i am trying to set my scan settings to include the archives and do a thorogh scan but all i get is a standard scan and no archives. how do i get it to do the thorogh scan and archives?
When you select Local Disks a slider should appear that indicates the scan sensitivity, slide that to the right for Thorough, there should also be a tick box to scan archives.
Be warned, the scan could take a long time.
Archive (zip, etc.) files are by their nature are inert, you need to extract the files and then you have to run them to be a threat. Long before that happens avast’s Standard Shield should have scanned them and before an executable is run that is scanned. Thorough is also by its design very thorough and perhaps a little overkill for routine use, were a Standard scan without archives should be adequate.
I have only ever done a through scan with archives once shortly after installation just to ensure a clean start state, but with XP for example avast will do a boot-time scan after installation if you select it, this I believe will be quicker and reasonably effective. Like everything in life things are a compromise.