Hi, I would like to know if the Free Antivirus works when the computer is offline and by that, I mean if the virus definitions are downloaded and saved locally.
I basically want to know if it would be able to protect an offline device from malware.
I will look forward to a response.
It can be used on a system that is not online, but protection will not be as good as it can (should) be.
Thanks for the reply. So if I understand properly, it does download the virus definitions. Is that correct?
Ofcourse they are downloaded, but only if the system is online.
You can download them on another system and install them on the off-line one.
But with the latest technologies the system needs to be online for the best protection.
avast does not only use definition files, but also streaming updates and other (on-line) technologies for best protection.
It’s obvious that a network is required for it to download the definitions, but I just wanted to know if it does download the definitions or not
I asked this because there are some antimalware that are completely cloud-based and so they don’t work offline
It is nice to know that Avast Free provides offline protection. Thanks for your answer.
There is no network required.
Simply download the vpsupd.exe file from here https://www.avast.com/download-update and put it on an USB stick for the offline system.
Greetz, Red.
I asked this because there are some antimalware that are completely cloud-based and so they don't work offlineWhich one is that?
Hi!
If I’m using a USB stick, which capacity should it have (min.)?
=Snake=
Look at the site 
About 200Mb will be enough unless there is a huge addition to the definitions.
Zemana AntiMalware premium, and all the security products from Panda
I spoke to the Panda Support and I was told that some cache gets downloaded that offers very basic levels of protection when the computer is offline
Well, thanks for that site but I think you misunderstood me. For someone to download the updates from there, a network is still required
Both Zemana and Panda also work offline, but limited just as avast.
Ofcourse Internet is needed to get the latest definitions.
I already told so in reply #3.
This was posted in 2009, cloud features is further developed since then and today evryone use it it one way or another
Arguments against cloud-based antivirus
http://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/malware/arguments-against-cloud-based-antivirus/
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Insides-of-Panda-Cloud-Antivirus-111793.shtml
I am afraid but that is not true. Both the Free and Premium versions of Zemana Antimalware can only detect malware when the computer is online.
I’ve been told by their support staff that they are planning to incorporate the offline scanning ability but presently, they don’t have that.
Now talking about Panda’s security software, like I said, some cache gets saved locally and they offer basic levels of security
Thx, Eddy.
=Snake=
It’s a very old article and besides, I recently asked their support about it and this is what they had to say. Please check the article at the link below
If you check, the moderator stated that the “minimum knowledge cache” provides “basic” protection when the AV is offline.
Now although he did provide those old links, the words “minimum” and “basic” are not very convincing
As I said, they do work offline but limited.
I know for sure since I’ve tested them.
Although nowadays a lot is done online, off-line protection is needed as well.
Think about portable media (usb stick, cd-r, dvd-r, external hd etc).
I can recommend to put (besides avast), McShield on that off-line system as well as Malwarebytes.
Haven’t checked McShield, but Malwarebytes offers (just like avast) to download the definitions so you can install them on a off-line system.
The “minimum knowledge cache” is like the avast VPS.
Sure it has a lot of detections in it, but not the latest ones as they are not (yet) released but found in “real time”.
CyberCapture - better detection of unknown and unique files via our cloud technology
But why isn’t the system online ?
But that is not true for Zemana’s antimalware products. I have their lifetime license and used it. I also have emails from their support staff explaining how it works.
Please try this. Install Zemana’s antimalware, disable the Internet and try running a scan with it, and let me know what happens
I am always online but still prefer using antimalware which can provide some decent levels of offline security with the local definitions and the in-built heuristics.
I am glad that Avast Free does that. Thanks for your time.
[b]Haven't checked McShield[/b], but Malwarebytes offers (just like avast) to download the definitions so you can install them on a off-line system.MCShield dont need signatures to do its work (it does contain some signatures) It only target malware that use removable drives to spread and it mostly look at how they do it and target the malware that way