Avira AV taking up 1 GIG of Memory?

Hi!
can someone explain this pheomenon to me? hmm.
I was, and still am, very surprised when I was casually checking my Task Manager and to my horror, I saw the PEAK Private Bytes of Avira Free Ed using 1 GIG of memory??

I am using the latest version of Avira Premium with Webguard and and Guard enabled..

I didn't do any manual scanning during my current Desktop Session.. I don't remember changing any Avira Options..
Guard "use file extension list" with and heuristic set at "Medium Detection Level"..
WebGuard also set at heuristic level "Medium Detection Level" and MIME type skipped is set at Audio File and Video Files..
I always thought Avira is supposed to be as light as NOD32 or even Dr Web.. According to some of the posts I've read......

I'm not sure when the 1 GIG RAM took place... But apparently, the peak is 1 GIG.. Refer to Screenshot Below....

 

WHICH Task Manager? There are several 3rd party TM besides the Windows TM. Are you using Process Explorer? Or SystemExplorer? Or DTaskManager? Or what?

 

"my horror"? good one!

You're looking at the "Peak" usage; does it really matter?... it might be on the "Peak" for a second and then fall back to normal/low thereafter and continue running fine; The peak column only refers to the highest recorded, not the current or average usage (which give a far better indication of the impact on system resources, particularly the "Average")

"I always thought Avira is supposed to be as light as NOD32 or even Dr Web.. According to some of the posts I've read......"
Is Avira slowing you down or is its impact on resources on your computer light (not by looking at the peformance statistics, but in your experience, if you didnt look at the statistics, what would you say)?...

 

Depending on WHICH task manager is being used, the term "private bytes" usually refers to what the Windows TM calls "Virtual Memory" = physical memory (ram) + swap.

In Process Explorer...

If Private Bytes grows and continues to grow, there is a *possible memory leak*. Otherwise, the amount of swap a process commits/uses doesn't matter. With Process Explorer you can view this trend, over time, by highlighting & right-clicking a given process then...

Properties>Performance Graph tab>view the middle graph (move cursor over it to see values and time stamps).

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I use Avira. On my computer there is NO evidence whatsoever that Avira has a memory leak. Avira's ram usage is quite reasonable & efficient. As to Avira's usage of private bytes (RAM + swap commit/usage), I see no reason to be concerned.

 

I see..
I always thought Private Bytes is the indication of how much memory a process takes... Perharps Working Set would be a better indication.... But its quite amazing that Avira "reserve" so much swap space for itself at some point in time...

For your computer, using Process Explorer, so you also see the same result as me?

 

On my box, Avira peaked at 722,760K today.

The max commit an AV goes for has something to do with the space needed for its signature DB, I *think*. In any event actual physical Ram usage by Avira is relatively low. Therefore, its swap space usage ("paging" or VM) is no big deal.

Read more about swap at THIS web page.

P.S. Yes, "Working set" is a better indicator. On Process Explorer "Working set" is actual physical RAM usage. Windows Task Manager calls this "Mem usage" whereas Process Explorer calls it "Working Set". Confusing, wot?