I searched this forum for a while and did not find the answer to my question so I apologize if it has been asked and answered before.
So when I do a scan and set the options to be thorough it takes 4 hours or more. I usually start the scan when I finish work for the day and wont be using the computer again until morning. The problem is that when a virus is found the program STOPS and asks for conformation as to what to do.
What I would like to do is set it to automatically quarantine any problem files and continue scanning. Then if I wish to restore a quarantined file in the morning I can do so but the overall scan would be completed.
Can anyone help me?
Thank You,
Bobby
PS: I apologize again if this problem has been asked and answered, it seems like it would be but I have not found the solution on here or in the help files.
Yes and No. Sorry for being so indecisive but it depends on your needs.
The pro version has a more flexible interface (Enhanced User Interface) where you can set various actions to take if an infection is detected, rather than the interactive requirement of the free Home version, the programmers have to eat ;D
4 hours is a long time, so I guess you are doing a Thorough Scan with Archives enabled ?
Archive (zip, etc.) files are by their nature are inert, you need to extract the files and then you have to run them to be a threat. Long before that happens avast’s Standard Shield should have scanned them and before an executable is run that is scanned. Thorough is also by its design very thorough and perhaps a little overkill for routine use, were a Standard scan without archives should be adequate.
I have only ever done a through scan with archives once shortly after installation just to ensure a clean start state, but with XP for example avast will do a boot-time scan after installation if you select it, this I believe will be quicker and reasonably effective. Like everything in life things are a compromise.
After you get through your first thorough scan basically to confirm you are clean, the resident scanners should catch new infections and keep them off your system making the on-demand scan less likely to detect new malware and stop awaiting action.
Please excuse me for my inability to figure things out but…
What settings do I set for the program to automatically quarantine suspected bad files WITHOUT stopping the scan? I assume it is under “confirmations” but where?
Also - can I set it to just alert me via log file as to suspected bad files without the quarantine?
And finally - If a file IS quarantined how do I know which file it is? When I look in the chest I see files like “00000002” with no extension and “index.xml”…
Basically I would like to scan, identify suspected bad files, then choose which files to delete and which to keep.
Not really. The idea is this: create your own task (in the Enhanced User Interface of course), specifying what you want to scan and how (either by creating a brand new task, or by creating a copy e.g. of “Scan local disks” and modifying the properties of this copy). For this task, configure the virus action as you wish (it’s the “Virus” page of the task configuration. By default, there is “Interactive” there; so, you can change it to “Move to Chest” if that’s what you want).
Sure. Clear all the actions on the “Virus” page of the task. If the action field is empty, it means that nothing will be done about the file. Make sure that on the “Results” page, you have the “Infected files” type checked - so that the results are logged. You may also want to check the “Store results in internal database for later processing” option.
There’s a Chest folder in the Enhanced User Interface (called “All chest files”); in the “Infected files” cathegory there are the files detected as infected previously.
I would probably suggest to merely scan the files (i.e. keep the virus action empty) and after the scan is finished, check the log and perform the required action (rightclick on the result to get the actions popup). (The “Move to Chest” action may sometimes fail, just as the other actions, e.g. because the file is stored inside of an archive for which the “delete” action is not supported").
Why don’t you add the feature of asking (or setting) to move all the archive file to Chest, rather than failing the movement/deletion.
Also, the error message (can’t move/delete) makes the user misunderstand the avast working and think the problem is on avast, instead of knowing this is by design.
Well, I’ve asked for this feature a lot of times :-[
