I have a nightly scan set up. Often now (but NOT always) I get the message “some files could not be scanned”; when I go to the message I find that all the unscanned files (usually 9) are avast’s own dll’s! Yet I’m informed regularly of successful updates.

It offers me the usual choices but when I click ‘repair’ it tells me it’s not available!

So

  1. Does it matter that some avasr files appear to be defective? Will the scan be missing important files?
  2. What is the fix? If avast doesn’t recognise its own files am I stuck with uninstalling and having to reinstall from scratch?

Thanks

Nothing to worry. :slight_smile:
While your scan is running avast! deletes some of its old VPS files, therefore they can’t be scanned anymore.

it is just telling you the files cant be scanned and the reason why…no more no less
it does not mean they are infected

if you download a file that is damaged, then avast can of course not fix that…avast only cares about infected file(s)
the repair option is only for legit files injected with malware code…most malware today can not be repaired as the hole file is the malware

Clean, Quarantine, or Delete?
http://antivirus.about.com/b/2007/03/11/clean-quarantine-or-delete.htm

Thanks for quick answers guys! Puts my mind at rest, but strange then that Avast doesn’t take account of its own deletions… :wink: - - either it’s too intelligent or it’s too thick!!

You’re welcome…!

The files were there when the scan was initiated, housekeeping doesn’t stop for scans.

A nightly scan is overkill on a resident on-access antivirus solution. The more on-demand scans that you do the more likelihood that you are going to bump into this reporting of avast VPS files not there.

  • With a resident on-access antivirus like avast, the need for frequent on-demand scans is much depreciated. For the most part the on-demand scan is going to be scanning files that would be otherwise be dormant or inert. If they were active files then the on-access file system shield would be scanning them before being created, modified, opened or executed.

I have avast set to do a scheduled weekly Quick scan, set at a time and day that I know the computer will be on. If for some reason my system wasn’t on, no big deal I will catch up on the next scheduled scan.