avast virus

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Ok Avast users I have a ?

I d/l’d avast and ran setup. It got to a screen that ask for the stmp and pop info for the mail account that it should send through. I use Outlook.

I use a local cable company as my internet provider and I gave the stmp and pop for them. (mail.cableone.net) However in Outllook I also have a few other mail accounts. For example I use Myrealbox.com which is a web based mail server, but you can send and receive thru Outook. I receive and send my myrealbox mail from outlook with seperate stmp and pop info. (mail.myrealbox.com)

So…… are all my other accounts being protected by avast too, not just cableone.net???

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The way other products work (I’m not familiar with avast) is that they change your account settings in your mail client to something like:

POP3 server: localhost or 127.0.0.1 (which is the same thing)
SMTP server: (unchanged) or localhost
username: real-POP3-server-hostname/real-username
password: (unchanged)

The scanner listens for mail traffic from your client and handles retrieval for you.

Now, if avast requires you to specify one POP3 server in advance, rather than letting you pass the servername in the username, the answer to your question is no, you’re only scanning mail from one account.

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I’m pretty sure that if you setup the e-mail account with a pop3/smtp address in Outlook, avast will scan the e-mail. If the volume is not too terrible, you can check the scanned e-mail count in ‘On access protection control’. Look at the Outlook/Exchange count before starting Outlook. Then check again after Outlook is started and you’ve received your e-mail. Don’t think it will check hotmail.

Joe

--Joe

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Thanks guys, I pretty sure Avast is checking all my accounts now.
I was using Mcafee and everything was locking up at least once or twice a day. Now everything is running smooooooooth.
Thanks again for your reply.

Mike

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If you want to double-check, you can send yourself copies of the eicar pseudo-virus files to each mail account. They’re available from and are totally benign, except they should trigger your AV software, either when the mail arrives, or when you go to open/view it.

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Hi Tim

Today I tried to download the 4 “eicar” files on a machine protected by the latest NAV. It stopped the 2 unzipped files, but allowed the zipped files through. It caught the single level zipped file on “unzip” and the 2 level on the 2nd unzip. NAV caught both zipped on a scheduled check (it’s set to check 3 levels). This could be a problem for someone who downloads on a NAV protected computer then transports the file to an unprotected computer without trying to unzip the files.

I also tried to download them on a computer protected by the free version of AVG. This time the “.com” file and the zipped files were stopped but the “.txt” file downloaded to my browser window without problem.

I haven’t yet tried to email the text.

Comments anyone?????

Have a Great day!!!
Ken

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I use and got the following results:

Download – “com” file stopped, others allowed.
Scan file – virus found in each file, first time (compressed files are scanned through all levels).
Open/Execute – stopped each file, at level where virus “exists” (allowed unzips but not execution of “infected” file in zip).
Email (as attachments) – allowed through
Open/Save email attachments – “com” file stopped, others allowed

Summary – The virus is picked up before it can do damage.

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The following comment was copied from an Avast! forum board. They were discussing why Avast did not stop the virus on download and not just when trying to open.
Mike

Hey Omik,

I know I come in on this late, but want to comment.
The Eicar virus test is designed to test the ability of an anti-virus to protect your system from embedded viruses that infect a system when OPENED… hence, Avast stoped it right where it is suppossed to.
If the Avast team said it was a bug and it will be fixed, I guess think that they will modify Avast to stop it at an earlier point.
I have used other anti-virus products against Eicar and they also stop it when an attempt is made to OPEN the file.

Hope this helps add something to the explanation given by the Avast team.

AVAST IS THE BEST !!!

Good luck.

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Ken: I have tried to email the txt file and AVG refuses to allow it “email contains virus”. As far as [indent]

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The Eicar virus test is designed to test the ability of an anti-virus to protect your system from embedded viruses that infect a system when OPENED… hence, Avast stoped it right where it is suppossed to.

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[/indent] maybe, but personally I feel so much more comfortable when AVG refuses to allow the virus containing email to even enter my system. If Avast! allows it to arrive and sit there waiting for activation, there’s always the possibility Avast! may (no matter how unlikely) not be running when I or someone else double clicks that nasty. AVG and I say, stop it before it gets the chance. “AVAST may be THE BEST” but I don’t think so, AVG goes them one better in this case.

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I would have to agree, I just started to use Avast and was disappointed that it let it in, (ok didn’t let it run ) but like you said, what if for some reason Avast was not running at the time the virus decided to run???!!!??

Hummmmm. I d’l AVG too, maybe should trade over???

Mike

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And what about the situation when a file is downloaded and NOT RUN nor opened, but instead is copied to removable media and transported to a computer that is not appropriately protected????

Have a Great day!!!
Ken

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