Avast – manual scanning

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Hi –

I am trying
1) NOT to have Avast load at startup
and trying to
2)find the manual option to run the program. When I disable ashDisp from Startup, via MSCONFIG, it keeps reappearing. (And Winpatrol keeps asking if I want the program in Startup.) Is it reappearance telling me I cannot run it manually?

I understand you should not have 2 antivirus programs running simultaneously. I am used to AVG, which I run manually.

Do you suggest I let Avast run without interference from me and then, as a second av program, run AVG manually? And, if so, how to exit Avast (is it the stop on-access option?)

I did try to find these answers online, without success.

My thanks,
Acer

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All I know is if you rt click on the avast icon and select “stop on access protection” Avast will indeed stop and you will have no anti virus running. Yow will get plenty of warnings about this from security centre also.

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Do you suggest I let Avast run without interference from me… Yes!

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…and then, as a second av program, run AVG manually?… No!

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Why do you want to do this? I haven’t heard of any terrible shortcoming in either program and I have used Avg in the past and Avast for two years now. Are you aware of something that Avg will catch that Avast will not? Sorry to sound petulant about this and I mean no insult. But you are (possibly) asking for either trouble or computer problems or both.

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Hi Al –

I have read, and perhaps even here, that running (separately) more than one AV program will doublecheck that the one you are running (whchiever one it is) didn’t “miss” anything. It’s wearing a belt and suspenders.

I know enough not to run them concurrently. That’s why I was asking about disabling Avast, should I go that route.

Acer (and, no insult taken)

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First, in answer to your question to Dave, there is one or more AV companies which will NOT allow their product to be installed if another AV is already on the machine. I don’t “think” Avast or Avg are in that boat. However, an AV program is one which MUST run ALL the time to keep up with EVERY file activity, even on long existing one that somehow may have picked up an infection. YOU can’t possibly pick the “correct” time to do a manual scan – what about the other hours of the day when you’re not scanning? All kinds of bad things can happen.

Our concerted advice to you then is to PICK ONE and run it 24/7 or whenever the computer is turned on!

Finally, about what you think you heard here, I believe was about “malware” programs, NOT AV programs. Most of us recommend running SpyBot and AdAware and some others, usually one after another.

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Thank you, sir.

Ace4r

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Al answered the question same as I would have. But I would add that you can NOT turn OFF all of the different parts of a installed AV program. This is built in most good AV programs, so a virus can not turn it off and then infect the machine.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Thanks. Got it.

Acer

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There are a couple of ways to run a manual scan using Avast. The first is to right click on the Avast icon in the System Tray and then click Start avast! Antivirus. This will bring up the control panel and allow you to begin a scan of the drives you select. the other method is the Avast Screen Saver (C:Windowssystem32AvastSS.scr). It looks like the old Starfield SS and can also be found on the screensaver tab of your Display Properrties dialog box. Starting this screensaver runs a full system scan with Avast. HTH

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What you can do if you are concerned that your AV program of choice might miss something is periodically go for a free online check at Trend Micro (their “housecall”) which you can find at http://housecall.trendmicro.com[/url%5D . (It will probably redirect you to the appropriate regional site for you.) That doesn’t involve having two AV programs on your PC that might conflict, and has been recommended here in the Lounge from time to time.

Ian

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You can also see a link to Trend Micro Scan at the top of the header block ( or whatever you call it ) in each Lounge forum.

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Hi, Bob and thanks for your response. I did find it using IE; it did not appear using Firefox….

Acer

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Excuse me, but it does appear with Firefox

The difference between Genius and Stupidity:
A Genius knows their limits.
- Albert Einstein

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My experience is the same as Acer’s: I do not see the link in Firefox, but do see it if I use IE 7 (which I almost never do). Sounds like we are missing a setting in FF.

Paul

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That’s strange. Maybe it looks like an ad to an ad-blocking extension?

As a diagnostic, try using a new “clean” Firefox profile: Creating a new Firefox profile on Windows @ MozillaZine Knowledge Base. Does it show then??

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Found the reason!
I can make the Trend Micro Scan icon reappear in Firefox by disabling my NoScript 1.6.8 add-on. When I have some free time I may look into this some more, but for now I am going back to enable NoScript.

Paul

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Ah, I’ve enabled scripts for wopr.com, so that would explain the difference. As there are only a few features that use script here (e.g., 1-click tag panel, smilies pop-up), script is optional here, unlike many sites these days.

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Hi Jefferson,
It doesn’t explain the difference to me. I use NoScript (thanks to you), and have scripts for wopr.com enabled. The housecall icon is there, a click makes the Trend Micro HouseCall open in a separate window, as one would expect. But if I disable scripts for wopr.com in NoScript, close the browser, empty the cache, and goes back to the Lounge the icon is still there. Only difference is a click will not open their page in a separate window, instead the browser shows the Trend Micro HouseCall site.

So NoScript doesn’t explain the difference to me. I agree with edsmalley. Don’t know why the OP acerfmayer, and Paul can’t see it in Fx.

And I agree with you, script is really optional here, , compared to most sites …

As to running several AV software, I wouldn’t recommend it either. Back in the old days there were many on demand scanners, with real time protection as an extra feature, or they simply didn’t have it. It was easier to install an extra AV program.

If one don’t like a site to scan the PC as a second check to installed AV (and I can understand that), one can try to upload a suspicious file to some of the free on-line scan services. For ex. VirSCAN or Jotti.

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I also am running NoScript and yet I see the Trend Micro icon – more ore less vanilla FF with only 5 add-ons, CountdownClock, Favicon Picker, FoxyQuotes, NoScript and PDF Download

The difference between Genius and Stupidity:
A Genius knows their limits.
- Albert Einstein

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In Fx Tools | Options | Content tab there is a setting for loading (or not) images automatically. But that’s a pretty severe one and you’d be missing a lot if that was changed to disallow. I haven’t noticed any others yet.

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Thank you, Ian. I had remembered reading about Trendmicro and it being clickable from the Lounge. I could not locate it when using Firefox. But, as to be noted in my response to Bob, I did see it using IE.

Thanks for assuring me in won’t conflict with the AV on my PC.

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One does NOT ever want to run more than one AV program at the same time or even have more than one installed. They will fight each other and your system will become VERY slow and may even not work at all.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Dave –

If more than one is installed, but only 1 running, how can they fight one another?

Thanks,

Acer

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