Scan File by Terminal Command?

Avast Mac Security
1

Hi all,

I currently have the free version of Avast and was wondering if it supports scanning a targeted file via terminal command? If so, can someone point me to the commands?

Thank you,
Jon :slight_smile:

2

Hello,
you can use ā€˜scanā€™ command; see ā€˜man scanā€™
Kind regards,
Ondrej Kolacek

3

Hi Ondrej,

Thank you for your reply. Iā€™m sorry to say that I donā€™t understand your answer. I did try opening terminal and typing ā€˜man scanā€™ but the information the showed didnā€™t seem to be related to Avast.

Thank you,
Jon

4

Hello,
we install manual pages of scan command; maybe something else does it also. This should display it:
man /Applications/Avast.app/Contents/Backend/doc/scan.1
regarding the scan binary, we install a link to
/usr/local/bin/scan
but the binary is at
/Applications/Avast.app/Contents/Backend/utils/scan
you can run this for help:
/Applications/Avast.app/Contents/Backend/utils/scan -h
Kind regards,
Ondrej Kolacek

5

Hi Ondrej,

Again, thank you for your reply. After trying to make sense of this, I still donā€™t understand (Iā€™m a newbie at this).

Can you please provide the full command to scan a file that is, letā€™s say, on the desktop of the Mac?

Thank you,
Jon

6

jmorgan2 - why you need it? Iā€™d recommend to use user interface. Click the ā€œmagnifying glassā€ next to ā€œSmart Scanā€ button. on main dashboard. You can then use ā€œTargeted Scanā€ to scan a file.

There is a ā€œScan with Avastā€ menu item available in right click menu in Finder. Click the file you want to scanā€¦
Also drag and drop a file to Avast icon in the Dock will start the Targeted scanā€¦

7

Hi Lukas,

I would like to use a command line because the Mac in question is my FTP server and the FTP server software has the ability to run commands on files after they are uploaded in an automated fashion.

I donā€™t have time to sit in front of my FTP server every time a file is uploaded to manually scan it.

Thanks,
Jon

8

ok, I assume that your use case is a bit different than just relying on Avastā€™s file shield which automatically scans files that are written, read or executed.

9

Correct. I donā€™t want AV software potentially interfering with FTP operations. Upon installing Avast, I would perform a full disk scan and after that, disable the shields and rely on a command line function to scan an uploaded file after it has finished uploading.

Can anyone give me the full command necessary to achieve scanning a file on the desktop?

Thanks,
Jon

10

Anyone?

Thanks,
Jon

11

Probably run
scan /path/to/directory/or/file
and check the return value. See ā€˜scan -hā€™ for more info.

12

Hi Ondrej,

I get a ā€œ-bash: scan: command not foundā€ when I try either command.

Thanks,
Jon