Is there a boot time scan in the home version? I am using version 4.0.229. I entered the path to aswboot.exe in autoexec.bat but that didn’t work. At start-up it sayes “C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\Aswboot.exe, Bad command or file name.” ???
I am using Win98SE, all updates, PIII 450MhZ, 256MB Ram.
Ricky,
this works on NT based systems only (Windows NT, 2000, XP…)
Thanks odpad.
Is there any plans of this being available to us poor Win98 users in a future update? Even if it’s only in the Pro. version?
The boot-time scan uses special API (functions) available in Windows NT/2000/XP only, so it’s not possible to add this feature to Win9x.
Theoretically, in Win9x it would be possible to do something similar using a DOS version of the scanner, but I sort of doubt there are plans to port the scanner back to DOS… or am I wrong, Vlk? :
Well, port, we do have avast for DOS, right?
http://www.avast.com/i_idt_1035.html
But there are other problems related to this - e.g. how to keep it updated etc. It just kind of doesn’t fit the avast 4 product line, and I personally believe that including it to the standard avast 4 distribution is not worth the effort…
Vlk
Just curious though. Is it absolutely imperative to have a boot scan? If so should Win9x users look for something to fill the void?
I am in the same quandry . The only thing I can figure to do is to scan the boot time and startup folders before shutting down for the day. This seems less than elegant I know. It maybe tht Avist, as good as it is and the great support, just wont work for us
I’m not sure a boot time scan is a critical necessity anyway.
I'm not sure a boot time scan is a critical necessity anyway.
Absolutely correct. I’d say boot-time scanning is a nice feature to have, but far from critical.
BTW, the boot-time scan of avast under WinNT/2K/XP/2K3 is quite a “hack” and I belive avast is actually the only antivirus program on the market with such a feature!
I think the real value of this featuredemonstrates e.g. when the computer is infected and you’re trying to get red of the infection, since the boot-time scan doesn’t have any problems with things like locked files, system file protection etc… However, it’s just a matter of how comfortable/easy it is – of course there are ways how to do the achieve the same results without the boot-time scan as well…
Hope this helps,
Vlk
What u say makes sense, culpepper, and even though in 3 yrs of scanning the boot files before launching windows, norton only caught one corrupted file, I dont believe I have seen a puter boot without scanning by antivirus software. I dont know if this is naive but is there an online scan tht would work while in windows
For those that want a boot time scan with Win9.x:
I’m almost positive that the free for home use F-Prot AV for DOS can be used to check memory and boot sectors during boot up using autoexec.bat. F-Prot definition files are regularly updated but not sure if this applies to checking memory or boot sectors. Anyone know for sure?
Anyway, the command line prompt to check memory and boot sectors only is:
f-prot c: /collect /nofile /nosub
There are also script files that can be used to update the definition files automatically if needed.
Thx alot for checkin into tht for us culpepper. though not a perfect solution , I am going to check it out and see how smoothly or cumbersome the two scanners work on this ol hog… I dont want to upgrade to xp on this puter unless i upgraded the 128 ram and 7 gig hd syst.
I will investigate F prot website.
tx for the post
There shouldn’t be no problem using both scanners. The F-prot would be initiated during boot up through autoexec.bat. Since it is a DOS program it would be initiated during boot up only. No need for it under windows. That is where Avast 4 takes over.
As far as the command line switches go, eliminating the /nofile switch will result in all files in the root directory scanned as well as the memory and boot sectors.
Also, it seems to me that the AVG AV boot up uses a DOS based program to do the exact same thing. I would never recommend using AVG though because I am biased. I especially don’t like the email plug in for AVG. Very cumbersome.
Thanks Culpeper.
I’m on my way to check out F-prot now.
Will post back later with thoughts. Thanks again and Have A Great Day !!! 
Ok, I guess I’m going to ask a newbie question.
I’ve installed F-Prot AV for DOS and the updated definition files. Now, how do I get it to do the boot-time scan?
After reading everything at http://www.geocities.com/uzipaz/eng/f-prot.html, I’m beginning to think it’s more trouble than it’s worth. :o
One of the reasons I liked Avast was the automatic virus definitions download. Might as well go ahead and SHOOT myself in the foot. HaHa!
It is much simplier than you may realize.
put this line in your autoexec.bat file:
c:\f-prot\f-prot c: /collect /nosub
The entire F-prot files should be in a folder named “f-prot” in the C:\ root directory to use the above command line. This will cause the program to scan the root directoy, memory, and boot sectors during boot up.
Make a back up of your autoexec.bat before making the changes.
You can also test the f-prot program by going into a dos window and using the command line and switches stated above. Remember, this is a DOS program.
The reason why the boot time scan was excluded in Avast for Win9.x is that it would have needed a similar DOS program, which wasn’t worth the effort and time. It doesn’t fit the Avast 4 product line. My suggestion to use F-prot is just something to fill the void for those that feel they need a boot time scan under Win9.x.
I’ve tested using F-prot to scan the memory and boot sectors on my Win98 machine and it works fine. I would suggeste turning off any Win98 splash screens that may appear during boot up.
As for updating F-prot definition files. They don’t supply definition files as often as Avast does. Just put yourself on the F-prot mailing list from their website and they will notify you when new definition files are available. Up-to-the-minute definition files are not that critical for the boot up scan procedure.
Thanks for the info Culpeper. Works like a charm.
The only thing that bothers me about going this route is the size of the F-prot def file “fp-def.zip” is 1185KB this time. Is this the average size of every update?
That was one of the reasons I switched to Avast from AVG. It seemed like most of the AVG updates where 1400+KB.
Oh well, I guess what it all boils down to is, "How bad do we want the boot-time scan ???
Thanks to everyone for all the input.
!!! AVAST ROCKS !!!
;D
Yep, those updates are large files for F-prot.
One more thing. F-prot is in default report mode. Adding /DISINF to the command line switches will cause the program to pause if an infected file is found and give you a choice of options on what to do Y/N/A/Q.
Check scan.txt in the F-prot directory to see how to create a test file (Eicar test file).