Full Virus Scan - Settings

The Sensitivity section of the settings screen allows you to define the following settings for Full Virus Scan:

• Sensitivity: use the slider to determine your preferred level of sensitivity. You can choose select Low sensitivity, Medium sensitivity (selected by default), or High sensitivity.
• Scan for potentially unwanted programs (PUPs): tick this option if you want the scan to look for programs that are stealthily downloaded with other programs and typically perform unwanted activity.
• Follow links during scan: tick this option to allow Avast to scan other files used by the files being scanned for potentially harmful content.
• Test whole files: tick this option if you want the scan to analyze entire files rather than only the parts typically affected by malicious code. When this option is ticked, the scan is slower but more thorough.
• Scan priority: use the drop-down menu to indicate the scan's level of importance when other applications are running on your system. Higher priority (default setting) enables the scan to run faster, but slows down other applications.

Note: The more options you tick and the higher you set the sensitivity, the more thoroughly Avast checks your PC. With higher sensitivity, scans are slower, false-positive detections are more likely, and more resources are consumed on your PC.

The Scan areas settings section allows you to configure which areas Full Virus scan will check for malware and unwanted programs.

Enable one of the following options:

• All Harddisks (recommended and selected by default): allows Avast to scan data that is stored on all physical devices such as hard drive and USB sticks.
• System drive: allows Avast to scan data that is saved on your hard drive only.

Select the following areas to be scanned:

• All removable media: allows Avast to scan data that is saved on all removable media devices (such as USBs).
• Rootkits: allows Avast to scan for specific software tools used in malware attacks that can easily go undetected.
• CD-ROM & DVD drives: allows Avast to scan for malware connected to your CD-ROM & DVD drives.
• Modules loaded in memory: allows Avast to scan processes that launch after system startup or run in the background.

Note: The more options you tick, the more thoroughly Avast checks your PC. With more thorough checks, scans are slower, false-positive detections are more likely, and more resources are consumed on your PC.

The Packers and Archives settings section allowed you to define the types of archived files saved on your PC that Full Virus scan will scan. Tick one of the following options:

• Scan most commonly used types (recommended and selected by default): allows Avast to scan archive types most commonly used for storing purposes, such as .zip, .rar, and other executable or installer files.
• Scan all types of archives: allows Avast to scan all archive types. This option is more thorough, but is much slower.
• Don't scan archives: prevents Avast from scanning archived files.

In the File Types settings section, Avast allows you to define which file types will be checked for malware and unwanted programs during a Full Virus scan. Select one of the following options:

• Content based types (recommended and selected by default): allows Avast to scan files types that are typically vulnerable to software. Selecting this option is recommended.
• Name extension based types: allows Avast to scan only files with risky extensions such as, .exe, .com, and .bat. This is the fastest scan configuration.
• Scan all files: allows Avast to scan all file types. This is the slowest scan configuration.

This section allows you to configure automatic responses to any threats detected by the scan.

To set an automatic reponse to a threat:

1. Tick Perform automatic actions during this scan.
2. Select one of the following automatic actions:
   • Fix automatically (recommended action): attempts to repair the file. If unsuccessful, moves the file to the Virus Chest or deletes the file if neither action is successful.
   • Move file to Virus Chest: sends the file to the Virus Chest, where the file cannot harm your system.
   • Delete file: permanently removes the file from your PC.

In this settings section you can determine the behavior of your PC after the Full Virus scan is finished.

Tick the box next to a setting you want to enable:

• Shut down computer after scan finishes: allows Avast to shut your PC down immediately after the scan finishes.
• Generate report file (enabled by default): allows Avast to save the data from your Full Virus scan. This file is sometimes requested by Avast support for troubleshooting purposes.

In the Exceptions settings section you can choose specific files or folders to exclude from Full Virus scan. To add an exception:

1. Click the Add Exception button.
2. Select a file or folder to exclude from Full Virus scan.
3. Click OK to confirm.

View your Full Virus Scan exceptions list under the Add Exceptions button.