This program Avast home, has NEVER scanned My Computer. The logs say that te stuff is "in use’ by another program and cannot scan.
Is this normal?
What am I doing wrong?
How do I set this to scan?
I have an AMD 64, 3800, NVidia Video, Win XP Home, 524 megs of RAM.
Help…please!
sunbirdbudz
Generally you need to check for disks in the area to be scanned, generally, all hard disks and not ‘my computer’ item. Can you post a screenshot of where are you clicking and asking for scanning?
avast is continually scanning files in use on your system, it is a resident on-access anti-virus. You have to initiate on-demand scans.
So can you expand what you have done ?
What logs are you looking at ?
I’m not sure if this is what you mean or not, But try this.
Avast does not scan Automatically, or scheduled I believe. Although it scans every program you use , every web page you visit, every download you get etc etc etc.
So you have to do it manually. by the clock, right click the Avast “A” Icon, in the menu that pops up lert click “Start Avast! Antivirus”. then if it is set to scan memory it may take a minute, then a help/ simple user interface page will popup read through there if you want and click things to learn more. Then when ready click the X to close that window, then in the program in the upper left you will see what looks more like a CD eject button, but it’s the MENU , click that and at the top you will see “start scan” then move mouse over to “select scan area” then over again and click “local disks”, there are alot of ways to scan and configure but that should get you your first noticeable real scan.
I hope this is what you are after, if not I apologize…
Only the Professional version does it.
Ah yes yes, I should have clarified that a little bittle, I use the Free version, Don’t know about the Pro version. Thanks. Tech.
oh, i thought all versions of avast scanned the files in the computer. so if this is the case, then what is the cd looking thing for.
call me stupid but i do not comprehend the use of an anti vir program, that does not scan files.
sorry, but i am stupid ???
now that i have established this…what IS the cd-looking thing for?
thanx
sunbirdbudz :-*
avast Home or Professional scan the same, scan files.
Just that Professional version allow automatic actions to be taken when a virus is found and Home version requires manual intervention.
That is the Simple User Interface, the on-demand scanner that you the user initiate to scan areas of your choice.
avast is a resident (running all the time) scanner that scans files when you access them, e.g. when you run a program, its executable file, etc. will be scanned before it is executed. An over simplified explanation is, if it happened to be infected avast would detect the infection, alert you and stop the executable file from running.
So there is a difference between resident on-access scanning and on-demand scan, avast can do both, the on-access scan is automatic (you can customise what is scanned) the on-demand scan is more of a routine (say weekly) scan of your system, not just files as they are used.
Thanx to all of you for you help…while I was scanning what I could…I downloaded MOZY and backed up my files. Thanx for that as well…It seems I have a couple of other corruptednesses going on and may have to re-install from scratch. We’ve had some bad lightening storms here and maybe something got damaged.
I do understand it us a resident scanner…but do I need an AntiVir that scans everything as well?
sunbirdbudz ???
I think you are missing a big point.
avast is scanning files all the time as you access them.
In the free Home edition there is no scheduled scan of all the files in your system. To perform a scan of all the files in your system you need to right click the avast icon in the systray and select “Start avast antivirus”.
This will scan your memory for viruses and then offer you an interface where you specify how you want your whole system scanned. Then avast will scan all the files on your system and report back to you.
If you want a way to schedule this (say weekly) in the Home edition there is a workaround we can point you to.
You do not need another scanner.
Best on-line backup service and free 8)
Hi…
I realize that the files are being scanned all the time, as the settings were such that I saw all the messages all the time, of everything it is scanning. Then I changed it so I would not have to see those messages.
Now, as for the extra scan of my files from the Simple Interface:
When I do that and it tries to scan the files as you stated, te program goes thru its’ paces, but the log tells me that “could not scan…files are being used by another program.”
This is a very strange message and I do not understand why, how et cetera, of this message and what the program tells me happened. Can you explain that to me please?
As a precaution at this point, I backed up all my files and docs to MOZY BACKUP. Now, if I have to reinstall everything, I have a backup of my ‘stuff’.
This computer is a mess. It’s an HP Compaq Presario, AMD Athlon 64 3500, Integrated NVidea GeForce 6150 LE, 512 MB mem, 200 GB Hardrive. DVD±RW LightScribe Double Layer 16X Optical Drive. Age: One [1] Year - exactly to the day! I have re-installed 1 time because a Virus got me. AVG was on this then,and that is when I switched to AVAST! I had used it many years ago, when it first came out. Back then it was too difficult for me to deal with, [maybe it still is?! LOL] and virii were not as prevalent as they are today. I do not know how much it changed since then, but it seems easier to deal with…except for the message I get every time I decide to scan my files.
Have you ever heard of the PROGRAM: Dial-A-Fix ? I used this and it cleaned up my system, un-installed my stuff and re-registered it all again, and did manage to shut down most of my SERVICES. I had to go in and start them all over again. Now I have an MSDTC Problem Event ID 4427…and a COM+ Error…so maybe a re-install is in order?! It is very much easier than working on thiese obscure things that I know nothing about, but the Updates and HotFixes take soooo much time…plus the add’l programs and their updates and then there are the Plug-ins…et c. Ugh.
Thank you very much for the help - from everyone - I appreciate it greatly.
sunbirdbudz
PS: Do you miss WIN 98SE as much as I do?
{TO: BOB
I went to your Journals and did some reading - I have a dear friend who’s had a Liver Transplant, and did very well, except that the virus got the new Liver now. She’s on a new drug and it IS working - so we hope and pray… That procedure saved her life…she was not doing well when I left Florida for So. Carolina for medical reasons. I could not find the right team to treat my spine. I get excellent care here at MUSC SandraE}
Could you please post the files that can’t be scanned and the paths. You may have to expand the columns. Just slide them sideways at the top.
I have to admit that I have never had a file that was unable to be scanned because it was in use by another program during an on-demand scan.
So some examples would be nice as oldman suggests ?
What scan are you doing, Local Disks, Folder Selection or Removable media ?
What sensitivity, Quick Scan, Standard Scan or Thorough Scan and with or without Archives ?
Many programs (usually security based ones) password protect their files for legitimate reasons such as AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy, there are others (and avast doesn’t know the password or have any way of using it even if it did know it).
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.
By examining 1) the reason given by avast! for not being able to scan the files, 2) the location of the files, you can get an idea of what program they relate to. You may need to expand the column headings to see all the text.
Files that can’t be scanned are just that, not an indication they are suspicious/infected, just unable to be scanned.