'unable to scan' ?

[larryvir]

Have had Avast Home 4.8. for several months; keep it updated (manually) every week; run thorough scan every week; seems to work v well; never found an infection.

But last two scans got msg 'unable to scan' for list of ten files, but found no infection. Files seem ordinary: 'AOL doc & settings...' etc, etc.

Can anyone tell me what this is all about? Any serious problem? What, if anything should I do about this?

[Spiritsongs]

   Hi :

 Have you ever read through our "Frequently Asked Questions" available at
 www.avast.com/eng/faq-avast-4-home-professional.html !? In the "Other
 Questions" section, perhaps

 "Q: When the file scanning is finished, avast! comes up with a number of files listed as "unable to scan", even though I have used a thorough scan. Should I be concerned?

A: Some files are permanently locked by the system or they are in password-protected archives. These files cannot be scanned. It is normal and you don´t have to be worried about that. "

 applies !?

[DavidR]

And a question frequently asked and answered in the forums:

Files that can't be scanned are just that, not an indication they are suspicious/infected, just unable to be scanned.

Many programs (usually security based ones) password protect their files for legitimate reasons such as AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy, there are others (and avast doesn't know the password or have any way of using it even if it did know it).

When you run scans with the above programs and you delete harmful entries that they detect, a copy is kept (in quarantine/restore/backup) in case you need to reverse what you did. These are usually password protected, you should do some housekeeping and delete old backup/recovery/quarantine entries (older than two weeks or so), this will reduce the numbers of files that can't be scanned.

By examining 1) the reason given by avast! for not being able to scan the files, 2) the location of the files, you can get an idea of what program they relate to. You may need to expand the column headings to see all the text.

If you can give some examples of those file names, the locations and reason given why it can't be scanned might help us further ?

[larryvir]

TY DavidR

Only quarantined items (on my two ad/malware programs) are cookies from sites I have blocked...no other items anywhere on my PC.

Cannot access log files on Avast...greyed out...think I set these to be deleted (?)

Under Log Viewer, Warning and Error appears:
(date) System, Appl 1024, AAVM-scanning error (warning) cx_AavmCh...
if this is of any help.

Will pay more attn next time. How do I reset to keep old Avast log files?

[DavidR]

The avast self-defence module protects all avast file including logs.

You can restrict the size in Program Settings, Logging, I have reduced mine to 128KB.

Not all logs are covered by this, what log was it you were trying to delete (never a good idea, I'm averse to deletion) ?

[larryvir]

TY for your continued efforts on my behalf DavidR,

...but I doubt I'l be using this forum much. Because I am not used to navigating here, it's a royal PIMA...rofl. It keeps asking for my password; won't let me reply at times; won't let me change my profile, despite my putting in my password over and over; just too annoying. I re-booted to make certain that all was clear, then rechecked the matter under discussion.

I still cannot access my scan results...choices greyed out. I would LOVE to know why!

Do not believe I deleted anything. Log capacity is 4096KB on all levels (default?).

The only thing I did do, I think, was to remove the check from: 'Report File, Log record (only) for OK files'. Have since re-checked this item, but still cannot view scan report files, even after re-booting.

Apparently, I need not be concerned about this; Avast is still doing its job; no infections are in evidence; so I'll shelve the matter. But if you can tell me why I cannot access my scan results, I'd really appreciate knowing. And I'll pay more attn to results from next scan.

Again, thank you for your efforts.

[DavidR]

You can't change your profile until you have 20 posts.
- The problem comes from drive by spammers, who having registered put objectionable or commercial links in their profile signature to try and gain link promotion, etc.

There have also been cases of the PM function being abused to spam forum members, so you will notice that you can't use the PM function either.

Unfortunately because of the actions of others legitimate members suffer by the actions to prevent this spamming.

I don't know if you block cookies (and possibly javascript) as that is what is used to keep you logged in without having to constantly log on, I haven't had to log on for years.

The Home free version doesn't retain Scan results after you close the Simple User Interface (why it is greyed out as it isn't available), not something I have ever considered using in over five and a half years using the Home version.

Change the logging size as I suggested to 128KB and it keeps the size limited at a more reasonable size than 4MB each log.