Scanning Mail Folders

[RJ]

Small question, I just opened up an e-mail that has been on my computer for the past two months, avast popped up saying it was a virus "Win32:Trojan-gen. {UPX}".  I don't believe it was a false reading as I am pretty certain the file that was attached to it was a virus.  Deleted it.  But my question is, that e-mail has been sitting in my Inbox for the past two months, how come Avast hasn't picked it up before?   Are Email folders not scanned, durring an anti virus scan?

[Eddy]

Upgrade to 4.5.498 beta, it has a different way mail is handled and will solve this.

[RJ]

Hi Eddy,

Yeah that's what I've got, did a scan and found nothing.  Then when i was sorting through my e-mail, opened that one and was told it was a virus.  Thought Avast would of picked it up over the past two months when scanning my computer

[Eddy]

What mail client do you use?

[RJ]

Outlook express 6

[Eddy]

Strange, just some thoughts I have:

- it could be that a newer (newest?) vps was able to pick it up and the older one not.
- the email protection wasn't setup correctly
- the attachment was archived by a archiver Avast did not new at that time
- when doing a normal scan thorough wasn't selected or archive scanning was not enabled
- the mail files where in the exclusion list

[RJ]

Hi Eddy,

I always scan doing a thorough scan and scan archive files.

The attachment was a rar file.

It was on my back up image, not  happy about that, now reinstalling my computer and giving myself a clean back up image, haha, I'm fussy.  

Very weird though.

Don't I have to add the mail files to the exclusion list or is that setting automatic?  I never change the settings from what it installed as.

[Eddy]

You got me puzzled. There is porbably a logical explanation for it, but from what you told me, I can't see it :'(

Anyway, as they say end well, all well