diff --git a/README b/README
index b653425..61468fd 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -188,12 +188,14 @@ preprocessor ai: \
 	database_parsing_interval 30 \
 	hashtable_cleanup_interval 300 \
 	manual_correlations_parsing_interval 120 \
+	max_hash_pkt_number 1000 \
 	neural_clustering_interval 1200 \
 	neural_network_training_interval 43200 \
 	neural_train_steps 10 \
 	output_database ( type="dbtype", name="snort", user="snortusr", password="snortpass", host="dbhost" ) \
 	output_neurons_per_side 20 \
 	tcp_stream_expire_interval 300 \
+	use_stream_hash_table 1 \
 	webserv_banner "Snort AIPreprocessor module" \
 	webserv_dir "/prefix/share/htdocs" \
 	webserv_port 7654
@@ -323,7 +325,13 @@ the alerts from database and the next one (default if not specified: 30 seconds)
 
 - hashtable_cleanup_interval: The interval that should occur from the cleanup of
 the  hashtable  of  TCP  streams and the next one (default if not specified: 300
- seconds)
+seconds).  Set  this  option  to  0 for performing no cleanup on the stream hash
+table
+
+
+- max_hash_pkt_number: Maximum number of packets that each element of the stream
+hash  table  should  hold,  set  it  to  0  for  no  limit (default value if not
+specified: 1000)
 
 
 - manual_correlations_parsing_interval: Interval in seconds between an execution
@@ -370,6 +378,12 @@ stream as "expired", if no more packets are received inside of that and it's not
 "marked"    as    suspicious   (default   if   not   specified:   300   seconds)
 
 
+- use_stream_hash_table: Set this option to 0 if you do not want to use the hash
+table for storing the streams of packets associated to alerts, this is a good
+choice on a system where many alerts are triggered (default value if not
+specified: 1)
+
+
 - webserv_banner:  Banner of the web server, to be placed on the error pages and
 in           the           "Server"          HTTP          reply          header
 
diff --git a/alert_parser.c b/alert_parser.c
index e770ff6..9abb40b 100644
--- a/alert_parser.c
+++ b/alert_parser.c
@@ -80,8 +80,6 @@ AI_serializer ( AI_snort_alert *alert )
 void*
 AI_alerts_pool_thread ( void *arg )
 {
-	pthread_t  serializer_thread;
-
 	while ( 1 )
 	{
 		sleep ( config->alertSerializationInterval );
@@ -138,8 +136,6 @@ AI_file_alertparser_thread ( void* arg )
 	BOOL           in_alert = false;
 
 	pthread_t      alerts_pool_thread;
-	pthread_t      serializer_thread;
-	pthread_t      db_thread;
 
 	/* Initialize the mutex lock, so nobody can read the alerts while we write there */
 	pthread_mutex_init ( &alert_mutex, NULL );
diff --git a/cluster.c b/cluster.c
index f9626a3..d623965 100644
--- a/cluster.c
+++ b/cluster.c
@@ -262,7 +262,6 @@ __AI_merge_alerts ( AI_snort_alert **log )
 {
 	AI_snort_alert *tmp, *tmp2, *tmp3;
 	AI_alerts_couple *alerts_couple;
-	pthread_t db_thread;
 	int count = 0;
 
 	for ( tmp = *log; tmp; tmp = tmp->next )
diff --git a/correlation.c b/correlation.c
index 5f4dc6a..80d7654 100644
--- a/correlation.c
+++ b/correlation.c
@@ -1238,8 +1238,7 @@ AI_alert_correlation_thread ( void *arg )
 	AI_snort_alert            *alert_iterator       = NULL,
 					      *alert_iterator2      = NULL;
 
-	pthread_t                 db_thread,
-						 manual_corr_thread;
+	pthread_t                 manual_corr_thread;
 
 	#ifdef                    HAVE_LIBGVC
 	char                      corr_png_file[4096]   = { 0 };
diff --git a/db.c b/db.c
index 4782641..00baba0 100644
--- a/db.c
+++ b/db.c
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ AI_db_alertparser_thread ( void *arg )
 	int            latest_cid  = 0;
 	time_t         latest_time = time ( NULL );
 	pthread_t      alerts_pool_thread;
-	pthread_t      serializer_thread;
 
 	DB_result      res, res2;
 	DB_row         row, row2;
diff --git a/spp_ai.c b/spp_ai.c
index 7d0f2ef..ebaa122 100644
--- a/spp_ai.c
+++ b/spp_ai.c
@@ -218,11 +218,13 @@ static AI_config * AI_parse(char *args)
 			     correlation_graph_interval           = 0,
 			     database_parsing_interval            = 0,
 				manual_correlations_parsing_interval = 0,
+				max_hash_pkt_number                  = 0,
 				neural_clustering_interval           = 0,
 				neural_network_training_interval     = 0,
 				neural_train_steps                   = 0,
 				output_neurons_per_side              = 0,
 			     stream_expire_interval               = 0,
+				use_stream_hash_table                = 0,
 				webserv_banner_len                   = 0,
 				webserv_dir_len                      = 0;
 
@@ -591,6 +593,48 @@ static AI_config * AI_parse(char *args)
 	config->neural_train_steps = neural_train_steps;
 	_dpd.logMsg( "    Neural train steps: %u\n", config->neural_train_steps );
 
+	/* Parsing the max_hash_pkt_number option */
+	if (( arg = (char*) strcasestr( args, "max_hash_pkt_number" ) ))
+	{
+		for ( arg += strlen("max_hash_pkt_number");
+				*arg && (*arg < '0' || *arg > '9');
+				arg++ );
+
+		if ( !(*arg) )
+		{
+			AI_fatal_err ( "max_hash_pkt_number option used but "
+				"no value specified", __FILE__, __LINE__ );
+		}
+
+		max_hash_pkt_number = strtoul ( arg, NULL, 10 );
+	} else {
+		max_hash_pkt_number = DEFAULT_MAX_HASH_PKT_NUMBER;
+	}
+
+	config->max_hash_pkt_number = max_hash_pkt_number;
+	_dpd.logMsg( "    Maximum number of packets stored in the hash table: %u\n", config->max_hash_pkt_number );
+
+	/* Parsing the use_stream_hash_table option */
+	if (( arg = (char*) strcasestr( args, "use_stream_hash_table" ) ))
+	{
+		for ( arg += strlen("use_stream_hash_table");
+				*arg && (*arg < '0' || *arg > '9');
+				arg++ );
+
+		if ( !(*arg) )
+		{
+			AI_fatal_err ( "use_stream_hash_table option used but "
+				"no value specified", __FILE__, __LINE__ );
+		}
+
+		use_stream_hash_table = strtoul ( arg, NULL, 10 );
+	} else {
+		use_stream_hash_table = DEFAULT_USE_STREAM_HASH_TABLE;
+	}
+
+	config->use_stream_hash_table = use_stream_hash_table;
+	_dpd.logMsg( "    Using the stream hash table: %u\n", config->use_stream_hash_table );
+
 	/* Parsing the alert_correlation_weight option */
 	if (( arg = (char*) strcasestr( args, "alert_correlation_weight" ) ))
 	{
diff --git a/spp_ai.h b/spp_ai.h
index 8384115..f0cbe24 100644
--- a/spp_ai.h
+++ b/spp_ai.h
@@ -98,11 +98,18 @@
 /** Default number of steps used for training the neural network */
 #define 	DEFAULT_NEURAL_TRAIN_STEPS 			10
 
+/** Default maximum number of packets that an observed stream in the hash table should hold */
+#define 	DEFAULT_MAX_HASH_PKT_NUMBER 			1000
+
 /** Default number of alerts needed in the history file or database for letting a certain
  * heuristic correlation index weight be =~ 0.95 (the weight monotonically increases
  * with the number of alerts according to a hyperbolic tangent function) */
 #define 	DEFAULT_ALERT_CORRELATION_WEIGHT 		5000
 
+/** Default setting for the use of the hash table for holding streams of packets
+ * associated to a certain alert (0 = do not use, 1 or any value != 0: use) */
+#define 	DEFAULT_USE_STREAM_HASH_TABLE 		1
+
 /** Default web server port */
 #define 	DEFAULT_WEBSERV_PORT 				7654
 
@@ -164,6 +171,9 @@ struct pkt_info
 	/** Flag set if the packet is observed, i.e. associated to a security alert */
 	BOOL              observed;
 
+	/** Number of packets in the current flow, if available */
+	unsigned int      n_packets;
+
 	/** Make the struct 'hashable' */
 	UT_hash_handle    hh;
 };
@@ -218,11 +228,18 @@ typedef struct
 	 * with the number of alerts according to a hyperbolic tangent function) */
 	unsigned long  alert_correlation_weight;
 
+	/** Maximum number of packets that an observed stream in the hash table should hold */
+	unsigned long  max_hash_pkt_number;
+
 	/** Number of steps used for training the neural network */
 	unsigned long  neural_train_steps;
 
 	/** Size of the alerts' buffer to be periodically sent to the serialization thread */
 	unsigned long  alert_bufsize;
+	
+	/** Setting for the use of the hash table for holding streams of packets
+	 * associated to a certain alert (0 = do not use, 1 or any value != 0: use) */
+	unsigned long  use_stream_hash_table;
 
 	/** Correlation threshold coefficient for correlating two hyperalerts. Two hyperalerts
 	 * are 'correlated' to each other in a multi-step attack graph if and only if their
diff --git a/stream.c b/stream.c
index 7c899b8..e040934 100644
--- a/stream.c
+++ b/stream.c
@@ -98,8 +98,16 @@ __AI_stream_free ( struct pkt_info* stream )
 void*
 AI_hashcleanup_thread ( void* arg )
 {
-	struct pkt_info  *h, *stream;
-	time_t           max_timestamp;
+	struct pkt_info  *h, *stream, *tmp;
+	time_t  max_timestamp;
+	int   pkt_count, pkt_rm;
+	BOOL  has_old_streams;
+
+	if ( config->hashCleanupInterval == 0 )
+	{
+		pthread_exit ((void*) 0);
+		return (void*) 0;
+	}
 
 	while ( 1 )  {
 		/* Sleep for the specified number of seconds */
@@ -109,31 +117,69 @@ AI_hashcleanup_thread ( void* arg )
 		if ( !hash || !HASH_COUNT(hash) )
 			continue;
 
-		/* Check all the streams in the hash */
-		for ( h = hash; h; h = (struct pkt_info*) h->next )  {
-			if ( h->observed ) continue;
-			max_timestamp = 0;
+		has_old_streams = true;
 
-			/* Find the maximum timestamp in the flow */
-			for ( stream = h; stream; stream = (struct pkt_info*) stream->next )  {
-				if ( stream->timestamp > max_timestamp )
-					max_timestamp = stream->timestamp;
-			}
+		while ( has_old_streams )
+		{
+			has_old_streams = false;
 
-			/* If the most recent packet in the stream is older than the specified threshold, remove that stream */
-			if ( time(NULL) - max_timestamp > config->streamExpireInterval )  {
-				stream = h;
-
-				if ( stream )
+			/* Check all the streams in the hash */
+			for ( h = hash; h; h = (struct pkt_info*) h->next )  {
+				if ( h->observed )
 				{
-					/* XXX This, sometimes, randomly, leads to the crash of the module.
-					 * WHY??? Why can't computer science be deterministic, and if a
-					 * certain not-NULL stream exists in a not-NULL hash table why
-					 * should there be a crash, one day yes and the next one no? Until
-					 * I won't find an answer to these enigmatic questions, I will leave
-					 * this code commented, so if a certain stream goes timeout it won't
-					 * be removed. I'm sorry but it's not my fault. Ask the karma about this */
-					/* __AI_stream_free ( stream ); */
+					continue;
+				}
+
+				if ( h->next )
+				{
+					if ( h->next->observed )
+					{
+						if ( config->max_hash_pkt_number != 0 )
+						{
+							if ( h->next->n_packets == 0 )
+							{
+								for ( stream = h->next, pkt_count=0; stream; stream = (struct pkt_info*) stream->next, pkt_count++ );
+								h->next->n_packets = pkt_count;
+							} else {
+								pkt_count = h->next->n_packets;
+							}
+
+							/* If this stream has too many packets inside, remove the oldest ones */
+							if ( pkt_count > config->max_hash_pkt_number )
+							{
+								for ( stream = h->next, pkt_rm = 0;
+										stream && pkt_rm < pkt_count - config->max_hash_pkt_number;
+										stream = stream->next, pkt_rm++ )
+								{
+									tmp = stream->next;
+									__AI_stream_free ( stream );
+									stream = tmp;
+								}
+
+								h->next = stream;
+							}
+						}
+					}
+				}
+
+				max_timestamp = 0;
+
+				/* Find the maximum timestamp in the flow */
+				for ( stream = h; stream; stream = (struct pkt_info*) stream->next )  {
+					if ( stream->timestamp > max_timestamp )
+						max_timestamp = stream->timestamp;
+				}
+
+				/* If the most recent packet in the stream is older than the specified threshold, remove that stream */
+
+				if ( time (NULL) - max_timestamp > config->streamExpireInterval )  {
+					has_old_streams = true;
+					stream = h;
+
+					if ( stream )
+					{
+						__AI_stream_free ( stream );
+					}
 				}
 			}
 		}
@@ -163,12 +209,18 @@ AI_pkt_enqueue ( SFSnortPacket* pkt )
 	if ( start_time == 0 )
 		start_time = time (NULL);
 
+	/* If we are not using the stream hash table, just return */
+	if ( config->use_stream_hash_table == 0 )
+		return;
+
 	/* If this is not an IP and/or TCP packet, it's not for me */
 	if ( !( pkt->ip4_header && pkt->tcp_header ))
 		return;
 
 	if ( !( info = (struct pkt_info*) malloc( sizeof(struct pkt_info) )) )
+	{
 		AI_fatal_err ( "Fatal dynamic memory allocation error", __FILE__, __LINE__ );
+	}
 
 	memset ( &key, 0, sizeof(struct pkt_key));
 	key.src_ip   = pkt->ip4_header->source.s_addr;
@@ -177,10 +229,13 @@ AI_pkt_enqueue ( SFSnortPacket* pkt )
 	info->key       = key;
 	info->timestamp = time(NULL);
 	info->observed  = false;
+	info->n_packets = 0;
 	info->next      = NULL;
 
 	if ( !( info->pkt = (SFSnortPacket*) malloc ( sizeof (SFSnortPacket) )) )
+	{
 		AI_fatal_err ( "Fatal dynamic memory allocation error", __FILE__, __LINE__ );
+	}
 
 	memcpy ( info->pkt, pkt, sizeof (SFSnortPacket) );
 
@@ -193,8 +248,12 @@ AI_pkt_enqueue ( SFSnortPacket* pkt )
 	/* If there is already an element of this traffic stream in my hash table,
 	 * append the packet just received to this stream*/
 	if ( found )  {
-		/* If the current packet contains a RST, just deallocate the stream */
-		if ( info->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_RST )  {
+		/* If the current packet contains a RST or a FIN, just deallocate the stream */
+		if (
+			( info->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_RST ) ||
+			(( info->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_FIN ) &&
+			 ( info->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_ACK ))
+		)  {
 			pthread_mutex_lock ( &hash_mutex );
 			HASH_FIND ( hh, hash, &key, sizeof(struct pkt_key), found );
 			pthread_mutex_unlock ( &hash_mutex );
@@ -227,23 +286,6 @@ AI_pkt_enqueue ( SFSnortPacket* pkt )
 			if ( !tmp )  {
 				found->next = info;
 			}
-
-			/* If the current packet contains an ACK and the latest one
-			 * in this stream contained a FIN, then the communication
-			 * on this stream is over */
-			if ( found->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_FIN )  {
-				if ( info->pkt->tcp_header->flags & TCPHEADER_ACK )  {
-					pthread_mutex_unlock ( &hash_mutex );
-					HASH_FIND ( hh, hash, &key, sizeof(struct pkt_key), found );
-					pthread_mutex_unlock ( &hash_mutex );
-
-					if ( found )  {
-						if ( !found->observed )  {
-							__AI_stream_free ( found );
-						}
-					}
-				}
-			}	
 		}
 	} else {
 		/* If the packet contains the ACK flag, no payload and it is