what to do when avast detects a threat...

[NHWeezy]

Hello - I'm fairly new at using Avast.  When a threat is detected, do I want to delete it or move it to chest? I think there was another choice but I can't remember what that choice was.  Of course, I know I don't want the "do nothing" choice.

I'm not sure what the difference is between "move to chest" or "delete".

I'll also search the avast.com site, but thought I'd check here, as well.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Lisa

[norel]

Hi NHWeezy. Moving to the chest isolates the threat and keeps it from doing any damage to your system. From there you can analyze it and figure out if you want to delete it or restore it (in the event it's a false alarm). If you're 100% positive it's malware go ahead and delete it, but with malware it's not always clear. Once you delete it, it's gone for good so the chest is the safest bet. 99% of what Avast flags on mine are false alarms, so I use do nothing quite a bit. If you know positively it's a false alarm go ahead and use it.

[DavidR]

Deletion isn't really a good first option (you have none left), 'first do no harm' don't delete, send virus to the chest (a protected area) and investigate.

There is no rush to delete anything from the chest, a protected area where it can do no harm. Anything that you send to the chest you should leave there for a few weeks. If after that time you have suffered no adverse effects from moving these to the chest, scan them again (inside the chest) and if they are still detected as viruses, delete them.

[NHWeezy]

Thank you for clarification between "delete" and "move to chest" - I really appreciate it!

[DavidR]

No problem, glad I could help.

Welcome to the forums.