Scanning With Avast!

christopher2405 · 11-18-2008, 09:37 AM

I downloaded and installed the latest version (4.8) of Avast! antivirus home (free edition) last night, and something in the help guide confused me.

I assumed that running a Thorough Scan on all local disks would check for all malware known to Avast!, but read this in the help system:

Quote:

avast! Virus Cleaner is a tool that will remove selected viruses from your computer. While avast! itself is able to detect and delete almost all known viruses, avast! Virus Cleaner can handle only a small selection of the most common ones. The list can be displayed (in the avast! Virus Cleaner tool) by clicking on the "About" button.

So when I run a Thorough Scan, am I using the "virus cleaner" database or the full Avast! database? If it is the former, how do I scan with the full database?

Thanks in advance.

christopher2405 · 11-20-2008, 08:33 AM

Bump.

tetonbob · 11-20-2008, 09:52 AM

Apparently no one who uses Avast has seen this thread or has an answer.

I would think that if you're running a full scan with Avast, it's using whatever means it decides is best to neutralize any threats it finds.

avast! Virus Cleaner is integrated into avast! AntiVirus, as well as a freestanding tool.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Avast has their own support forums, also, which I see you've found.

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=40258.0

christopher2405 · 11-21-2008, 08:46 AM

OK thanks, seems that the Virus Cleaner is only used when a virus is actually detected. Other than that minor confusion, though, Avast! seems to be a very good product.

11-20-2008, 08:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
christopher2405 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Sunderland Posts: 156 OS: Windows XP Home SP3, Windows Vista Home Basic My System	Re: Scanning With Avast! Bump.

11-20-2008, 09:52 AM	#3 (permalink)
tetonbob Manager, Security Center, TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Transylvania County, North Carolina, USA Posts: 35,570 OS: 2000 Pro; XP Pro; XP Home	Re: Scanning With Avast! Apparently no one who uses Avast has seen this thread or has an answer. I would think that if you're running a full scan with Avast, it's using whatever means it decides is best to neutralize any threats it finds. avast! Virus Cleaner is integrated into avast! AntiVirus, as well as a freestanding tool. http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html Avast has their own support forums, also, which I see you've found. http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=40258.0 __________________ Practice Safe Surfing PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need? Because what you don't know, CAN hurt you. Proud Member of ASAP since 2005 Proud Member of UNITE since 2006 Microsoft MVP - Consumer Security 2009

11-21-2008, 08:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
christopher2405 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Sunderland Posts: 156 OS: Windows XP Home SP3, Windows Vista Home Basic My System	Re: Scanning With Avast! OK thanks, seems that the Virus Cleaner is only used when a virus is actually detected. Other than that minor confusion, though, Avast! seems to be a very good product.