I’m trying Avast after using AVG for years & I’m not sure I understand how Avast checks downloaded files for viruses.
I use DAP to accelerate my downloads. There are two parameters used to have a virus checker be initiated by DAP on a downloaded file. This works well with AVG.
I have been unable to find info on how to enter these parameters for Avast. I called the Avast support line & got someone who knew less about computers and Avast than I did. They managed to take control of my computer, change the resolution [messing up my copious desktop icons], enter incorrect DAP parameters and try to sell me PC tuneup and maintenance. What a waste of my time!
I have uninstalled AVG and installed Avast on my Windows XP SP2 system. So far, I have had no problems. I am doing my first manual full scan of the system & I think I defined a full system scan and scheduled it weekly. But I have found no info on how to have downloaded files scanned.
I downloaded a file & there was no scan logged. I did a right-click scan of a file from the windows explorer & that worked and was logged. So, is there a way to get downloaded files scanned using DAP or any other method?
If not, it sure seems like either I or Avast is missing the point.
I have found that a command line utility is available on the Pro version… Is that the answer? If so, maybe I should move back to AVG…
You don’t really need to have DAP initiate a virus checker. Avast’s real-time Web Shield covers that. It checks all downloads and the reason you don’t see a log for the scan is because the logs you are looking at are the on-demand scans, not the real-time scans. If you want those logs, Tech mentioned it in his post. Now the reason you directed DAP to scan downloads with AVG may be that AVG Free doesn’t have the online shield like in its paid version, but avast covers that.
I understand that the Web shield should be scanning downloaded files.
I looked in the settings & could find no way to show the log for scanning a downloaded file.
So, I guess I really don’t know if it’s working or what the results might be…
I looked at ashquick.exe & am not sure it will scan the file that was downloaded. It sounds to me like it initiates a quick scan of the entire system. I see no parameters that indicate what file it should scan.
So, I guess I’m not sure how to tell if a file that I’ve downloaded has been checked other than initiating a scan manually by right-clicking on it. I would think others might want to know that downloaded files are being checked… Or am I the only one that is skeptical and has seen software not work as described…
Thanks again for the help. [I just want a way to see that downloaded files are checked and the results of the check] :-\
Not really when a download accelerator is being used… I mean, the traffic is broken into pieces and the malware code could be in between and only detected when the parts are joined together afterwards.
What does DAP documentation say? %1% %file% are some options.
I’ve not been able to find DAP or Avast documentation or search results on this issue. I have sent an email to DAP support… I tried calling Avast support & I posted those results earlier…
Scanner Options [Command line parameters]
/scan=%FILENAME% /CLEAN
I was looking for something similar for Avast…
So, does Avast have a mechanism for handling scanning downloaded files using a download accelerator. Maybe that is something you have to purchase a license for?
I like the feature set I’ve seen for Avast, but this seems to be a fundamental functionality.
I just finished my first manual full scan. The results showed 3 false positives. Two were batch files I created, and one was for lmscan.dll, a file used by other virus scanners. So, not an impressive result for the first time…
You already got an answer - ashQuick.exe is the executable you’re looking for.
The only command-line argument is the file to be scanned. If the file is not infected, nothing happens, if an infection is found, a message appears.
Scanner Options [Command line parameters]
%FILENAME%
I downloaded a file. The Avast systray icon rotated. How do I tell if it was scanned? Just believe that it was & wait for an infected file to be downloaded that triggers some action from Avast? Or is there a way to tell the file was scanned & it was OK…
I want a result that I can trust… A belief that it was scanned and a trust that an infected file will be detected, is a bit short of an indication that Avast is working… for me…
Good suggestion. I had tried it before I used the DAP parms for Avast & it didn’t work. I had high hopes, but to no avail. The systray icon rotated, but no results… So, I’m left with ???
"DAP offers its users the option to configure an anti-virus application to be automatically activated upon completion of a download through DAP.
This is a standard command line activation of an anti-virus executable which receives form DAP the downloaded file path as a parameter and additional scanning parameters which could be added by the user, in the following form:
, automatically provided by DAP, <additional keys ‘Scanner option’>
Therefore, DAP may effectively activate any anti-virus application that can receive the set parameters in above listed order.
We recommend that you will consult the relevant vendor whether its product can be activated in this order of parameters.
As far as we know, now days most antivirus programs auto scan files as soon as they are saved to the hard drive. In that case there is no need to configure the antivirus program in DAP."
