Scheduling a Scan? PLEASE HELP!!

[Ronaldo9]

How often should I schedule a scan and what mode?  Full/quick?  Or do I create a Customer Scan and what folders or files?  

When scheduling a scan, does it run when you close your laptop lid and in standby mode, say if you are running it @ midnight or noon when away from oc?  Will it run when shut off?

And, I have no idea about military time, but what time is best to run a scheduled scan?

I am a little confused as to why Avast would not schedule a scan automatically like MSE or others AV's?  

Any guidance is appreciated!

Thanks

PS: I run a daily scan on my own but I know my kids forget too.

PSS:  As a new Avast user, is there anything else I should customize?  Or suggestions?
I have been running it for 3 weeks and really like it but do not know about its full capabilities?  We also run SuperAntispyware and Crap cleaner..

[DavidR]

With resident on-access scanners the actual need for an on-demand scan is depreciated. As a file is created or modified or run, the on-access scanners scan it (before it is allowed to run). So if a file isn't actually active it is dormant/inert and doesn't present an immediate risk.

So for the most part the on-demand scan is going to be scanning files that are never used dormant/inert so don't present an immediate risk.

I schedule a Full scan once a week, though a Quick scan would be just as good. The Quick scan is basically looking at files that are a) targeted by malware or b) if infected present an immediate risk, e.g. executable files, etc. The Full scan goes a little further than that and is more thorough.

Leave the settings as default until toy get a better understanding of what avast is doing and don't change anything unless you understand the effect it might have. Browse through the avast Help Center (help file) to get an idea of what a settings does and have a good rummage around the avastUI to get familiar with it.

[Ronaldo9]

Thanks.  So just leave it as is?  If I run a full or quick daily, is that just as good as scheduling a scan?

Also, when I boot my pc, I always hear the voice telling me Avast has been updated?  What is this?

[DavidR]

Scheduling and running a Full scan are one and the same thing only one is manual the other automatic once you set it up, a daily scan is IMHO overkill, weekly is fine.

Avast automatically checks for virus signature updates once you have an internet connection established. If one is available it will download it and install it automatically, so your virus signatures are up to date. This is an incremental update so shouldn't be any hassle, KBs rather than MBs.