High disk usage
Some users may experience unusually high disk activity from the Defguard desktop client, even when the app appears idle. This is almost always caused by SQLite performing full-table scans on large statistics tables.
1. Check Your Client Version
The fix for the original table-scan problem was introduced in v1.5.2.
Steps:
Open Defguard Desktop
Look at the bottom-left corner → confirm the version is ≥ v1.5.2
If not, download the latest version: https://defguard.net/download/
2. Check the Database Size
If the stats purge mechanism is not working correctly or heavy usage generates too much data, the database can grow very large.
Location of the DB file: C:\Users<YOUR_USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\net.defguard\defguard.db
Typical sizes:
Normal usage: a few MB
Problematic: tens or hundreds of MB (e.g., 50–200 MB)
3. Temporary Workarounds
Before trying any fix, back up your database file.
Option A — Trim Stats Tables (safe & recommended)
Install SQLite, open the DB, and run:
This immediately reduces the DB size and disk I/O.
Option B — Remove the Database Entirely (quickest, but requires re-enrollment)
Close Defguard completely
Delete the database file:
C:\Users<YOUR_USERNAME>\AppData\Roaming\net.defguard\defguard.dbRe-enroll your device in Defguard (you will need your enrollment link or admin setup)
This is the nuclear option but works reliably.
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