I’ve been using Avast! a few years now, but am far from a pc pro. I’d always heard that you should never use more than 1 anti-virus program at once. Does this include the security system that came w/ my laptop? (Windows XP) It has an anti-virus feature.
Also, whenever I try programming it to scan specific folders (I always uncheck the “My Music” & “My Pictures” boxes), & I run a Thorough scan, it Still ends up scanning my music & pics. It’s really annoying b/c the thorough scan takes hours.
Windows XP doesn’t have a security system other than the Basic XP Firewall.
So unless you are talking about something else installed by the Retailer/OEM supplier that sold the laptop there shouldn’t be any issue.
The Windows Security Center (not there is a play on words) is no security centre at all but a notification service that tells you if your security applications are a) running and b) in date. It has no antivirus, what you are describing is an avast scan…
Thorough is also by its design very thorough (it scans all files) and perhaps a little overkill for routine use, were a Standard scan without archives should be adequate. Archive (zip, rar, 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.
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.
So to break it down for me-- I pretty much don’t have to do the thorough scan every time. A Standard one will do. & there’s a way for me to set it up so that Avast! will do a “boot time” scan? (& only upon installation of it?)
Is that the same as a Standard scan? Also, I installed it ages ago. I’m a bit lost.
A boot-time scan is normally only used to get round a problem in dealing with a virus detection in windows normal mode (when running some files are protected), the boot-time scan happens before windows starts, but personally I wouldn’t recommend that as a regular scan.
If you have XP, vista32bit or Win2k, you could enable a boot time scan. Right click the avast icon, select Start avast! Antivirus, a memory scan will take place followed by the opening of the Simple User Interface, Menu, ‘Schedule boot-time scan…’ Or see http://www.digitalred.com/avast-boot-time.php.
For the reasons I mentioned above the boot-time scan is not the sane as a standard scan.