ekrn.exe hanging and killing my Internet connection. Help!

I'm using ESET Smart Security 3.0.657.0 on XP.

Lately I have this problem where a process called ekrn.exe seems to hang and when it does it consumes a large amount of resources and it also kills my connection to the web. I can still telnet, FTP, check email, etc. but I can't surf the web.

Whenever it does this I simply reboot and then everything is fine for another 24-48 hours and then it will do the same thing again. It seems to be happening more and more lately.

I haven't changed anything on my computer recently. And I keep ESET up to date all the time. Anyone know what might cause this?

 

Hello,

It seems an older version of ESET Smart Security is installed on your computer. I would recommend that you upgrade to the latest build, v3.0.672.0, and see if that resolves the issue.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

Thanks for the reply. I downloaded the most recent build from the website but when I try to upgrade or uninstall my existing version I get an error that says:

"Another application has exclusive access to the file 'C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESET\ESET Smart Security\Logs\epfwlog.dat'. Please shut down all other applications, then click Retry.

No matter what I do I get this error message and can't update it ...

 

Have you tried completely shutting down ESET before upgrade? Killing the process if necessary?

 

Some older versions used to have problems with locked dat files. Try renaming that file in safe mode and then uninstall your ESS in normal mode.

 

Help! I'm getting this issue as well with the most recent version of ESET SS.

I've heard around the web that this is a frequent issue caused by ESET them selves...do they have any official word to give us about this because as soon as i un-install the thing the hanging vanishes completely

 

Can you explain to me if you actually read any of the above posts? As the lck of information you have given us doesn't help at all.

 

Well...of course i have, i don't randomly post in random threads dude.

Anywho as i said:

My ESET SS is hanging upon boot up, as in "EKRN.EXE" constantly jumps to 50% CPU usage over my 4 cores which causes my whole system to hang. I read around the Internet that it could be to do with an outdated eset version, so I updated to the most recent version like suggested here in this thread, and by other users but to no avail...still my computer hangs each time BECAUSE OF eset.

This has only happened in the last couple of weeks (again like all other users). So in conclusion...the problem is eset related because Ive been on techsupportforums having my computer extensively checked out and "cleaned" to no avail upon what reason is causing such issues.

Where are the official ESET forums, or contact? As i think they need to be notified ASAP as this is currently unacceptable !

EDIT

Oh wait...these ARE the official ESET forums...so why the heck is nothing being done about this issue?

 

OK I was finally able to get the new build installed by manually stopping all ESET services, then uninstalling, and re-installing. But I still have the same problem as described in the OP. Argh!

 

I'm on XP. Only other thing I use is Windows Defender.

 

I did use a different AV and firewall previously, but I don't remember which one it was just prior to ESS because quite honestly I've tried so many. But Defender was definitely already installed when I installed ESS.

The interesting thing is that this has just started happening in the past few weeks. Other people are reporting the same problem, also just starting in the past few weeks. It seems to have started with a recent update to ESS. Other people have reported that reverting back to build 655 (or something like that) eliminates the problem.

 

655 eh? Hmmm...so whats the deal with all these newwer versions...what do they exactly "fix" or in this case break...what about 669?

 

Ok I've identified the problem on my computer using Process Monitor. It gets "stuck" on it's own log file!

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESET\ESET Smart Security\Logs\epfwlog.dat

My epfwlog.dat is currently about 855 megs and it took 33 minutes to "process" it (don't know exactly what it was doing), using about 30% of my CPU.

The entire time I can't surf the web. I assume this is the firewall log file and while it's processing it, it locks up the firewall blocking all http communications.

As soon as it was done, 33 minutes later, everything went back to normal.

So now the question is, how do I prevent this from happening? Just turn off all logging and delete the file?? Or is this some glitch with ESS?

Is 855 megs unusually large for this log file? I installed ESS barely 6 months ago and am using the default settings.

 

Hello,

Just to verify, the EPFWLOG.DAT file reached 855MB size after you renamed it approximately days ago and installed build v3.0.672.0?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

No, I have not renamed it. I installed ESS about 6 months ago and that's how big it has grown with the default settings.

I just discovered that ESS was getting "stuck" on this file last night and haven't done anything to the file yet. I went into the advanced settings and told it to keep records for only 1 day instead of the default of 90 days, assuming that would shrink down the log, but it didn't.

Should I shut down the ESS/ekrn.exe service, delete the log file, and then turn ESS back on??

 

Hello,

That is correct. Marcos outlined what to do here in this earlier message thread. Make sure you download the new version so it is ready for installation before you uninstall the software from your computer.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

I am pleased to say V4 BETA fixes this issue entirely, since I have no idea what it was cycling, it comes as a welcome releif