Did Avast do away with the schedule daily full scan option?
No, the capability is still there.
-Noel
This view is not on my avast. From the Avast screen I have gone through every setting and I can’t find the “Scan Setting” tab anywhere. I have fully updated everything and it aint there.
avast! UI > Scan tab > [choose scan type] from dropdown menu > Settings (below the explanation of the scan) > Scheduling.
If it’s not that, you are not running v9.
Running Version 2014.9.0.2021c
Definition Version 140718-1
Number Of Definitions 2.35613
I don’t know whats going on here but I followed everything to the T and it is all correct till I get to the Scheduling part. Comparing mine to the pic that was posted I have “Exclusions” as the very last thing. In the picture it shows “Scheduling” and that is not on mine.
Interesting. You have the latest version too.
Any chance you could post a screenshot?
This may be a corrupt install but the screenshot will help determine that.
Your key is the small Create custom scan link.
Sorry I neglected to show it before… It’s been a while and I’d forgotten that I had set my scan up through that link.
-Noel
By the way, my version…
-Noel
I have uninstalled and reinstalled it after I sent that last post. Now it’s all there as it should be. BUT, let me ask. Why did the developers make it so many clicks to get to it instead of putting it in an easier location to find? And can I make it a shortcut on the ui so people can find it easier or is that not allowed? It appears to me that they tried to hide that option.
As for why it is there now and it wasn’t before. I have no idea. I guess something didn’t take right.
People sometimes complain about how convoluted the UI is to use, and those who work with it a lot say it’s fine. Point in fact, you can get used to it and figure it out with enough time and effort (and maybe a reinstall). It’s a very complicated product.
-Noel
Problem is. And think about the average person whom is sitting down to do something real quick and for some reason after not minding their protection, maybe the computer slowed down, or something has drawn their attention to the antivirus for the first time in a year and they are looking for a way to check if it has been scanning and protecting them and they cannot find it after a while looking. This in my opinion covers 60% of the people using the free version. They look and look and it’s not their. They are not gonna take the time to create an account, login, and write a question. They are gonna say. This program sux and then uninstall it and put something else on. Most will go to AVG because that’s what I see alot.
From what I have seen. 4 out of 10 people that start with the free product will at some point go to the paid version so in time that WILL translate to $$$$ lost to a competitor.
Not something I would stand for when it could be made more average user friendly.
That’s just motherhood and apple pie. “Easier to use is better”.
However, the hard part is in the actual doing; to pack all the different features into the product in a simple way.
Note that I’m not saying it’s the best it could be. Just that it’s understandable that a product that’s this complex takes more than a “for dummies” approach to use the more complex features. Sometimes things are really that complicated and you have to buckle down and deal with it.
-Noel
I’m speaking from experience and I have found running a daily full system scan is a waste
of time. Since avast comes packed with solid resident shields the need for daily scans is
greatly lessened. Personally I run one quick scan each week and one full system scan each month.
The reason for one monthly scan is that during that one day I run scans with both avast and
MBAM prior to my monthly system backup.
One more thought, if your daily scans continue to come up clean you could cut back on
your scan frequency. 8)
Personal experience is one of the greatest assets of an internet community - thank you for sharing yours - but in the complex world of security it’s really not enough, since no one individual (save for maybe someone on staff with an anti-malware company) can have experienced even a small minority of all the malware that’s out there.
The thing the scan does is back up the operation of your shields. That it’s different in its operation from the shields is the key. The shields check only certain kinds of files and only small parts of them in an effort to be efficient enough to be tolerable. The scan can be set to read all files and check them in their entirety.
It’s not hard to imagine a file written in such a manner as to carry a malware payload in a part that’s not scanned by shields, but which can be revealed later by overwriting the front part of the file with a block of no-ops.
Knowing that there’s a difference between the capabilities of shields and scans, and depending on what makes you feel comfortable, a daily scan that normally doesn’t catch anything could still be well-advised. Not every one of the millions of types of malware is knocking at your door every day!
-Noel (possibly more paranoid than Para-Noid)
P.S., Consider setting this:
If you scan results are clean what’s the use in frequent scans.
I’ve been running weekly quick scan for several years and have been
infection free. Why do you think avast has resident shields for? ???
But if you want to waste precious CPU usage go right on ahead.
Try cutting back on scan frequency and find out for yourself.
Try running a full scan once a week and let me know what kind of
results you get. I’ll bet you won’t see any difference. ;D
I’ve already described the use of doing scans in addition to shields.
Just keep in mind you could choose to do something different tomorrow or some new virus could come out that could allow malware to sneak in that only a scan could find. It’s unlikely, but not impossible. Somebody, somewhere, is among the first to be infected by each new virus.
It boils down to this: What level of unlikely do you feel you can live with? It’s a matter of preference how often you’d like to check, and you have to understand that different folks have different preferences.
In my personal case my workstation stays on 24/7, because there are jobs I have it do all the time, plus backups, etc. I have a free slot where nothing much else happens between 6 and 8 am, so I found it a dandy time for a thorough C: drive scan.
I don’t know what you find precious about CPU time. The processors could be executing the idle loop or a scan. The latter is more useful. Are you concerned with using additional electrical power? I don’t see an additional heat load while it’s scanning, implying little if any extra power is being used. That may differ from system to system.
All that said, I haven’t had Avast actually BLOCK any malware in years here. I do a bunch of other things that keep it from even getting near the front door. Thus you might say I am the least needy of daily scans - but daily they are done nonetheless, because I would like an undiagnosed malware infection to be very unlikely indeed!
-Noel
Anything detected by an on-demand/scheduled scan will be also detected by the Realtime Shields (unless PUP is not enabled for 1 or the other)
On top of this, if you were to get a new infection, the chance of a scan finding it compared to the shields is very, very low.
You need to remember one thing here especially : The shields have on-access detection for detections, e.g. evo gen and suspicious file blocking, whereas, if you were to do a scan, those files would not appear.
You may say that realtime protection doesn’t scan everything BUT it does scan every file when it is accessed meaning the amount of scans needs is really depreciated.
Edit : Fixed typo.
If you guys think like the average person then there in no flaw in your comments. But if you think like a non-average person then there is a flaw. Consider what I am writing below. And by the way, this in great conversation.
1- I’m a system builder. It is important as a system builder that I provide simple access all the way around for most of my customers. Such simpleness is great for the new computer user, the average person that wants to be protected and don’t care how. But will easily get a virus and call me up to say, (that computer you built, It was acting up so I let my buddy check it out and he said it was loaded with viruses), even though no, it’s not my issue as to how they use the computer but I will get blamed for every little thing that happens while I have it under warranty. Easy access to them setting a scan schedule can mean a lot to a system builder that cares that the customer has a good time after the sale because that means they will come back. And in this day and time you need all customers returning to you.
2- I do network investigations. I also spend much time slithering on the underbelly of some very dark locations on the internet. And even with virtual machines and other systems I never know for sure what I can pick up inadvertently and bring home. So you can say it’s over kill to scan like I do but then I say it’s extra assurance.
3- I agree that Avast has become much more than just another free antivirus for people to download for free. But I also do computer and network investigations where I have had to write my own software to get through some blocks put up by various software protections. I currently have written a remote administration tool that does get pass Avast for the sole purpose of providing my services to corporate owners whom need to know whats going on. So I need to assure them when I say I can find any issue they are concerned with this is my reputation on the line. I was forced to re-write my remote administration tool so get past Avast Premier not long after the 2014 came out because of this very reason. I have to re-write tools all the time to be able to keep getting the job done. So if I can do this I know others are doing this also so I need the assurances that when moving between computers that everything is safe. I always, every day go through my system policies and more to maintain this self assurance. It’s priceless to me. But over kill to others.
So to some of you this may make some since but to others it won’t and still others will question what I have put down. But the facts are here.
Again, great conversation.
I dislike it when people state things as fact that are inaccurate, especially when they could have actually checked in just a few seconds. It’s like we’re having a conversation on two different levels: The way it actually is implemented vs. the way someone fantasizes that it must work.
Avast can scan every file on read or write, but it’s not set that way by default. Why? Performance reasons.
This one verifiable fact is the cornerstone of this conversation.
Please show us a screen grab of your File System Shield Settings, Scan When Opening and Scan When Writing subsections - before you change from the default settings.
So, now, here’s the 64 dollar question:
Now that you KNOW that not every file is scanned when it is read and written, will you enable the [ ] Scan All Files settings and slow your system’s normal file access down, or will you schedule more scans? It’s difficult to return to a state of blissful ignorance, but that IS an option too.
Bottom line is this: It’s impossible for anyone to say “this is just the right balance of protection vs. performance for every single person”. That’s why there are things like options you can change and scans you can schedule.
-Noel
Like talking to a brick wall. :
Again…have you tried to run scan less frequently and the compared the results? ???