Must “Avast Free Mac Sercurity" be open to continually scan ?.

Avast Mac Security
1

Hi all

I am new to Avast.

Does “Avast Free Mac Sercurity” have to be open to continually scan ?.

Or does it scan just sitting in the dock or menubar without being open ?.

Should i add “Avast Free Mac Sercurity” to login ithems ?.

I havent been able to find any info on this.

Thanks.

2

All antivirus have realtime Protection, you install and forget

FAQ. https://www.avast.com/faq.php?q=Mac&authenticity_token=YrH31dctx%2ByymE%2FHuKCs%2F4uRAUDBLgFVKnF3SGjRftY%3D#searchForm

3

Hi Pondus

Thank you for your reply.

I read your reply as - i do not have to have “Avast Mac Security” open at all times, for it to continually scan for viruses - is this correct ?.

Thank you.

4

Only times you need to open the GUI is when you want to change a setting, run a manual (user defined) scan or something like that.
AV’s work in the background with the real time protection.

5

Hi Eddy

Thank you.

But - i want to be absolutely sure about this, and maby i am expressing myself unclearly.

Does “Avast Mac Sercurity” have to be “turned on”, while sitting in the dock or menubar, like say “Google Drive” does, in order for it to synchronise files - this is what i mean by “open”.

Thanks.

6

Avast Mac Security installs its real time protection components as kext (we call them “shield” in AV UI). They run regardless of the icon in the dock/menu bar. (Of course, the shield shouldn’t be “disabled” in Preferences ;))
As Pondus and Eddy said - “install and forget”. The product updates automatically and we let you know when there is a malicious website, download or program trying to get into your Mac.

7

Thank you Lukas.Hasik.

One last question:

Will it even work if you choose to leave it in the applications folder - not being present at all in the dock - or menubar ?.

Thank you all :slight_smile:

8

Yes, it will still work.

Why not to test it? Remove it from dock+menubar, and then try to download EICAR. http://www.eicar.org/download/eicar.com

9

Hi lukas.hasik

It works flawlessly, i get these onscreen warnings :slight_smile:

Now:

Should i also - to be sure, turn off the shields and actually download the file / files, and then turn on the shields again, to see if Avast comes up with a warning ?.

Thanks.

10
Should i also - to be sure, turn off the shields and actually download the file / files, and then turn on the shields again, to see if Avast comes up with a warning ?.
You may EICAR is just a text string filetype so it will not trigger all functions on newer WinOS ... and you have a Mac

Avast Antivirus: Testing whether Avast Antivirus protects your PC against malware >> https://www.avast.com/faq.php?article=AVKB32#artTitle

There is also a PUA/PUP test file >> http://www.amtso.org/feature-settings-check-potentially-unwanted-applications/

11

Hi Pondus

I followed your Avast article link, disabled the Web Shield temporarily, and then downloaded the file via SSL.

The file was downloaded, and Avast moved it to the Virus Chest. I then deleted the file in the Virus Chest and the downloads folder.

I also followed your link to the PUP file, i tried to download it, but an “infection blocked” warning showed up on the screen.

So i guess everything is working perfectly ?.

Thanks.

12

to explain it in details

  1. if turn off all shields then there is no real-time protection for your Mac, only the on-demand scan == you have to run it.
  2. if you turn off only web shield then your network traffic isn’t scanned however there is still running file shield. And when an file hits your harddrive(on write, on open) then file shield scans it. And if it’s malware then it’s moved to the chest

It’s up to you what level of protection you choose. AV defaults are shields “enabled”.
However your original question was about “has the AV to be open and icon present in tray?”. Answer is no. However the shields have to be running(Enabled) to provide real time protection.

13

Thanks lukas.hasik

The tests i have just done, based on yours and Pondus´ links and howto´s, was only for temporary testing purposes. All shields are always - and now again, active in my Avast.

Thank you guys for all your help, i really appreciate it :slight_smile: