Quarantine

Access this feature from: Protection ▸ Quarantine

Quarantine is an isolated space where you can safely store potentially dangerous files or send them to the Avast Threat Labs for analysis. Files in the Quarantine cannot run or access your system and data, so any malicious code contained within a file is unable to harm your PC.

Avast performs a series of actions that may result in moving a file to the Quarantine automatically. By default, files are moved to the Quarantine in the following situations:

If you run a predefined antivirus scan and it detects a suspicious file.
If an active Core Shield detects a suspicious file.

Note: you can also access the Quarantine feature by right-clicking the Avast icon in your system tray and selecting Quarantine. From the Quarantine feature screen you can manually move files to the Quarantine.

Add or manage Quarantine files

To manually move a file to Quarantine, click Add File..., select the file, then click Open.

To remove the file from Quarantine, tick the box next to the file. Click the Delete button to permanently remove the file from Quarantine, or click the downward facing arrow next to the button to access the following options:

Restore: moves the file from Quarantine to its original location.
Extract: moves the file from Quarantine to a location you choose.
Send for analysis: sends files to the Avast Threat Labs for further analysis.

Submit files to the Avast Threat Labs

We recommend sending the following file types to the Avast Threat Labs:

Potential malware: files that Avast has not flagged as malware, but you believe may be malicious.
False positive: files that Avast has identified as malware, but you believe may be clean.

To submit a file to the Avast Threat Labs:

Ensure that the file has been added to the Quarantine (either manually or by Avast).
Click the downward facing arrow next to Delete and select Send for analysis.
Provide the requested information about the file, then click Send.

The file is submitted to the Avast Threat Labs for further testing. In most cases, the Avast Threat Labs processes the files they receive without sending a response to you.

Manage Quarantine settings

To manage Quarantine settings, click the Settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner of the Quarantine feature screen. Alternatively, go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Protection ▸ Quarantine.

In the Quarantine settings, you can specify the maximum size of your Quarantine. Read more...