. Not a good idea for the average SpySweeper single A-S
protection user though. I chose just to disable the Sun Java BHO (SSVHelper
Class) in IE Manage Addons and it seems to have resolved the IE opening problem
as a temp measure. I don't think you need to uninstall, that's pretty drastic
and no Java apps would run unless you went back to update 5.

Why they foot-dragged on this, I'll never understand... perhaps it's a major
technical obstacle.

 

[Guest]

This problem appears to have been fixed. Webroot recently released version
4.5.9 (build 709) which fixes this bug, or so they claim. For those of you
who use Webroot, read their latest news and check for updates.

 

[Gary]

This problem appears to have been fixed. Webroot recently released
version
4.5.9 (build 709) which fixes this bug, or so they claim. For those of
you
who use Webroot, read their latest news and check for updates.

The fix did not work for me. IE still takes 20 seconds to open after
updating. As soon as I close SpySweeper IE opens.

 

[Gary]

The fix did not work for me. IE still takes 20 seconds to open after
updating. As soon as I close SpySweeper IE opens.

I have fixed the problem with the slow IE opening problem with the new
version 4.5.9 (build 709). I had to uninstall SpySweeper and reinstall it.
After it installed the updates and I ran a full scan IE opens normal now. I
install the new version over the old one before and still had the problem so
maybe if anyone still has this problem I had can do the same as I did.