File was successfully deleted?

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
1

hello… noob question, but after a marathon virus scan of just under 3 days, i returned home this evening to the long-awaited scan results, and to my horror a total of 10 useful files had been “successfully deleted” by avast! i was under the impression i would be asked for a course of action upon the completion of the scan (it says as much in the help file). these files ARE NOT infected with viruses, though i can understand why some of them would be on a “watch list.” why was i not asked what to do with them, and how, if at all possible, can i get them back? i just switched from norton and this is not my idea of having any kind of input or control over what happens on my system…

would appreciate any help to recover what i’ve lost, or at least learn how to avoid this in the future. thanx!

2

avast does normally ask for you to input an action. If they were deleted then I’m afraid they are gone unless you have some file recovery application.

However, you don’t say what type of scan you were doing, nor what version of avast you have Home/Pro ?

You don’t say what the file names or the locations are, e.g. (C:\windows\system32\infected-file-name.xxx) ?

If it was a boot-time scan then you are able to input default actions to be taken if files are detected and you don’t respond

If a boot-time scan - Check the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\report\aswboot.txt file.

If it were an on-demand scan then you would need to have been using the Pro version to be able to delete (after selecting that option) without user input.

If an on-demand scan - Check the avast! Log Viewer (right click the avast icon), Warning section, this contains information on all avast detections.

Also the 3 days is excessive to say the least, if you can provide some information about your system, CPU, RAM, HDD size and data size ?
What type of scan and any settings was it ?

3

Only in Professional version.

Did you change avast Professional settings before scanning?
If you’re using the Home version, did you check for ‘do not ask again’ option after the first virus was detected?

Did you delete? No way…
Did you sent to Chest (Quarantine)? Just turn them back.

4

ah, i guess i should have done a little more research before starting the scan.

DavidR:
yeah, i figured the files were gone forever (short of a file recovery).
it was a manual scan (is that considered on-demand?), not boot-time. i made the mistake of choosing the Thorough setting AND the Scan Archives setting, and then testing ALL my drives (almost a terabyte over 4 drives). i also repeatedly sent the scan to the background, which i understand lowers the priority and slows it down even more. i’m actually not overly concerned about the time it took, but typically it’s taken about 3.5 hours with norton (though the scan is probably not as deep). the version i have is 4.7 Home.
the files are programs located on my D: drive, in a folder of stuff waiting to get burned safely to dvd. a keylogging app that has served me well in the past was one of the victims of deletion. nothing on C: was lost. or any other drive, for that matter.
strangely, i was prompted on 3 occasions DURING the scan to take action regarding infected files. each time i chose deletion, and NEVER did i ask avast to stop asking me. at each prompt the scan suspended until i responded, sometimes hours later, so this would also account for some of the excessive time the whole process took.
my system is 2 GHz, 1 GB ram, about 800 GB hard drive space and about 15% free on average. win xp pro sp2.

Tech:
so if i’m supposed to receive no prompts in the Home version, why did i receive a few anyway (for infected files all residing in C:\System Volume Information)?
yes, as said above, i did change the settings before scanning. and i’ll certainly think twice before attempting the Thorough scan again! :slight_smile:
no, there is absolutely no doubt that i DID NOT check the ‘do not ask again’ option after the first virus was detected.
nothing was sent to the Chest. i only had 3 opportunities to send anything anywhere.

well, i’m not sure what went wrong, but all things considered, it could have been worse. thanks for the prompt responses!

5

In the professional version you can pre-set the actions to be taken upon detection so the scan would continue uninterrupted. The Home version requires interactive action selection for each detection (as you found), that is what Tech is saying in a round about way, but I believe he may have thought you have the Pro version.

Yes, a manual scan is an on-demand scan. Deletion isn’t really a good first option (you have none left), ‘first do no harm’ don’t delete, send virus to the chest and investigate.

If you at some point checked the don’t show this window again (and don’t remember) you should have been presented with a list of detections at the end of the scan, but again it shouldn’t have taken autonomous action to delete. So that is a mystery as you say you are sure you didn’t don’t show (ask) again, unless it is just summarising the scan and you had taken action to delete the file.

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.

Over time this interactive decision requirement of the home version will become less of an issue, as the resident, on-access scanners are designed to intercept infection before it gets into your system. However given the size of your data, even a Standard Scan without archives will take some time, but no where near 3 days.

If your primary HDD only has 15% free space that could also be hampering you (and the scan) as the archive files are extracted to a temp folder C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Temp_avast4_. There are those that will say you need to either upgrade your HDD or archive stuff off to DVD/external HDD so that you have at least 20% free space. The amount of free space can also have an effect on the windows defrag (if you use it) where it may say there is insufficient free space to defrag.

Welcome to the forums.

6

No, you’re receive at least one.
In Home version you can check the option “Don’t show this window again” as soon as the first virus warning appears, and click on “No action” button. This way, nothing will be done and you will be presented the results at the end (and you can perform actions from there). But only after the first virus has been found (because you won’t see the virus dialog until then).

7

some valuable info there… thank you both. yes, choosing the combination of “take no action” and “don’t show this window again” would certainly have saved me some pain, wouldn’t it? live and learn…

15% free space is an average. my C: drive is consistently above 30%, but it’s good to know how archives are dealt with.

it’s good to be here and i think i’ll stick around for awhile! cheers.

8

Your welcome.