I have Windows 98, ZoneLabs Free Firewall 6.1.744.001, Dialup Internet connection, GenuineIntel PII 350 MHz, 256 MB ram, Firefox Internet browser Version 2.0.0.14
I never bothered with anti virus software until now.
I downloaded AVAST! anti virus free software Version 4.8 Home Edition build 4.8.1169 several days ago.
I ran the virus scan for the first time on my C partition days ago.
A day or two later I scanned my F partition.
A day later I uninstalled Spybot - Search and Destroy 1.3
Today I ran the virus scan for the third time on my C and F partitions on thorough mode.
After the scan, the report showed a staggering 140 lines each with a path to files which could not be scanned.
Most of the files have the path of F:\Application Data\Spybot etc. and they have the message :
unable to scan : archive is password protected
I used the FIND command to search for these files but NONE SHOWED UP !!!
Is it possible that Avast is listing down files that it could not scan in past sessions days ago ?
What I would like to know is:
Are all the listed Spybot files still on my computer and if so, how do I get rid of them ? Thank you.
avast can’t scan files that are password protected, it doesn’t know the password.
There are many legitimate reasons why a file was password protected. For instance, the ones you’re talking about. Lavasoft stores its data in a password-protected ZIP archives (to prevent other similar tools from messing up with them). It’s really nothing to worry about - it’s normal.
When you run scans with the above programs and you delete harmful entries that they detect, a copy is kept (in quarantine/restore/backup) in case you need to reverse what you did. These are usually password protected, you should do some housekeeping and delete old backup/recovery/quarantine entries (older than two weeks or so), this will reduce the numbers of files that can’t be scanned.
After I posted, I suddenly remembered that it was my THIRD scan. So I decided to edit my post with new information. Could you please re-read what I have to say ?
I just conducted a test of uninstalling Spybot - Search and Destroy on my system (I’m using version 1.5).
It did not remove its application data folders so I doubt very much that an uninstall of 1.3 would have done so. avast gives me the same error message you saw when I try to scan the orphaned Spybot folders.
Tech,
I changed the information that said that it was my first scan when I had scanned the same drives in previous days. And I wondered whether it is possible that Avast is listing down files that it could not scan in past sessions days ago ?
Alan,
Thank you very much for taking the trouble to perform a test of uninstalling Spybot - Search and Destroy on your system.
I went to Folder Options and the SHOW ALL FILES is clearly ticked. So even hidden files are listed. I even opened Norton Registry Editor and searched for Spybot keys and values. And only 3 entries showed up which had nothing to do with the files that Avast had listed in its report.
I usually use the FIND command to search for folders belonging to programs after I uninstall them. So I think after I uninstalled Spybot 1.3 I probably deleted the Spybot folder in the Application Data folder. Which explains why I cannot find any Spybot folders or files.
I have an idea. Is it possible for me to delete the contents of the text file that stores the virus scan report in Avast and create a new one ? Where do I find it ? I will then run a scan of the C and F partitions once again and see whether the Spybot files come up again.
Just a thought…if I remember correctly there is a removal tool for spybot…check out their website…under FAQ…look for how to uninstall…I think there you will find what you are looking for
Liz
Thank you Liz for your tip but I think I know what is wrong now up to a point.
Some good news. I have just found that the simple user interface.txt file was for the F partition that I made 4 days ago. I cannot understand how on earth I ended up thinking that it was today’s text file. This explains why I saw so many Spybot files which are now not on my computer.
But I am still puzzled because I opened up Avast virus and clicked on TOOLS > Last Scan Results and View Scan Reports and they are all greyed out. No reports are forthcoming. Why is this ? is there a way of viewing reports of each of the 3 past virus scans I made ?
The Home edition of avast does not provide that service - it is (I believe) provided in the Pro edition.
If for a while you want to keep more info then in the Report File section of Program Settings just Check the create report and uncheck the Overwrite existing file box. The new reports will be appended at the end of the report file. This will make the file larger of course so you may want to change the option back when convenient.
Thank you Alan.
I think I will keep the Overwrite existing file checked and after each scan, I will save the text file as a Word document under the name of VirusScanReport_wxyz.doc where wxyz is the current date. I will run more scans and see what happens.
Another odd thing happened by the way.
After I ran the virus scan, Zonelabs icon on the systray developed a yellow cross and the message “TrueVector security device is shut down” showed up when I hovered my mouse arrow over its icon.
Is Zonelabs firewall supposed to act this way ?
Am I supposed to shut down Zonelabs before I run a scan ?
Let me preface my comments first with: It has been quite a while since I use ZA firewall on my XP systems. In fact I gave it up earlier on my old Windows Me laptop because it was always turning itself off with the yellow cross that you are seeing. I assumed it was a resource issue that is common with the old Win9x operating systems. I did not investigate further then since I only run the laptop behind a router.
You should not need to shutdown a firewall during a scan (you may well also be online and performing other activities) but if the problem is one of resources the scan itself could provoke the problem for ZA. Others with Win98 have reported apparent resource issues following a full scan scan.
There may be others here with Win98 and ZA who may have more up to date experiences.
If you have simply un-installed Spybot without first un-immunising, then it will have left a quite large number of immunisation entries in a number of places in the registry and also in the hosts file.
Good news, problem is solved. I made a new scan of my F partition which contained all those 140 Spybot files and no Spybot files appeared this time in the Simple user interface text file. I renamed it Virus Scan Report20May. txt for future reference.
Todays text file gave me 38 archive files which are password protected from the Ad-Aware ant-spyware program. All these Avast was unable to scan and they are mostly bmp files. Is it okay to just delete them ?
Even Zonelabs behaved properly this time without the TrueVector program shutting down. But maybe next time it will be different. Only time will tell.
Thank you all.
avast can’t scan files that are password protected, it doesn’t know the password.
There are many legitimate reasons why a file was password protected. For instance, the ones you’re talking about. Lavasoft stores its data in a password-protected ZIP archives (to prevent other similar tools from messing up with them). It’s really nothing to worry about - it’s normal.
In AdAware and S&D, when you fix/remove things it keeps backup/recovery information so you can restore anything that was mistakenly fixed/removed, etc. After a reasonable time your system has suffered no adverse effects, you can get rid of the older recovery/backup points.
This should reduce the number of protected files.
The bmp files are, generally, related to skins of AdAware.
Thank you Tech.
You wrote that if “after a reasonable time your system has suffered no adverse effects, you can get rid of the older recovery/backup points.”
That is certainly a good idea.
If you are using your computer every day, for at least 2 hours, what would you rate as being a reasonable time ?
And more to the point.
If the quarantined files refer to a program on your computer, I suppose running it after you have quarantined the files that Avast anti virus scan has detected as being threatening, will show what specific files are still needed by the program for whatever reason.
The question is:
In your experience will the running program tell which files are needed still for it to run properly ?
Another question that is bugging me is:
I now have Avast Anti Virus Free and SuperAntiSpyware free edition. (I think I will not uninstall Ad Aware program for the time being.)
Is running one of the two programs and surfing the Net at the same time risking the computer crashing ?
Is running BOTH of them scanning the same partitions or different partitions and surfing the Net at the same time risking the computer crashing ?
Please bear my system specs in mind.
The reason I am asking these questions is that scanning my C and F partitions which contain all the software takes about 40 minutes and I am trying to figure out a way of safely using my computer while the files are scanned by one or both programs.
I would say two to three weeks, there really is no rush, as they say act in haste repent at leisure.
If a file has been put in the chest and something tries to run that file it will be missing and usually reported as missing.
Your choice on AdAware, but it is really a lightweight compared to SAS and many other anti-spyware, it hasn’t had space on my system for quite some time. All it ever found were false positives and tracking cookies and they are no big deal (though adaware makes a bigh deal of detecting them).
SAS is an on-demand scanner as is AdAware free, so nothing is running in the background as you are the one that initiates the scan with both of them. Personally I wouldn’t kick off a scan whilst I was browsing that is mainly because of the processing effort of scans could well impact on your performance.
Thank you for your helpful comments, DavidR ( and Oldog back earlier )
So it is best for me not to use the computer while Avast Anti Virus Free and SuperAntiSpyware are running a thorough scan of each of my partitions.
Since I would like to get into the habit of doing weekly scans and these should last 2 hours if all my partitions are to be scanned, is it fairly safe to run BOTH of these programs at the same time but without me using the computer ?
Please refer to my system specs above.
I know it is a tough one but I would appreciate some educated guesses. If the worst comes to the worst and files end up corrupted due to crashing, I can use my Norton Disk Doctor to fix them or failing that, dump the previous week’s Ghost image file.
Thank you.
There really is nothing stopping you but if as you mentioned “Please bear my system specs in mind” if those are low specs and they are then your use of the computer might be very slow to say the least.
Only you will know if it is slow, but for me I start my scan and go do something else, cup of tea, etc. and come back and my specs aren’t nearly close to yours, I just don’t like watching paint dry when you over stress ‘your system’ it will crawl.
As for educated guesses, the easiest way to find out is to do it, start a scan and try to work normally.