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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: Nurdle on October 09, 2004, 06:08:12 AM

Title: How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Nurdle on October 09, 2004, 06:08:12 AM
I would like to know how to add Avast Pro to PKzip as the virus scanner and what command lines i should use to get it to run.  :-\

Any help will be much appreciated.  :)

Nurdle.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: DavidR on October 09, 2004, 05:10:48 PM
Hi, welcome to the forums.

Assuming that you installed avast! in the default folder, this is the path needed to scan downloads, C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashQuick.exe

This of course doesn't take into consideration if PKzip requires a switch after the path (e.g. %f or %d or %1, etc), for that you will need to check the PKzip instructions/help.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Nurdle on October 10, 2004, 04:09:05 AM
I directed PKzip to the installation folder a Avast (ashquick.exe) like you said but no good without the command line.
I looked through PKzips help and read me files, even the online faq but i still cannot find any command line settings. :(

Thanks for the help anyway.

Nurdle
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Nurdle on October 10, 2004, 04:38:53 AM
Sorted the prob! ;D

The command was %e

Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: CharleyO on October 10, 2004, 07:50:54 AM
*

WTG, Nurdle ... and welcome to the forums!    :)  

*
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: DavidR on October 10, 2004, 04:34:12 PM
Sorted the prob! ;D

The command was %e

Glad to hear you are sorted now.

Many programs don't require any aditional command line parameters, and some use some strange parameters.

Thanks for letting us know it worked and the additional parameter, it will brobably help others in the future.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Little Bear on October 12, 2004, 04:04:57 AM
hi there

will that work on all file like IZarc or powerarchiver
i am using avast 4 home on window XP

thank you for the help

Little Bear
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: DavidR on October 12, 2004, 01:29:51 PM
Since I have never used either of the programs that you mention, I have no idea.

However if they allow for the scanning of files by an AV after download, possible. Why not try it and see! You will obviously have to add any parameter after the path if required by the program and you will have to identify that from the programs instructions/help as Nurdle did.
Title: scaning files after downloading
Post by: little bear on October 12, 2004, 03:32:32 PM
ok thank you for the info how do i get avast to scan my downloads from IE, Netscape or Mozilla after thay  are download to the System

Little Bear ;D
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: bob3160 on October 13, 2004, 07:48:00 PM
Little Bear
Power Archiver needs no parameters just point it to ashQuick in the program.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 13, 2004, 07:55:30 PM
Sorted the prob! ;D

The command was %e



I thought I'd sorted the same problem too, but apparently not. I tried passing %e to ashquick.exe, but still get an error message saying that it cannot find the path and then,mysteriously, quoting the correct path. Did you add anything other than %e ?
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: igor on November 15, 2004, 09:57:47 AM
Try to close the ashQuick path in quotes; if it contains any spaces, the piece of the path to ashQuick itself may be considered arguments to scan.
What's the exact content of the final messagebox?
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 15, 2004, 03:53:21 PM
PKZIP won't let me enclose the path to ashquick in quotes, it says it cannot find the program if I do that. On running the scan, it first throws up a message saying :-

Error message

Scan was completed with errors
Error: The system cannot find the path specified.

Clicking OK brings up another screen saying :-

Number of scanned files: 0
Number of scanned folders: 0
Total number of scanned files: 0
Number of infected files: 0

""C:\temp\*.*""

The double quotes round the last line are exactly as ashquick reports it , that may be significant. The directory reported is the correct directory to which PKZIP was set to temporarily extract the files to be scanned

Title: Re:How do you add avast to WinZip?
Post by: petrus2 on November 15, 2004, 04:16:50 PM
I get the same error message using WinZip.

Scan was completed with errors
Error: The system cannot find the path specified.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: igor on November 15, 2004, 04:23:15 PM
Double quotes? Interesting...
I guess I'll have to try to see what's actually passed there. What is your exact setting of PKZIP? What version of PKZIP do you use? (I hope it can be downloaded somewhere?)
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 15, 2004, 05:02:51 PM
My version is PKZIP 6.0.147. It isn't the latest, but the recent upgrades have no new features that I needed. I've just had a quick look on www.pkware.com and it looks as though it's no longer available as shareware, and hence not downloadable in a trial version, but earlier versions might be around somewhere.

Anyway, the settings are Tools > Options > Virus Scan

Select Virus Scanner
No scanner selected

Program name
c:\program files\alwil software\avast4\ashquick.exe

Program argument
%e

The "built in" options which are listed under "select Virus Scanner" work fine with Norton and F-Prot (and I assume the others too) , and I've always been able to get the user configurable ones to work in the past with other programs.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 15, 2004, 06:30:37 PM
A bit more information. Since I last posted, I've tried running ashquick from the Start > Run prompt.  If I run  

c:\program files\......\ashquick.exe c:\temp\

the program executes correctly, checks c:\temp and exits showing the results and the path checked as "c:\temp\" (single quotes).

If I run

c:\program files\....\ashquick.exe c:\temp\*.*

the program fails with the "Can't find path" error .  The path checked is still shown in single quotes as "c:\temp\*.*" on exit.

Whilst I don't see the significance of their only being single quotes this time, it would certainly seem that ashquick will only accept the path as a command line parameter, and will not accept the path with the wild card *.* on the end of the path. As PKZIP seems to pass the path plus this wild card to the virus checker, I imagine this is what causes the problem - but, of course, this does not explain why it happens. Is the fact that ashquick doesn't accept wild card parameters correct, or is this a bug?


Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 15, 2004, 08:45:59 PM
I think I've found the answer - it seems to work fine here.  The setup is this.

In PKZIP go to Tools > Options > Folders

Set "Miscellaneous temporary folder" to any folder that is normally empty (to save checking other files lying around in there) Make one if preferred - for this example say it is c:\pkzipvirustest

Go to the Virus Scan tab.

Fill in the three fields :-

Select Virus Scanner
Unlisted Virus Scanner

Program Name
c:\program files\alwil software\avast4\ashquick.exe
(if you have used the standard installation directory)

Program arguments
c:\pkzipvirustest
(or whatever you called your empty directory)

DON'T pass the %e or any other parameter. Don't put anything in quotes

That should do it.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 20, 2004, 11:56:37 AM
I should have added to the last message that this only works for virus checking a file without extracting it. If you want to extract files to a specified directory and virus check as you do so, ashquick will only look in the directory name we supplied it with, so it will fail - if you want it to work with *any * target directory my fix doesn't work as Avast still can't accept the %e directory that PKZIP passes to it.  It would be nice if it could be changed so it will accept the same parameters that the other antivirus programs do in a future version.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: igor on November 22, 2004, 12:05:34 PM
I just tried with PKZIP 8 and seems to work without any problems for me...

The setting was:
Scanner: Unlisted Virus Scanner
Program name: C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashQuick.exe
Program arguments: %e

PKZIP always passes the folder name to ashQuick - when performing the "Virus Scan" action, it's a temporary folder created in TEMP, after Extraction it's the folder name you selected as the target (which is not fully correct, in my opinion, because there may be lots of other files in the folder, but ok). The folder is always passed as a short name, so there shouldn't be any problems with spaces.

Of course, the behavior may have changed somehow since PKZIP 6 to 8...
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 22, 2004, 08:50:29 PM
The settings you quote are exactly those I tried with version 6, and it fails every time. My kludge only works with the virus check function, as I said, and not with the "extract to any directory". I've written to PKware (I was going to say Phil Katz, but I bet he's retired long ago :-) ) and asked what parameter is actually passed by v6, but I'm fairly sure from  ashquick's error message that it is passing it wrapped in quotes. You're quite correct that PKZIP really shouldn't extract to a directory containing files but, in their defence, it does warn you not to when you extract.

Anyway, I can't afford to buy a new version of PKZIP (there aren't enough new features to justify it, and no one I know can handle the higher compressions in v6, never mind v.8 - so I guess I'll have to give up at that - or always extract to the same directory.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Lisandro on November 22, 2004, 09:00:15 PM
Galen, I really suggest you go to 7-Zip
http://www.7-zip.org/

The main features of 7-Zip:

Highest compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
7-Zip is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL
Supported formats: 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB
For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
Self-extracting capability for 7z format
Integration with Windows Shell
Powerful File Manager
Powerful command line version
Plugin for FAR Manager
Localizations for 47 languages

Freeware
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 22, 2004, 09:17:11 PM
I'll have a look at 7ZIP - especially as you mentioned the magic word - FREE :-)  I've never thought  of changing, I've been using PKZIP since my Fidonet bulletin  board days when Phil Katz first produced the Zip format and had his big legal patent battles with ARC  - so I've sort of got used to it.

I've just had an email from PKWARE confirming that the %e parameter is passed wrapped in quotes in v6, so since your version 8 works just fine, I've written back to ask if they've changed the parameter that is passed.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: Lisandro on November 22, 2004, 10:12:40 PM
Especially as you mentioned the magic word - FREE :-)

Click on 'Links' in my signature and enjoy  ;D
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 22, 2004, 11:17:36 PM
I did, and I will. Thank very much. I've bookmarked the page, and it will get some use, I'm sure.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 22, 2004, 11:37:21 PM
I just tried with PKZIP 8 and seems to work without any problems for me...

Of course, the behavior may have changed somehow since PKZIP 6 to 8...

It has - I just had a reply from PKware. Versions 6 and 8 are completely different, and version 8 doesn't wrap the %e in quotes like version 6. Albeit that doesn't solve my problem, at least it tells us that v6 and Avast! are incompatible, so I can stop trying and make do with what I've got.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: igor on November 23, 2004, 08:09:50 PM
I'll try to do something about it.
Title: Re:How do you add avast to pkzip?
Post by: galen on November 23, 2004, 09:32:54 PM
It would be nice if you could, - but since my PKZIP is out of date anyway, don't go to too much trouble.