big big newbie with no clue needing point in right direction please

[Arohamack]

Hey guys
I've had this for a couple of days (avast 4 home free edition) and i'm not quite sure how it works.  when i log into my computer, does avast automatically start itself & protect my computer or do I have to run/start/activate it?  I have only just had a look & realised that having avast scan all my files seems to be something i have to do rather than something it is always doing. 

Also, with the sensitivity, if I do a quick scan is that less effective than a thorough scan?  I'm not sure of the difference between the sensitivities. 

Sorry if I seem totally blonde, i really have no idea, have never owned a home pc before, only used work ones so this virus stuff was always done for me.

THANKS HEAPS in advance to anyone who can give me any advice or point me in the right direction!! 

[essexboy]

Hello and welcome....If you have a little blue spinning ball in the bottom right of your taskbar you are protected.  Avast also scans files as they are opened to ensure that are not dangerous.  The scans generally a normal scan is sufficient   

[Arohamack]

ok great - thanks heaps for that.  I really just wasnt sure if it was an ongoing thing or if it was more of a scan thing that only worked when I told it to.

Cheers!! 

[Arohamack]

um, just another quick question....

the internet is the only application i have running at the moment (that I know of) and the little "a" icon isn't spinning.  It spins when i go to another page or to a different website though.  So am I right to assume that if it's not spinning then there's nothing for it to be scanning.  God sorry guys, lol.  That's why i put BIG BIG NEWBIE in the subject 

[Spyros]

Arohamack,
Welcome. Don't worry, it's not difficult. But let me suggest to start reading the very informative help file that comes with avast. Read it all and you'll probably be covered - if not, post here again and tell us what you didn't understand, we'll be glad to assist you then.

[DavidR]

@ Arohamack
Thorough is also by its design very thorough and perhaps a little overkill for routine use, were a Standard scan without archives should be adequate. However if this your first scan after installation, it is good to do a full thorough scan to confirm a clean start state.

Archive (zip, etc.) files are by their nature are inert, you need to extract the files and then you have to run them to be a threat. Long before that happens avast's Standard Shield should have scanned them and before an executable is run that is scanned.

I have only ever done a through scan with archives once shortly after installation just to ensure a clean start state, but with XP for example avast will do a boot-time scan after installation if you select it, this I believe will be quicker and reasonably effective. Like everything in life things are a compromise.

SETTING THE SENSITIVITY

After you select the area to scan, a bar with a slider appears. Moving the slider, you specify the scanner sensitivity. There are three levels:

Quick Scan. Only the possibly dangerous files are scanned, according to their extension. It means that the files with extensions EXE, SCR, COM, DOC, etc. are scanned. Within the file, avast! looks only for those viruses that infect the corresponding type of file. It means that macroviruses are not searched for in EXE files etc.
Standard Scan. Only the possibly dangerous files are scanned, according to their content. The file extension is ignored. Again, only the viruses corresponding to the particular file type are searched for.
Thorough Scan. All files are tested, against all viruses.