Would someone please explain to me what exactly happens when a user selects the “Test memory during application start-up” setting?
Also, what are the benefits and/or drawbacks to having this option checked?
Thank you.
Applications are loaded into memory when they start and this is a critical time during boot as it could allow an infected file to be loaded and get established making it more difficult to remove.
This is enabled by default and I would advise to left it enabled. What you might gain in a slightly quicked boot you could lose in being mor vulnerable, I know what I would choose, leave it enabled.
But isn’t that what resident protection does… test memory during application start-up?
I guess I don’t understand why there is a choice given, to select this option or not.
It’s like asking, “Would you like to weaken your protection”?
Sorry your right that is the resident, on-access scanner task on boot.
The Test memory on application start refers to the ‘Start avast! Antivirus’ selection which starts the Simple User Interface, SUI (on-demand scan), first it scans memory to ensure that is clean before starting the on-demand scan, if a virus is found in memory it should offer a boot-time scan.
Try unchecking it and right click the avast icon, select Start avast! Antivirus, the memory scan will pop-up but no scan wil be done before the SUI is displayed.