I tested email scanning using an eicar text line in an email message.

Virus was detected, but the email was not moved to a folder. I was prompted for an action, but clicking the buttons did not seem to do anything.

I am using the Home (free) version. Does the free version only alert, and not take any action?

Behavior of eicar is not ‘always’ as the same as normal viruses.

No, it should work normally…
In Home version you can’t automate the actions (besides the ‘Silent Mode’ sending the file to Chest) but you should be able to manually take any of the actions.

Check if the avast plugin is not disabled into MS Outlook:
Outlook 2003 > Help > About > Disabled items
Outlook 2000 > Tools menu > Options > Other > Advanced Options > Add-In Manager

If this does not help, can you try to repair your installation?
Go to Control Panel > Add/Remove programs > avast! antivirus > Remove
Then choose Repair function in the popup window (Repair).
You must be connected to the internet while repairing.

I did a few things, including the repair function.

I then edited the Outlook/Exchange settings, and configured the service to move infected emails to a particular folder.

Is there a safe way to test the program (if eicar is not suitable)? I’d like to receive a “infected” email to verify that the program does move the email to the specified folder.

To see if avast! is scanning emails, check one of these points:

  1. Is the avast icon (the special one of email scanning) be shown in the system tray?

  2. Is your email header with the lines X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 0XXX-X, XX/XX/2004), Inbound message and X-Antivirus-Status: Clean? (Right click the message, choose Properties and Details)

  3. Are clean notes added at the bottom of the email? (Internet Mail provider settings)

Note, I’m not an expert on eicar behavior. It was just a guess. I think there isn’t any other email test besides eicar. Oh, of course, you can test the security of your email system here: http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest/

I tried the GFI site, and I got a whack of bad emails :slight_smile: and avast did block/detect/delete everything. I was given manual options for all events.

So if “automation” is not available in the free version, then does this mean that setting the “move to the following Outlook folder” does nothing (Outlook/Exchange properties, customize, inbound mail)?

Automation, here, means automatically delete/repair a virus found in an email, file, etc.

You should be able to move the infected file to another Outlook folder in Home version. Unfortunatelly, I do not use MS Outlook so I’m not the right person to tell if it’s working.

Do you learn about ‘Silent Mode’? I mean, do you know how to use it?

Actually… no…

Using the eicar test file isn’t always possible to test email, the email provider may scan the message and remove it before it reaches you.

In Home version you can only use Silent Mode:
Left click the ‘a’ blue icon.
It will start On-access protection

Click on Internet Mail and then on Customize.
Go to Advanced tab and select Silent Mode and the default answer No. This will send the file (email) to Chest.

Do the same for the and Outlook/Exchange plugin.
The answer Yes in Silent Mode keeps the virus in the file or into the message (attach) and continue the scanning. You can’t configure ‘delete the infected file’ in the Home version.

You can do the same for Standard Shield provider, but it won’t be a good idea…