Virus Chest

Manage this feature at: Menu ▸ Scan ▸ Scan for viruses ▸ Quarantine (Virus Chest)

The Virus Chest is a safe, isolated place for storing potential threats so they cannot harm your computer.

No outside process can access the files inside the Chest, nor can they be run. If you double-click a file in the Chest, the file properties are displayed (instead of running the file).

Sending files to the Chest

When Avast finds a virus during a scan, the recommended action is to move it to the Virus Chest. There it can be safely stored without affecting your system.

Files can be sent to the Virus Chest in two ways.

  • Automatically - By default Avast moves suspicious files to the Virus Chest when detected by the real-time shields. When a threat is detected during a scan you can Move to Chest.
  • Manually - Open the Chest and right-click in an empty area, then click Add... and select the file you want to move to the Chest.

Working with files in the Chest

Select a file by clicking once on it, and right-click to view options:

  • Delete - Permanently remove the file from your computer.
  • Restore - Copy the file to its original location.
  • Restore and add to exclusions - Copy file to original location, and exclude file from future scans.
  • Extract - Copy the file to a location you select.
  • Scan - Rescan the file based on the current virus definitions.
  • Submit to virus lab - This is useful for false positive detections. Before submitting please update virus definitions and rescan the file. Include the name and version of the file/program, and the reason you believe it is a false positive.
  • Properties - View more information about the file and also add a comment.
  • Add - Browse your system and select files to add to the Virus Chest.
  • Refresh all files - Refresh the list of files in the Chest.