Feature request - option to add detected files to the ignore list

system · 2015-10-24T08:46:28.000Z

As, I’ve already posted, I am hugely impressed by the new beta versions of Avast. No only do I really like the new interface, but more importantly, Avast never slows down my computer. However, it is missing what I consider to be an essential feature in any antivirus, being the ability to add any detected files to the ignore list. Considering, that there is the option to restore and add to exclusions in the virus chest, it seem strange that there is not an option to ignore files upon detection, rather than having to manually add an exclusion, or quarantine and then restore and exclude the files.

I do realise that probably the vast majority of users, don’t need such an option. But, in my opinion it is a glaring omission, and a feature that could be easily added. If there is a concern that it would make it too easy for less technically minded users, to mistakenly whitelist harmful files, then quite possibly the ignore feature could be something that needs to be manually turned on in the settings.

BeSecure · 2015-10-24T09:19:56.000Z

Not need this type of options.It is more importent to improve what they already have.Like HIPS and Ransomware,cryptowall and zero-day threats detection capabilities,lesser amount of FP and the cloud in 2016 Version :)And for less technically minded users avast has Reputation services On and Deepscreen.So Avast! do it(Will take care)for all Expert/Advance/medium/basic/novice users.

system · 2015-10-24T10:03:56.000Z

Personally, I need this feature, and it’s something that could be added very easily.

bob3160 · 2015-10-24T12:05:26.000Z

roger_m post:3:

Personally, I need this feature, and it’s something that could be added very easily.

If Avast deems a file as an infection, you can’t bypass that detection.
It needs to be submitted to the virus lab. Avast makes the final decision.
Avast takes the stance that if a file can infect your system, it get blocked NOT bypassed.

system · 2015-10-25T03:31:17.000Z

bob3160 post:4:

If Avast deems a file as an infection, you can’t bypass that detection.

I know, and that the big issue I have with Avast, and why most likely I will be uninstalling it soon, and leaving my Windows 10 laptop free of antivirus software (I uninstalled Windows Defender).

bob3160 · 2015-10-25T11:04:23.000Z

roger_m post:5:

bob3160 post:4:

If Avast deems a file as an infection, you can’t bypass that detection.

I know, and that the big issue I have with Avast, and why most likely I will be uninstalling it soon, and leaving my Windows 10 laptop free of antivirus software (I uninstalled Windows Defender).

Your computer, your choice. Certainly not mine.

DavidR · 2015-10-25T14:34:52.000Z

roger_m post:5:

bob3160 post:4:

If Avast deems a file as an infection, you can’t bypass that detection.

I know, and that the big issue I have with Avast, and why most likely I will be uninstalling it soon, and leaving my Windows 10 laptop free of antivirus software (I uninstalled Windows Defender).

The problem being not everyone is the same and avast have to be looking at safety of all users experienced/inexperienced.

This question/suggestion has been asked (and answered) many times in over eleven years of using avast. Making a mistake, would result in the file being able to run, that is why avast have gone for a deliberate act to exclude a file than a single click option.

RejZoR · 2015-10-25T15:24:38.000Z

You can do this more conveniently through Virus Chest since it has been added to the avast! tray icon menu… Adding it directly to the detection menu is not a wise thing to do.

system · 2015-10-25T22:03:19.000Z

DavidR post:7:

The problem being not everyone is the same and avast have to be looking at safety of all users experienced/inexperienced.

This question/suggestion has been asked (and answered) many times in over eleven years of using avast. Making a mistake, would result in the file being able to run, that is why avast have gone for a deliberate act to exclude a file than a single click option.

That’s why I suggested that I could be an optional feature, that would need to be manually enabled. So, only advanced users who enabled it would be given the option to exclude.

system · 2015-10-25T22:10:03.000Z

RejZoR post:8:

You can do this more conveniently through Virus Chest since it has been added to the avast! tray icon menu…

Thanks for tip, I had not noticed that.

As for adding it directly to the detection menu, it is a logical option to have for power users in my opinion. I absolutely hate how antivirus companies “dump down” their products for inexperienced users, and in doing so exclude features that can would be useful to advanced users.

As I suggested, such a feature could be an option one that would have to be manually enabled, so the average user would not be shown the ignore option. At least there are some antivirus such at Qihoo’s products that have the ignore option.

bob3160 · 2015-10-25T23:32:20.000Z

roger_m post:10:

RejZoR post:8:

You can do this more conveniently through Virus Chest since it has been added to the avast! tray icon menu…

Thanks for tip, I had not noticed that.

As for adding it directly to the detection menu, it is a logical option to have for power users in my opinion. I absolutely hate how antivirus companies “dump down” their products for inexperienced users, and in doing so exclude features that can would be useful to advanced users.

As I suggested, such a feature could be an option one that would have to be manually enabled, so the average user would not be shown the ignore option. At least there are some antivirus such at Qihoo’s products that have the ignore option.

Unfortunately the program can’t decide if the user making the decision is a computer wiz or a computer nerd.
I’ve never had such a rush that I couldn’t wait till the next vps update to clear a false positive.
Avast has always been fairly quick at doing that.

system · 2015-10-26T00:31:28.000Z

bob3160 post:11:

Unfortunately the program can’t decide if the user making the decision is a computer wiz or a computer nerd.

That’s why I suggested that by default the option to ignore files would not be available, and advanced users would need to manually enable it.

I've never had such a rush that I couldn't wait till the next vps update to clear a false positive.

This is not so much about false positives, but more about files that Avast legitimately detects, but I want to keep. For example PUPs or adware installers.

bob3160 · 2015-10-26T00:47:22.000Z

As David has already explained, that’s not been Avast’s policy in the past.
You’ve made your suggestion.

system · 2015-10-26T00:55:38.000Z

bob3160 post:13:

As David has already explained, that’s not been Avast’s policy in the past.

I’m well aware of that, and that is why I’ve made the suggestion.

DavidR · 2015-10-26T15:29:21.000Z

roger_m post:12:

This is not so much about false positives, but more about files that Avast legitimately detects, but I want to keep. For example PUPs or adware installers.

If it is a case of PUPs or samples - why not keep them in one location and exclude the contents of that location.

system · 2015-10-26T21:29:38.000Z

DavidR post:15:

If it is a case of PUPs or samples - why not keep them in one location and exclude the contents of that location.

It’s not that simple. I often install PUAs, and even if I exclude the folder where the installer is located then I may still get files blocked when I go to install the PUA. Currently, I just disable Avast’s shields when downloading and installing PUAs so that nothing gets blocked.

system · 2015-10-27T23:36:29.000Z

I’ve just uninstalled Avast, and since it seems that the ignore feature won’t ever be added, I will never use Avast again, as it a huge annoyance, not having the ignore feature.

It’s s shame Avast won’t add that feature, and that in general developers of security software want to dumb down their software these days to cater for the average user, while ignoring features for power users.

For the moment, I’ll stay antivirus free, as I’d rather have my computer unprotected than have antivirus software slowing it down. I install many different antiviruses every year, and just about all of them cause unacceptable slowdowns for me - even the so called really light antiviruses. Even Windows Defender has serious issues with slowdowns on my computers. I was very impressed by how light Avast was, and if it was not for the lack of the ignore feature, I would have kept using it for the foreseeable future.

I should add that Avast uninstalled cleanly, and IObit Uninstaller found no traces.

bob3160 · 2015-10-28T12:05:57.000Z

roger_m post:17:

I’ve just uninstalled Avast, and since it seems that the ignore feature won’t ever be added, I will never use Avast again, as it a huge annoyance, not having the ignore feature.

It’s s shame Avast won’t add that feature, and that in general developers of security software want to dumb down their software these days to cater for the average user, while ignoring features for power users.

For the moment, I’ll stay antivirus free, as I’d rather have my computer unprotected than have antivirus software slowing it down. I install many different antiviruses every year, and just about all of them cause unacceptable slowdowns for me - even the so called really light antiviruses. Even Windows Defender has serious issues with slowdowns on my computers. I was very impressed by how light Avast was, and if it was not for the lack of the ignore feature, I would have kept using it for the foreseeable future.

I should add that Avast uninstalled cleanly, and IObit Uninstaller found no traces.

Just as a rebuttal, I’d like to mention that it is because Avast does not have such a bypass feature, many of Avast’s users are kept safe. (Probably from themselves.)
Most users depend on their Antivirus program to keep them safe. They aren’t “experts”. Even experts have been fooled more times then they will
ever admit. Putting the decision of what’s safe and what’s not directly in the hands of the experts at Avast is the right thing to do.
I will admit that in the case of the false positive this decision at times can be a bit frustrating. It is still the right decision to keep the customer safe.
As an Avast user since 2003, I’ve seen both false positives and brand new viruses blocked by Avast. The false positives have always been rectified
in a reasonable time frame. The blockages of brand new infections of all types have kept my system well protected.

BeSecure · 2015-10-28T12:29:54.000Z

bob3160 post:18:

roger_m post:17:

I’ve just uninstalled Avast, and since it seems that the ignore feature won’t ever be added, I will never use Avast again, as it a huge annoyance, not having the ignore feature.

It’s s shame Avast won’t add that feature, and that in general developers of security software want to dumb down their software these days to cater for the average user, while ignoring features for power users.

For the moment, I’ll stay antivirus free, as I’d rather have my computer unprotected than have antivirus software slowing it down. I install many different antiviruses every year, and just about all of them cause unacceptable slowdowns for me - even the so called really light antiviruses. Even Windows Defender has serious issues with slowdowns on my computers. I was very impressed by how light Avast was, and if it was not for the lack of the ignore feature, I would have kept using it for the foreseeable future.

I should add that Avast uninstalled cleanly, and IObit Uninstaller found no traces.

Just as a rebuttal, I’d like to mention that it is because Avast does not have such a bypass feature, many of Avast’s users are kept safe. (Probably from themselves.)
Most users depend on their Antivirus program to keep them safe. They aren’t “experts”. Even experts have been fooled more times then they will
ever admit. Putting the decision of what’s safe and what’s not directly in the hands of the experts at Avast is the right thing to do.
I will admit that in the case of the false positive this decision at times can be a bit frustrating. It is still the right decision to keep the customer safe.
As an Avast user since 2003, I’ve seen both false positives and brand new viruses blocked by Avast. The false positives have always been rectified
in a reasonable time frame. The blockages of brand new infections of all types have kept my system well protected.

+1 I agree with@bob3160

system · 2015-10-28T12:52:56.000Z

bob3160 post:18:

Just as a rebuttal, I’d like to mention that it is because Avast does not have such a bypass feature, many of Avast’s users are kept safe. (Probably from themselves.)

I feel the need to point out, that I suggest that such a feature be an optional that was disabled by default. You would need to manually enable it via the settings if you wanted the ignore option. I’m sure that average user, for which this option could lead to their system becoming infected, would not enable this option. Most likely, they just run Avast with the default settings, and never even look at configuration options.

[QUOTE]Putting the decision of what’s safe and what’s not directly in the hands of the experts at Avast is the right thing to do.
[/quote]
Perhaps for the majority of users, but most definitely not for people such as myself. If Avast detects something I want to use, then I’ll let Avast quarantine it, and then restore it and add it to the list of exclusions, or disable Avast’s shields while I install it.

[QUOTE]It is still the right decision to keep the customer safe.
[/quote]
It’s not the right decision for all users. Maybe it is for the majority of users, maybe even for 99% of users, but not everyone. With my idea, the average user would be protected just as before, only a minority of power users would manually enable the ignore function, and it would keep everyone happy.

[QUOTE]As an Avast user since 2003, I’ve seen both false positives and brand new viruses blocked by Avast. The false positives have always been rectified
in a reasonable time frame. The blockages of brand new infections of all types have kept my system well protected.
[/quote]
I first used Avast in the mid nineties, when there was both a DOS and Windows 3 app. But, I have used plenty of other antiviruses as well as Avast since then. Not only do I have 25 years of experience in PC virus removal, I know how to avoid getting infected. The only time I ever get infected is when I run an infected file I’ve downloaded, which I do from time to time. If I was a little bit more careful about what I let run on my computers, I would never get infected. I don’t need antivirus software to tell me if a file is safe or not, I’m quite capable of doing that myself.

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