Bitdefender Slows Down Chrome Page Loading

Bitdefender has become so intrusive that it is causing page loading to take minutes instead of seconds and sometimes pages will not open at all unless reopened (the "fix" below).

Pages regularly get stuck opening forever.

The "fix" is to click the "X" "Stop loading this page" button in Chrome for every page/tab that has not opened yet (opening spinner is still spinning), then click the "Reload this page" button. This is nearly a 100% fix, but not quite. Pages loading is still terribly slow, but this does work around the the fact that pages never open.

The symptom is the same as if the internet connection is very slow, yet, that is not the case.

This is new as of a few months ago. I've used Chrome and Bitdefender for a long time and have had the same set of default pages the whole time. I have assumed it was Chrome or Windows 10. It's not.

I have confirmed that disabling all Bitdefender modules will solve this issue. Of course that leaves the machine totally unprotected.

I do not know yet if this is one module, or a combination of enabled modules, that causes the slowdown.

This is an issue on three different devices, all running BD 1016. It is not an issue on a fourth device that uses different virus protection.

Ironically, the fourth device is older, has half the memory as the three newer devices, and has MUCH worse performance, yet, Chrome pops up and opens pages just fine on that machine.

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[Deleted User]

Sorry to hear about the problems that you are having. Chrome is my default browser, I am running Windows 10, and I have used Bitdefender for years. I have never experienced the issue that you are describing, and I have not seen that many reports of such a problem here on the Forums.

I think that you would be best advised to open a support ticket with Bitdefender and send them the logs that their support tool generates. I suspect that there is something with the configuration of your computers or your router that is causing the problem. I would suggest a "repair" install, but I doubt it would help, since you have three computers affected, not just one. The odds of three corrupt installs are pretty long.

Hope this is of some help. Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

kellycraven

I've opened a ticket...or reported it via the way we usually report these things. Did this weeks ago. No word from support, so I have no ticket number.

Should I report this every day? Seems support is too swamped to respond anymore to anything. I have reported three different issues over the last couple of months and no one has gotten back to me about any of them. So, I resort to posting the the forum. I always report to BD support first. Posting publically in the forum is a last resort attempt unfortunately.....and inevitably someone will tell me to report it.

Also, if you search the forum you will see that others have had, and are having, the same issue. Maybe not that many reports, but it is an issue, and it is related to BD 2016.

lorddraco

Experience the same problem recently. Been a chrome and bitdefender user for a long long time.

Chrome Version - 49.0.2623.110 m (64-bit)

Windows 10 Pro Versioin 1511

i7-3770K with 32GB RAM

Bitdefender Internet Security 2016

Seems to be me the Web Protection is causing the issue. When I disable everything, it became lightning fast without page unresponsive issue.

Any update from bitdefender?

kellycraven

Nope. No response from support. Must be a feature.

Sorin G.

Hello everybody

@kellycraven There are no recent tickets opened on this topic, that is why there is no ticket number or reply from support. If you used a different email address than the one used on the forum, please provide it and I will look into it.

For the situation at hand please ensure you do not have any other security solutions installed and the browser is free of toolbars or other add-ons that may interfere with it's functionality

SysLogs

I'm actually experiencing something similar, disabling modules reduces load times in chrome dramatically. I'll check back when I find out which module in particular.

Sorin G.

@SysLogs please do

kellycraven

I have tried to open tickets on this at least twice, thinking that the process succeeded. I never got any email conformations.

I have always used the same email address for the forum and BD registration.

The issue continues.

When it started the only security solution that was installed was BDIS. I have since installed CCleaner. That was suggested be BD support for another issue where BD would not install.

Disabling CCleaner doesn't change anything. The problem was there before CCleaner was installed. Disabling BD does seem to work around the issue, yet I do not know which module seems to be the culprit.

I have recently see others complaining about bandwidth issues when BD is enabled. I seem to be having that problem as well, but had not tied it to BD until yesterday. I know that is a separate issue, but the symptom of a slow internet connection and tabs opening slowly in Chrome could very definitely be related. As a matter of fact Chrome opening slow is exactly what I'd expect if the bandwidth was throttled back.

I have AT&T U-Verse. I am supposed to have 16Mbs DL and 1Mbs UL (yes UL does ###### that bad). Yet, internet speed tests consistently show speeds of 6-8Mbs DL and 300K to 500K UL. AT&T claims no problem and that the issue is with my equipment or software. My modem from their end tests up to their spec.

It's disheartening to not know what the problem really is or what to do to work around it, except to go unprotected.

SysLogs

@Sorin G I belive its combination of modules that are causing the issue when I've tested I cant pin-point a single module.

@Kellycraven

I have tried to open tickets on this at least twice, thinking that the process succeeded. I never got any email conformations.

Please provide references in the threads you make so they can see if they have received them.

I have AT&T U-Verse. I am supposed to have 16Mbs DL and 1Mbs UL (yes UL does ###### that bad). Yet, internet speed tests consistently show speeds of 6-8Mbs DL and 300K to 500K UL. AT&T claims no problem and that the issue is with my equipment or software. My modem from their end tests up to their spec.

This is due to throughput, internet speed decreases as it hits your modem and router, this is the same for everyone with or without bitdefender, however bitdefender could be slowing it even more, to check, turn BD off and see if the speed of your connection to the machine speeds up.

Also to be clear

As a matter of fact Chrome opening slow is exactly what I'd expect if the bandwidth was throttled back.

Bandwidth would cause slow wep-page loading but wouldn't effect chrome the program from opening fast, that's due to your hardware.

Hope this gets resolved, if you post your references below from those support emails you sent I'm sure @Sorin G will reply with an update.

kellycraven

Please provide references in the threads you make...

Not sure which threads you mean. This one in the forum? I used the support tool to try report this issue and one other. There are no reference numbers from those reported problems. As I already mentioned I never got any email responses, which is normally the case when using the support tool if a BD support wants more info. Based on past reported issues I don't always expect an email or even acknowledgement. The only way some traction into getting issues resolved seems to be to be vocal in public and get help from other users here in the forum.

...turn BD off and see if the speed of your connection to the machine speeds up.

With BD disabled the internet speed as reported by MS Network Speed Test (Win10 App) shows DL speed to be DOUBLE what the same app reports when BD is enabled. It goes up to more than 16Mbs. UL speed is no different as it's already crappy as heck.

Yes, internet speed is governed at the modem. I am paying for 16Mbs. I get it when BD is disabled.

This has been confirmed on four machines. Three have BD. One does not. Two machines are on a booster that cuts the speed in half (that's the way it works). Two machines are not on the booster. When BD is disabled on all machines the two machines on the booster have speeds of just over 8Mbs. The two going directly to the main modem show 16Mbs. When BD is enabled all four machines show 8Mbs.

Is BD cutting the speed in half, just as the booster does? Seems to be.

Bandwidth would cause slow wep-page loading but wouldn't effect chrome the program from opening fast, that's due to your hardware.

Correct. Chrome opening pages slow is indeed the issue, not the app starting up. This is not a fault of my hardware. Turn off BD and all is good.

No one is reporting that the app is slow to start, but that pages are slow to load.

Sorin G.

Firstly I would like to thank you all for the feedback.

Please open your Bitdefender go to Modules > Firewall, under the Settings Tab you will have "Block Port Scans on the network" please disable that feature and tell me if the situation improves.

@kellycraven you need to access the Support Tool through the product by going to Help & Support > Contact Support if you wish for the log to be automatically sent. If you run it standalone it will only save it to your desktop.

Also CCleaner is not considered a security solution as it does not feature a active agent.

Let me know if by disabling Block Port Scans the situation improves for all of you.

kellycraven

Let me know if by disabling Block Port Scans the situation improves for all of you.

I suspect there are indeed two separate issues: 1)Chrome loading pages slowly, and 2)A slow internet connection when BD is running. While they are similar and may be related working around one (with a simple flip of a switch) does not significantly improve the other.

I can't see any obvious differences with just Block Port Scans disabled in either case (internet speed nor Chrome)

Disabling the Firewall completely will immediately cause the internet DL speed to double, as determined by Win10 Network Speed Test app. It will go from 8Mbs to 16Mbs (or slightly lower). This result is a 100% repro. At some times, observed over the last few days, the top speed will be as low as 12Mbs. This is still within spec of the connection.

Yet, even with the firewall completely disabled Chrome still loads pages slowly, but not quite as slow as with the firewall enabled. The difference in pages that load when the connection speed is 8Mbs compared to 16Mbs should not be too much as most pages as small enough to load quickly even with much lesser internet connection. This is why I believe the Chrome issue is something different.

I will experiment more. (Page loading may end up being a Chrome issue that BD is exposing.)

kellycraven

BIG OBSERVATION!!!

I believe BD is NOT slowing down the internet connection speed.

I do however believe the issue is 100% with the app determining the speed. In my case that is the Win10 Network Speed Test application.

I was doing some pretty large downloads today. 1G to 3G per download. As an experiment I popped open Task Manager to watch the net connection resources.

Download speed was 100% up around 16Mbps for ALL downloads. This speed stayed consistent regardless of the BD firewall settings.

Further testing was to go to a bunch of speed test websites and get a bunch of different results.

These results ALL confirm that BD is NOT slowing down the connection.

Yet, Win10 Network Speed Test App shows a halfing of the speed when enabled, across the board.

RESULT

1) We can't trust Network Speed Test when BD firewall is enabled.

2) Chrome opening pages slowly is indeed not related to BD firewall settings...at least.

Sorin G.

@KellyCraven glad to hear that one of the issues has been taken care of.

Are there specific websites that cause the Chrome slowing down ? For example websites rich in scripts, logins/forums/animated menus.

Please ensure that Chrome doesn't have any add-ons that may interfere with Chrome's functionality.

kellycraven

Do they run scripts? My guess is each one does, and so does virtually every other page out there.

No difference with all Extensions disabled in Chrome.

These are the simplified links to the six tabs I've used for a few years as my "home page".

http://www.msn.com/

http://www.cnn.com/

https://blu185.mail.live.com/

https://mail.google.com/

https://www.facebook.com/

All pages are set to log in automatically (remember me) when the browser starts in Chrome. Some links above are simplified as they are specific to my logged-in accounts. For the experiments below I logged out of all pages to remove log-in time.

I have tried each of these links as a single "home page" to remove multiple tabs as the issue. Does not seem to make any difference. I have also used Chrome Incognito Mode. Incognito seems marginally better to no better.

CCleaner is removing cached files when the browsers exit, so every time the browsers are opened anew the pages need full refreshing. This sets up a worst case scenario, yet having CCleaner disabled so it doesn't clear the cache makes no difference at all.

Experiment!!

Along with Chrome, I have installed Foxfire and set it, Edge, and Internet Explorer so that all four browsers open to the same set of six home pages. While this is just an observational test it is telling that only Edge consistently opens quickly. The other three show almost the same symptoms - the same symptoms as described for Chrome - pages load slow and there are multiple refreshes before they are ready for use.

I don't trust Edge. Edge had been buggy and did not initially support some media types, and some scripting, so it was almost unusable when Windows 10 was released. Edge is little better now and even though the pages seem "open" they are clunky, and even attempts to exit the browser makes it seem like the browser is stuck (needs killing in Task Manager), but it will exit eventually. Waiting a few minutes to let Edge settle seems to get past this, which leads me to believe that even though the spinners have stopped the pages are still loading under the hood.

RESULTS!! (sort of)

With all Bitdefender modules disabled all four browsers load pages quicker, marginally. I still see them refreshing multiple times as observed by the spinners in the taskbar for each page.

Bitdefender DOES have some affect on page loading, though in my opinion not enough to say it is the cause of the issue as seemed obvious initially.

Except....One BIG symptom in Chrome that is gone with Bitdefender disabled is pages that do not open completely (ever). This symptom is that pages will never open until manually refreshed by clicking the refresh button in the browser. These pages start to load then get stuck, stopping during a partial open. Gmail is stuck on the "Loading <email address>" page for example, yet most pages are simply blank. This absolutely is affected by Bitdefender. (not verified in the other browsers as these tests were done when not logging in) Also, I have seen this happen for any of the six home pages so it's not ONLY for pages that need to be logged into. (I do not log into cnn). This points to the scripting being interrupted mid process. (I'll need to log in on the other browsers to see if there is any differences in them)

Unfortunately, there are too many other variables that need addressing before we can form a better diagnosis.

I'll keep experimenting, and welcome other thoughts.

Thanks!!

Sorin G.

@kellycraven are you using add-ons similar to Add-Block Plus ? I noticed the same behavior when running Ad-Block Plus along side another adblocker.

Also I would advise a complete reinstall of Chrome as the profile might be corrupted.. (including manually removing the settings folder C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Google)

Please note by doing so, Chrome wont be able to remember your bookmarks so I would suggest exporting them.

kellycraven

@kellycraven are you using add-ons similar to Add-Block Plus ? I noticed the same behavior when running Ad-Block Plus along side another adblocker.

Also I would advise a complete reinstall of Chrome as the profile might be corrupted.. (including manually removing the settings folder C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Google)

Please note by doing so, Chrome wont be able to remember your bookmarks so I would suggest exporting them.

No, not using anything such as Add-Block Plus.

I am using Speed Dial 2 on two of the three machines that have Bitdefender installed. The symptoms happen on all three machines.

I have tested with all plugins disabled. Only Speed Dial 2 and Wallet are extras that are not included with Chrome by default. If this is plugin related then perhaps having them disabled is not enough?

I suppose I need to uninstall/reinstall Chrome from all three machines...not ready to do that yet. (grin)

Is this browser specific? I mean, seems like it's happening to some degree with all of them.

As per my original statement, I've been using the same setup, default home tabs and plugins, for a long time. There was an update, at an unknown time or place, that must be the culprit. Fact is, Chrome, Bitdefender, Windows 10 (especially), and other installed components, will auto-update whenever they feel like it. This could be one update, or a combination of updates.

There may truly be nothing we can change to fix this. To figure out what caused it we'd have to windows restore to last year sometimes to see if the issue does go away, then one by one pickup the updates from every single thing that got an update since November or so.

Not an easy task.

Sorin G.

I dont think were at the point a Windows restore is required.

I strongly believe that removing Chrome completely including the folders in the previous post and then restoring the bookmarks via html or google account should resolve the situation