IE 7 slow in loading/displaying webpages; due to its phishing filter ?

I don't want to get into a discussion whether IE 7, Firefox or Opera is faster

Currently using McAfee VirusscanPlus and Spy Sweeper 5.5.7. IE 7 security settings at above average/normal.

Most of the time a webpage loads and displays very fast, but infrequently it can be slow to very slow, even extremely slow, in rare cases IE 7 (iexplore.exe?) can consume 99 % of CPU usage and basically halt the system. In the 99 % case I usually have to force IE 7 to close.

Why do I suspect the phishing filter ? Because it says it's checking the webpage. I have set IE 7's phishing filter at automatic, without tweaking it.

Does anyone know if the phishing filter is the culprit ? I have noticed that if the phising filter appears to be checking the webpage, disabling the filter often (?) doesn't help (much).

An alternative explanation is that the Spy Sweeper is responsible.

Is there really a point in having the phishing filter on all the time ?

 

I have absolutely no proof, so I'll just lay that on the table before I go further. BUT, I'm very convinced that filter is to blame. I too have the exact same issues, and I don't run McAfee or Spysweeper. IE stalls fairly often when it's checking a page, so I'd like to know how it could NOT be that filter. I personally think it's junk, but that's not the topic and just my opinion.

 

I suspect the phishing filter slows things down also. Only one way to find out: turn it off and see.

 

I'm keeping it turned off, lol. I manually enter the addresses of websites I have a logon name to, so poo on phishers.

 

If you had read my post carefully ...

Quote:
'Does anyone know if the phishing filter is the culprit ? I have noticed that if the phising filter appears to be checking the webpage, disabling the filter often (?) doesn't help (much).'

That includes trying again after having disabled the filter .

 

Did you close and re-start IE after turning off the filter? I don't know if anti-phishing is one of them, but just about every browser has at least some features which require you to restart after changing options before the changes become active. (And typically without telling you so.)

I've personally turned off the a-ph in both Firebox and IE because I've experienced (and this seems to agree with what I've heard from many others) that it significantly slows page loading, especially if you opt for the online database. As you pointed out, common sense in surfing (and in email) is at least as effective as any a-ph, and often better.

 

(partial quote above)

No, I don't think so. But wouldn't you have to reboot the computer to completely close and restart IE ?

 

Ok, you got me, sorry bout that....

 

Good question, and I don't really know for sure. I was under the impression that IE does close when you exit it (or exit another app which is using the IE engine). But given the integration between IE and the OS, who knows for sure? Obviously a reboot wouldn't hurt, as a little extra insurance -- it's (presumably) not as if you'd constantly be turning the anti-phishing off and back on repeatedly, which would make rebooting each time a nuisance.

 

i've noticed the same problem of slow browsing trough ie. plus that i think that theyr phishing filter is not quite good. had lots of pages with this problem so i can't say that it's works very good. personaly i use a antivirus solution to filter the phising pages

 

The phishing filter in IE 7 definitely slows things down, but I have also found Spy Sweeper to be intolerable. The combination must be completely unusable. I would turn off the phishing filter (I personally upgraded to IE8 and prefer it, but that is a matter of opinion). I would also ditch Spy Sweeper for Windows Defender, Spybot S&D, or SUPERAntiSpyware if you want something faster.

 

When I was using IE8 it was slow loading pages sometimes. Almost like it would hang then take off. That was with default settings.
I never noticed a CPU spike though.