Is the boot-time scanner compatible with TrueCrypt?

[gary688]

I use TrueCrypt's whole disk encryption, which requires a "pre-boot authentication password" to gain access to the drive. And when I tried using Microsoft's restore point feature with it, my OS 7 was damaged when my computer restarted as part of the restore procedure... and then I had to reinstall everything.

So I was wondering if the same thing might happen with the Avast Pro boot-time scanner, since it's expecting to be able to scan at the same time TrueCrypt's bootloader starts up (before the OS can start). Or, would it "patiently" wait for me to type in my password, and then still be able to scan normally as the OS is booting up.

[Pondus]

and then still be able to scan normally as the OS is booting up.

it does not scan as the OS boot up.....the boot continue when the scan is over

[Lisandro]

Yes. Fully compatible. TrueCrypt is loaded before avast boot scanning.

[gary688]

Thanks for the info...great to hear it's compatible.

[Lisandro]

Thanks for the info...great to hear it's compatible.

You're welcome. Feel free to come back any time you need help or just to change experiences

[Zoid]

"Yes. Fully compatible. TrueCrypt is loaded before avast boot scanning."

The description of the boot-time scan says "... the avast! boot-time scan uses direct hard drive access, which bypasses the OS file system drivers and is thus able to handle even the most stubborn rootkits."

I don't seen how these two statements can be compatible. It seems to me that if avast! is bypassing the OS file system drivers, it would bypass TrueCrypt. Thus, avast! would read a bunch of encrypted data and would not be able to see ANY malware. On the other hand, if it CAN read the unencrypted data, it must be running on top of TrueCrypt and therefore not accessing the drive directly. Which is it? If it's the former, the boot-time scan would be worthless. If it's the latter, a rootkit could potentially hide itself.

Many thanks!

I know this is an old topic but I hope someone reads this and can shed some light on the situation because I really want to know the answer! I didn't want to start a new topic because it fits this one so perfectly.

[Lisandro]

TrueCrypt is bottomest driver.
It is loaded before, at MBR (master boot record).
The order is: TrueCrypt > Windows boot (minimum) > avast > Windows boot/logon.

[schmidthouse]

TrueCrypt is bottomest driver.
It is loaded before, at MBR (master boot record).
The order is: TrueCrypt > Windows boot (minimum) > avast > Windows boot/logon.

@Tech.  Can TrueCrypt be installed and Recovery Disk done without Internet connection?

[Zoid]

Just letting you know that the avast! boot-time scan works with BestCrypt Volume Encryption on a fully encrypted Windows boot disk. Ran it last night, worked perfectly.

[Lisandro]

@Tech.  Can TrueCrypt be installed and Recovery Disk done without Internet connection?

What is recovery disk? The Truecrypt disk?
Yes, both can be done offline.

[furu]

Besides my encrypted boot drive a have a second HDD which is fully encrypted and will be mounted in windows. Will avast scan this drive also during the boot-time scanner? Can it damage the encryption because of writing on it?

Greetings.

[Lisandro]

Besides my encrypted boot drive a have a second HDD which is fully encrypted and will be mounted in windows. Will avast scan this drive also during the boot-time scanner? Can it damage the encryption because of writing on it?

Greetings.

As far I know and test, no. avast! boot time scanner is loaded after the TrueCrypt bootloader but before TrueCrypt drivers decrypt the non-system partitions. At least is what happens when you try a boot time defragmentation. The system drive (usually C:) is defragmented but the other partitions don't.