I am a newbie, and I apologize if this question has been asked numerous times. But I am just wondering if there’s a way I can schedule when I want Avast 4.7 Home Edition to scan for viruses.
Jim
These advanced automated options are only available in the Pro version.
You only have a limited option in the Home (free) version.
Check this work around out - HOWTO: Scheduled Automatic Scans avast! Home Version!
The major disadvantage with the task scheduler trick of using ashquick.exe is, it will scan every file of the hdd, partition, folder or file that you set it to scan; even those files not considered a potential threat, this can take a long time. It is possible to add certain folders to the exclusions list for say your media files, etc. This could leave you vulnerable if that folder got infected as it wouldn’t be scanned by the on-demand scanner as you have excluded it.
The Pro version gives a lot more flexibility and the scan would follow the settings and exclusions, etc. of the regular scan.
With the different levels of protection of and the fall back of the Standard Shield, I find the need for daily scheduled scans lessened. I prefer to do a manual scan with my regular weekly maintenance tasks.
Thanks for the help. But here’s another dumb question – When does avast scan for viruses? The whole time or only when I restart or only on some set schedule of theirs?
The Standard Shield (when turned on) scans on-access (all the time). Other providers do the same: email, IM, P2P, web browsing, etc.
avast can scan on-demand too, when you ask it to do: at boot time, at any time when you run a scanning, etc.
From the help-file:
Resident Protection Providers
avast! resident protection is based on so-called resident providers - special modules protecting various parts of your computer, e.g. file system or e-mail.
Standard Shield. It checks the applications being run and documents being opened. It will not allow an infected application to start or an infected document to be opened, thus possibly protecting you from activating/spreading a virus.
Outlook/Exchange. It checks incoming and outgoing e-mail messages processed by MS Outlook client (it is part of the MS Office package - it is not the same as the simpler Outlook Express!) or MS Exchange. It will refuse to accept or send a message containing a viral code.
Internet Mail. It checks incoming and outgoing e-mail messages processed by clients other than MS Outlook or Exchange, such as Outlook Express, Eudora etc. Again, it will refuse to accept or send a message containing a viral code.
Script blocking. It checks scripts contained in the web pages you look at, thus avoiding infection due to potential bugs in your web browser.
Instant Messaging. It checks the files downloaded by common communication programs, such as ICQ or MSN Messenger.
P2P Shield. It checks the files downloaded by common P2P (file sharing) programs, such as Kazaa and others.
Network Shield. It protects the computer from the attacks of Internet worms (e.g. Blaster, Sasser, etc.)
Web Shield. It protects the computer from viruses during the common work with Internet (browsing, downloading files, etc.). It can also block access to specific web pages.