I dont know what I could be doing wrong. This is the free/home version of Avast, latest build as downloaded from their site yesterday. 4.1.418 I left everything at defaults except for adding one of the simple skins on the Avast page.
I just tried this test again with the exact same result. The eicar test files are here:
http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htmIf I use the default options on the Standard Shield tab, Avast doesn't go off at all even when I download and run the file. A Command box opens for an instant.
If I check the option on the Scanner(advanced) tab to scan on create/modify, then Avast's alarms go off.
One thing I noticed on that scanner(advanced) tab where the checkbox is to scan on open the list of extensions is blank. I assumed it was using a default list. Should exe, com and others be added to that?
One further oddity. with the same option for scanning on create unchecked, Avast DOES go off if I download the zip file with the eicar.com test file inside. It goes off if I try to unzip the file. But there's no warning at all when running the eicar.com file itself. Or is Avast actually doing something to block the eicar.com when I run it and just isn't notifying me?