Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Scott_0101 on September 29, 2009, 04:21:47 PM
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I use Avast 4.8 under Vista Home Premium SP2. I do most of my downloading under either Firefox 3.5.3 or Opera 9.64. I have been doing Avast file scans on downloaded files by right-clicking on the filename. Do I really need to do that or has the file already been scanned by Avast while being downloaded? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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Totally depends on what you are downloading and the source, if either aren't totally kosher then perhaps you should. At the very least you should scan them before you run them, depending on what they are.
You could add a download manager to your system that could be used for both Firefox and Opera and have that call the ashQuick.exe to scan the download when complete, that is what I do. So no need to remember to scan it later...
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Thanks!
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No problem, glad I could help.
Assuming that you installed avast in the default location this is what you would have to enter in a download manager for the full path C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashQuick.exe.
Welcome to the forums.
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I've been wondering about this too. When you download an .exe file from the Web, does Avast scan it as it's downloading?
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If it is downloaded using the HTTP protocol over port 80 (normal browsing port) then the Web Shield would scan it. The Standard Shield should also scan it (depending if you have changed any settings in the standard shield.), so yes it 'should' be scanned. However, using a download manager and having it call ashQuick.exe to scan it you 'know' for sure that it has been scanned.
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Thanks DavidR. After I read your answer I checked my modules as I was downloading and indeed it does show that it's scanning. I think this must be Avast's "Intelligent Stream Scanning" feature that scans downloads in real time. It sounds like an awesome feature but I agree it never hurts to scan manually before running.
I've tried Free Download Manager and Fresh Download but neither of them integrated very well with Firefox. I tried Firefox's FlashGot add-on to help with integration but still had issues. Right now I'm using the Firefox add-on DownThemAll. Overall it's a decent downloader, I just wish you could set it up to scan when it's done.
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I have been using Orbit downloader for some time and that integrates with my browsers, including my default, Firefox.
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Orbit absolutely works better with Firefox. I hesitated to try it because of some bad reviews at Cnet but it's the one I should have tried first! :D
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If you use a download manager, WebShield won't be able to correct scanning the traffic. You could have false positives/miss detections.
In this case, it's advisable to use ashQuick.exe after the download is finished. Free Download Manager integrates easily with Firefox here and ashQuick.exe could be automatically launched after the download finishes.
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Orbit absolutely works better with Firefox. I hesitated to try it because of some bad reviews at Cnet but it's the one I should have tried first! :D
I have never held much store in this type of 'user' review as you have no idea exactly why that user had the problem that users speaks of. My major concerns on any such review are it is from a reputable company and is is secure and not have embedded adware/spyware other than that I do my own testing and see if it suits 'my' needs and use.
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When I started experimenting with downloaders I really had no a clue what I was doing, so I went back and tried Free Download Manager and now I can see it does work as well with Firefox as Orbit. :)
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norel, configure ashquick.exe to scan the downloaded files at the end.
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Is there a need to set Windows Live Messenger to automatically scan files for viruses using "C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashQuick.exe" or would Avast automatically do that itself without having to configure Windows Live Messenger?
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If you know someone who could help you test it you could watch the Avast icon when messages come in and it should rotate, indicating that it's scanning. If not you should probably set up WLM to do it.
I've been watching my icon more closely and from what I've seen Avast actually does do a quick scan automatically on a lot of things; I haven't tested it enough to say if it works 100% of the time though. I don't use instant messaging so I'm not familiar with how Avast works with it, the spinning icon is a good indicator though. :)
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there is no need to setup avast for an "extra-scanning". avast is scanning files on-access. this is the core philosophy of any resident antivirus. if anyone doesn't trust avast then it should change it.
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there is no need to setup avast for an "extra-scanning". avast is scanning files on-access. this is the core philosophy of any resident antivirus. if anyone doesn't trust avast then it should change it.
Okay thanks. I just wanted to make sure. I've disabled the option through MSN so Avast will automatically do it.
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Is there a need to set Windows Live Messenger to automatically scan files for viruses using "C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashQuick.exe" or would Avast automatically do that itself without having to configure Windows Live Messenger?
Left click the 'a' blue icon. Details button.
Standard Shield and IM providers should show which is being scanned.
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Regarding files downloaded from the Internet, the User's Guide says, "If this box is checked (Intelligent Stream Scanning), files that are downloaded are scanned almost in real time. The pieces of data are scanned as soon as they arrive and the next parts are downloaded only when the previous parts are verified to be virus-free. If this feature is disabled, the whole files will be downloaded to a temporary folder first, and then scanned."
If Web Scanning is set to "Scan all files," it sounds like Avast should automatically scan all downloaded files in one of two ways. Better safe than sorry though if there is any doubt. :)
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Tech, I see what you mean now about Free Download Manager turning off Avast's automatic scanning. I've been playing with it and when the download finishes Avast's icon doesn't do anything unless you have FDM's scanning turned on, then it kicks in a forces Avast to scan. With DownThemAll! and Firefox's built-in downloader Avast scans automatically.
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Regarding files downloaded from the Internet, the User's Guide says, "If this box is checked (Intelligent Stream Scanning), files that are downloaded are scanned almost in real time. The pieces of data are scanned as soon as they arrive and the next parts are downloaded only when the previous parts are verified to be virus-free. If this feature is disabled, the whole files will be downloaded to a temporary folder first, and then scanned."
If Web Scanning is set to "Scan all files," it sounds like Avast should automatically scan all downloaded files in one of two ways. Better safe than sorry though if there is any doubt. :)
Norel, the "problem" is how download managers work. They cut the traffic in pieces to accelerate the download. You can have unexpected results when cutting.