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Controlling WRData folder size - help needed


Hello,

I recently discovered that the gradually increasing size of my dive image files and decreasing SSD capacity were directly attributable to an enormous SecureAnywhere WRData folder.

I contacted support and received the following response: “To start it fresh you can uninstall Webroot SecureAnywhere normally and then delete the WRData folder and restart your computer, then reinstall Webroot and there will be a new WRData folder.”

I completed all steps as instructed. Between my November 20, 2013 reinstall and this post, the WRData folder has grown from a few megabytes to over 2.6 gigabytes. In comparison, the 2 day old and still growing WRData folder is roughly 4 times the size of all of my Norton Internet Security files/folder combined.

The above noted :
Is this normal for the WRData folder or do I have a problem?


Is there a way to reduce the number and/or limit the size of the database files in the WRData folder?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated...
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Best answer by TripleHelix 10 August 2018, 23:10

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195 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +1
Yeah. I kinda gave up on WSA because of the WRData issue, which plagued me mainly I think because I have a lot of beta and little known portable software, and the constant requests for whitelisting became tiresome. If the default retention period before cleanup is quite long, I guess my WRData could still become quite large.
Userlevel 7
Hi paulderdash
 
I am in the same boat as you re. the beta & portable versions of software...but I have managed to get into a routine of scanning the folder & comparing it to the latest Scan Log, identifying the redundant entries manually and then removing those that are overly large...also what I do after any software update or install is to check out if anything has been added to 'monitor' and depending on what it is I either leave it or change it to 'allow'...perhaps risky I know but then again I am careful with what I do here.
 
But as you say...we shall have to see what the improves do, and then report back, etc. Personally I would like to see more granular control/access to things like retention of redundant .db files, etc.
 
Regards, Baldrick
Userlevel 1
Yeah, I had given up as well after many years of use, back to the PrevX days!  A little over a year ago, I switched to Norton Security.  Although I actually liked WSA better, I couldn't deal with the whilelisting and uninstall/re-installs every month or so.  I do a lot of testing and am constantly making full image backups of my system.  The huge WRdata programs just increased my backup and restore times.  When a program that's said to have a "small footprint" takes up almost 10% of one's SSD space, that is unacceptable.  I'll keep checking back here from time to time.  If a fix really becomes available (that does not require manual user intervention) after all these years, I'll happily give WSA another try.
Userlevel 7
Hi RonnieJP
 
I sympathise but have managed with very little effort, by following the regime I advised of before, to manage to make sure that the WRData folder size does not expand vigorously,..and I also do a lot of beta testing, investigate new apps and take the latest release of many apps as soon as they come out (all backed up by hourly images of my drive).
 
So it is livable with...and personally I would rather that & WRSA than anything Norton on my system. Just saying. ;)
 
Baldrick
Pretty sad state of affairs that after this issue has not been fixed after several years and counting! My manual fix has been to un-instal and then re-install the software on a regular, re-occuring basis, about once every 6 months. Before today's re-instal, my "WRData" size was up to 44 GB. With the smaller size of SSD's, using this amount of space on your HDD is completely unacceptable. I think it is time to find a new AV, one that actually fixes known issues!
Userlevel 7
Badge +63
@ wrote:
Pretty sad state of affairs that after this issue has not been fixed after several years and counting! My manual fix has been to un-instal and then re-install the software on a regular, re-occuring basis, about once every 6 months. Before today's re-instal, my "WRData" size was up to 44 GB. With the smaller size of SSD's, using this amount of space on your HDD is completely unacceptable. I think it is time to find a new AV, one that actually fixes known issues!
@  It's still best to Submit a Support Ticket and get your files white-listed before doing a clean reinstall. What I do is after I hear back from support and do a scan I turn off WSA then go to C:ProgramDataWRData Folder and delete the db.numbers.db files then restart WSA then you wouldn't have to reinstall WSA every 6 months.
 


 
HTH,
I have been through this process several times over the years I have had WRSA, and can confirm that it works. I will also add that it benefits EVERYONE when people send in applications they use that are acceptable apps, because then no one else gets hit with the write-caching that is done against those apps.
Anyone else having trouble contacting webroot to log a support ticket or message them? I get to the https://detail.webrootanywhere.com/servicewelcomeback.asp page to enter my password and on two different browsers (IE 11 and Chrome on win10) it simply refreshes the page to ask me for my password again.
@ wrote:
Anyone else having trouble contacting webroot to log a support ticket or message them? I get to the https://detail.webrootanywhere.com/servicewelcomeback.asp page to enter my password and on two different browsers (IE 11 and Chrome on win10) it simply refreshes the page to ask me for my password again.
try > https://www.webrootanywhere.com/servicewelcome.asp
That gets me to an identical looping page: https://www.webrootanywhere.com/servicewelcomeback.asp enter password, submit the page, blank password box comes right back up.
Userlevel 7
Badge +63
@ wrote:
That gets me to an identical looping page: https://www.webrootanywhere.com/servicewelcomeback.asp enter password, submit the page, blank password box comes right back up.
Try this one: https://www.webrootanywhere.com/servicetalk.asp?source=
Same effect, both browsers. I will try the password reset, even though it still seems broken to me the way it is behaving.
Userlevel 7
Badge +63
@ wrote:
Same effect, both browsers. I will try the password reset, even though it still seems broken to me the way it is behaving.
You will need to clear your Browser Cache then try again cleanly! https://www.google.com/search?q=clear+browser+cache&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b
 
It's working fine for me.
https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx
I actually just did a COMPLETE wipe of ALL browser stuff this morning. Curiously, I have not received the email with my password from the site yet. I know it has the correct email because the page has this message at the top: We have already had contact with: myemailaddresshere I have also received several other emails from the site about new badges in the last 10 minutes... I will try another browser clear and see if that helps.
Userlevel 7
Badge +63
@ wrote:
I actually just did a COMPLETE wipe of ALL browser stuff this morning. Curiously, I have not received the email with my password from the site yet. I know it has the correct email because the page has this message at the top: We have already had contact with: myemailaddresshere I have also received several other emails from the site about new badges in the last 10 minutes... I will try another browser clear and see if that helps.
I will ping @ so she can get you setup with support from the back end! 😉
@ wrote:
https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx
THAT linked worked, allowing me to create a ticket WITHOUT asking for a password (nor clearing my browser stuff). THANKS! I just uploaded a bunch of applications that are valid, mostly dealing with Microsoft SQL Server, 3rd party tools for that product, and the entire windows 10 SDK.
Userlevel 7
Badge +36
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx
THAT linked worked, allowing me to create a ticket WITHOUT asking for a password (nor clearing my browser stuff). THANKS! I just uploaded a bunch of applications that are valid, mostly dealing with Microsoft SQL Server, 3rd party tools for that product, and the entire windows 10 SDK.
Are you all set now or do you still need help creating a ticket/getting a hold of support?
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx
THAT linked worked, allowing me to create a ticket WITHOUT asking for a password (nor clearing my browser stuff). THANKS! I just uploaded a bunch of applications that are valid, mostly dealing with Microsoft SQL Server, 3rd party tools for that product, and the entire windows 10 SDK.
Are you all set now or do you still need help creating a ticket/getting a hold of support?
I was able to create the ticket (199748) via this link someone provided: https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx Now when I go to one of the other pages that put me into the infinite loop password request cycle, I get a login screen that asks for login and password at the same time and I am able to log in and see my support ticket. So I guess I am good, although I have no idea why that looping happpened on 2 different browsers.
Userlevel 7
Badge +36
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
@ wrote:
https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx
THAT linked worked, allowing me to create a ticket WITHOUT asking for a password (nor clearing my browser stuff). THANKS! I just uploaded a bunch of applications that are valid, mostly dealing with Microsoft SQL Server, 3rd party tools for that product, and the entire windows 10 SDK.
Are you all set now or do you still need help creating a ticket/getting a hold of support?
I was able to create the ticket (199748) via this link someone provided: https://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx Now when I go to one of the other pages that put me into the infinite loop password request cycle, I get a login screen that asks for login and password at the same time and I am able to log in and see my support ticket. So I guess I am good, although I have no idea why that looping happpened on 2 different browsers.
Looking at the ticket it seems one of our technicians is working on it. Expect to hear back from Sean Harlow here soon.

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