Why Set Up Automatic Scans on Avast
Cybercriminals generate viruses and types of malware every hour. One cannot wait for the attack to occur. Therefore, the best antivirus software provides automatic scans to ensure malware protection and prevent online threats on a regular basis.
Avast free antivirus offers an automated virus scan with automatic actions. In addition, Avast secure browser acts like a web shield that prevents current threats, unnecessary ads, phishing attempts, malicious downloads, and dangerous extensions.
Avast antivirus program provides you with different types of virus scans (e.g., Smart Scan, Full Virus Scan, Targeted Scan, Boot-Time Scan, and Custom Scans). Doing so can ensure computer security, windows security, Wi-Fi security, data security, secure removable drives, and secure internet connection.
Don’t wait for the vulnerability to be exploited and malware to be executed. Instead, Avast antivirus software offers an automatic scan to scan viruses and malware regularly and automatically.
Avast paid version offers Avast Premium Security, which provides the best security features, such as full online protection for all your computers, tablets, and phones.
Get premium security against online threats, including ransomware and spoofed websites.
Safely perform e-commerce and e-banking with Avast Premium Security as it scans websites for security risks on your mobile phone and computer. Moreover, the latest version also protects your Mac from malware and network threats.
How to Set Up An Automatic Scan on Avast Free
Setting up an automatic scan via Avast on a regular basis can help ensure that your computer security is up to the mark and that your systems and networks are protected against harmful malware and viruses.
Using an Avast free antivirus, you can schedule a scan once daily, weekly, and monthly.
The scheduled scan will automatically scan your computer for viruses and malware at the scheduled time. Both free and paid versions of Avast support an automatic virus scan.
Avast is available for both personal use and industrial IT infrastructure.
The following sections involve simple steps to set up an automatic scan on Avast free antivirus.
Step 1
Open the Avast Free Antivirus user interface and go to the Protection menu from the left bar.
Step 2
The next step requires you to open a Protection Menu that incorporates a variety of options, including Virus Scans, Core Shields, Quarantine, Network Inspector, Ransomware Shield, Firewall, Remote Access Shield, Real Site, and Sandbox. You need to click on the Virus Scans to schedule an automatic scan.
Step 3
The Virus Scan menu encompasses the different types of scans, including Smart Scan, Full Virus Scan, Targeted Scan, Boot-Time Scan, and Custom Scans.
Step 4
Custom Scans will open a new menu where you can create and schedule your own scans. You can also perform a Quick Scan using this menu. Next, click on the “CREATE A NEW SCAN” tab from the Custom Scans menu.
Step 5
Once you click on the “CREATE A NEW SCAN” tab, it will open a “New custom scan” menu. This is an actual place where you can create an automated scan. The new custom scan menu requires you to enter a scan name in the text box, select a scan type (e.g., Full Virus Scan or a Deep Scan, Targeted Scan, Quick Scan, Smart Scan), and choose the frequency (e.g., Run Manually, Once, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly).
You can also set a Sensitivity level from low to medium to high. In addition, there are three checkboxes for notification about potentially unwanted programs, scanning for tools, and following file-system links during the scan. If you set a high sensitivity level, the protection level will be increased, and false-positive alarms will also be innumerable. If you reduce the sensitivity level to low, the scan’s effectiveness will be diminished, but false positives will also be mitigated.
Step 6
Suppose we choose a Frequency as a Weekly scan, set the scan name as “My Weekly Scan,” and select the Day of the week as Sunday and the Start time 02:00 AM. Once you configure settings, click on the “CREATE” button at the bottom.
Step 7
The “CREATE” button at the bottom will finally create your scheduled and automatic scan. Once the automatic scan is initiated, it will redirect you to the Custom Scan menu, and you will see your scheduled scan in the list.
FAQs
What is the difference between Avast quick scan and smart scan?
According to Avast, the smart scan feature comprehensively detects hidden viruses, malicious code, outdated applications, browser threats (e.g., poor search engines and bad browser add-ons), and other security issues simultaneously. Moreover, a smart scan also helps resolve network and performance issues. Once the smart scan finishes the job, it displays the scan results and requires a user to resolve found issues.
On the contrary, a quick scan looks for malware and viruses in common hard drive areas where they typically hide. As a result, we can say that the smart scan is more intelligent than the quick scan.
Does Avast need internet to scan?
No, Avast doesn’t need an internet connection to scan your personal computer. However, Avast’s regular updates require an internet connection. If you connect to the internet, Avast starts downloading and installing updates automatically without a user’s involvement. Automatic updates are essential to prevent the latest threats. Moreover, Avast checks a new version every four hours when a user is connected to the internet.
Why can Avast not scan all files?
In some circumstances, Avast may not be able to scan some files on your personal computer. However, it doesn’t mean that these unscanned files are necessarily viruses or malware. Instead, this problem may have some technical issues, such as bad archive or file permission issues. Some files are highly sensitive and involve administrator-level privileges. The computer security system doesn’t grant access to these files. Therefore, Avast generates an error about the protected files at the end of the scan.
Avast also cannot scan password-protected files. However, when the password is applied, and these files are executed, Avast can scan them on runtime. If something is hidden, Avast will block it.
Why does the Avast scan take so long?
Avast scan often takes so long due to archive files, such as RAR, ZIP, 7-Zip, Installers, etc.). Scanning archive files significantly slows down the scanning process. However, if you ignore scanning archive files, the result will be faster scans.
Go to the setting menu, select protection, and then Virus Scans, where you will find Installers and Archives. There are three checkboxes:
- Scan only common installers – It will scan only the contents of executable files utilized to install apps.
- Scan all archives – This option will scan the contents of all the archives (e.g., RAR, ZIP, 7-Zip, Installers, etc.), resulting in slower scans.
- Don’t scan archives – Ignores all the archive files, resulting in faster scans.
Some factors related to File Types also slow down the scan process. The File Types menu is right behind the “Installers and archive” menu we just discussed. Like this one, File Types also include three checkboxes, which are listed below:
- Content-based types (slow) – Files that are typically vulnerable to malware are scanned.
- Name extension-based types (fast) – Only files with dangerous extensions such as .com, .exe, and .bat will be scanned.
- Scan all files (very slow) – It will scan all the files on your computer, resulting in a prolonged scan process.
Does Avast have real-time scanning?
Yes, real-time scanning and protection are the crucial components of Avast. To this end, Avast offers four types of Core Shields: File Shield, Behavior Shield, Web Shield, and Mail Shield. They are enabled by default to ensure that your personal computer has maximum protection. Core Shields ensure that your computer system is protected in the face of all significant cyber threats. More importantly, malware threats are blocked in real-time. The following sections comprehensively detail each type of Core Shields.
- File Shield: Scans any file added to or opened on your personal computer. Scan auto-run items when removable media is attached. Select specific options for file types to scan, such as scan files when writing, scan files when opening, scan programs when executing, and generate report files.
- Behavior Shield: Warns you if any applications behave abnormally or suspiciously.
- Web Shield: Blocks web attacks and unsafe downloads. In addition, Web Shield enables HTTPS scanning, QUIC/HTTP3 scanning, and script scanning. Furthermore, it detects and blocks Botnets from connecting to malicious Command & Control (C&C) servers.
- Mail Shield: Blocks dangerous email attachments.
You can adjust the settings of Core Shields in accordance with your preferences. For example, the preferences may include customized settings for each shield, the sensitivity level for malware detection, and what happens to detected malware.
Does Avast automatically delete infected files?
Technically, the answer is yes. However, the file goes through several steps to finally reach its destination. With Avast Core Shields, you can decide what to do with detected files. The Core Shields provides two options about the detected fields, either “Fix Automatically” (Avast recommends it also) or “Ask” users to manually select what to do with the file.
If the file is suspected to be infected with malware, the automatic fix attempts to repair that file first. However, if repair is impossible, the file is moved to Quarantine. If the file is still unable to do so, it will be deleted as a last resort. Avast does the same for Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) and tools. In addition, Avast raises notifications about some programs that install automatically without your knowledge.
Does Avast scan for malware?
Yes, Avast scan for malware both on-demand and in real-time. In the previous section, we have delved into details about what happens when malware is detected. You can either set Avast to fix it automatically or ask what to do with malware.
Avast offers additional features to protect against ransomware, a type of malware. Avast Ransomware Shield stops ransomware and untrusted applications from deleting, changing, or holding your personal files and photos. In addition, you can select specific folders containing sensitive data. This feature also enables you to allow and block particular apps.
Can viruses hide from scans?
This question relates to digital warfare in which good antivirus programs ensure a 100% detection rate, and viruses endeavor to evade these security solutions. However, no antivirus program can provide 100% protection against viruses and malware. Likewise, it isn’t an easy claim for any virus or malware to stay undetected or unnoticed.
To answer this question, we can say that a very sophisticated virus can hide itself from scans. Some viruses can hide when you turn on your computer or boot up your computer. The good news is that Avast offers a boot-time scan tab that provides an Avast boot scan feature to detect these types of viruses.
How often should you do a full scan on your computer?
Avast Smart Scan takes a couple of minutes to scan your personal computer. Therefore, Smart Scan should be performed at least every three days. The exact date cannot be fixed. However, a full scan must be conducted at least once a month. A full scan takes a few hours to complete, but it is a comprehensive scan for any number of files, text files, or any particular location on your PC.
Is Avast free good enough?
Although Avast free antivirus provides good protection against viruses and malware, you can get a huge amount of security with Avast One Essentials or Avast Premium Security. Therefore, if you have highly sensitive data on your PC, you should prefer using Avast premium versions to get additional features or paid features.
Wrapping Up
After taking a deep dive into the Avast antivirus program, it has been realized that, on the whole, Avast is a perfect antivirus and ensures a decent level of threat protection. Avast free software and premium versions are award-winning software and highly appreciated by the cybersecurity industry. Avast offers a variety of scans, including Smart Scan, Boot-time Scan, Full Scan, and Custom Scan. The security tool also provides real-time scanning of threats. If you are looking for a cost-effective and reliable cybersecurity tool, Avast should be your first and best bet.
