Guide | How To How to Adjust Avast for Extra Protection

[AntivirusGeek]

First open Avast and click on Scan next, click on each individual scan and click on turn on PUP "Potentially Unwanted Programs". After, click on settings on each type of scan, select Sensitivity and set it to high, as well as, select use code emulation and enable thorough scanning.

Secondly, go to Realtime Shields and click on the first 5 shields, select Sensitivity, and the place it on high as well as enable PUP.

Thirdly, go to the Behaviour Shield and select the option Ask

Finally, head to File System Shield and select Sandbox and then change the setting to Ask

These tips are excellent suggestions particularly if you use removable media, like flash drives, a lot. Turning PUP on helps Avast to detect autoruns viruses and many other viruses on the system. Since PUP comes turned off by default, I had the experience of getting infected by an autorun virus. After investigation in Avast, I changed my settings, then infected my flash drive with PUP's and Avast was able to detect and remove all threats.

 

[Ink]

Doesn't 'Code Emulation' and 'Enable Thorough Scanning' slow down system performance?

Some screenshots would be great, if you could add them.

 

[AntivirusGeek]

Actually I does not. Enabling code emulation is Avast's new feature from version 5 that makes it higher in detection rates and It's already enable in every scan setting except Quick Scan. However enabling it will allow Avast to check memory processes etc at a faster rate to identify wether there is a threat or not.

Enabling Thorough Scanning in Full scan is essential since viruses hides in jpeg, bat, unverified dllsetc some of which Avast is set not to scan.

Also a computer of 1GB of RAM will suffer no performance issues since I've already tested it

 

[jamescv7]

You can configure the Web Shield for highest detection rate on the sensitivity and if there was a PUP detection to enable.

 

[malbky]

Enabling PUP wot lead to better detections of autorun viruses. PUP are potentially unwanted programmes. Such programs do not constitute a direct risk to the computer. Such products are usally spyware or adware.

 

[Vextor]

@malbky PUP programs are spyware/adware, but they can then download other pieces of more dangerous malware. Besides, you might as well get the best protection available.

 

[AntivirusGeek]

Enabling PUP wot lead to better detections of autorun viruses. PUP are potentially unwanted programmes. Such programs do not constitute a direct risk to the computer. Such products are usally spyware or adware.

malbky you are wrong because PUP's are a type of viruses that causes immediate infection in most cases. Most PUP's autoruns are "shutdown" viruses that if not detected by the AV will shut down your PC. When you restart the PC then 90% of the times oyu already have a rogue antivirus installed on your PC so youe are way more infected......
Please do some more research before you comment.

ALL PROTOCOLS OBSERVED

 

[jamescv7]

Potentially Unwanted Programs were known likely to add lots of bunch files especially adware thing and some were big file size installer.

 

[malwarekiller]

Turning PUP on helps Avast to detect autoruns viruses and many other viruses on the system.

No u are wrong! u should just know that just by the avast alerts...when avast says malware blocked it cetainly doesnt mean its a PUP detection....when avast detects a PUP it will specifically show u as potentially unwanted program blocked alert.

I had my friend's USB stick when i just bought avast and i didnt know about the adjustment on settings but avast did the autorun virus detection immediately with defaults and i scanned the USB stick with avast with PUP off and it removed 723 threats from his stick i tried the scan with PUP on and no variation in results...Avast! saved from a whole lot of threats that day that my friends NOD32 couldnt do...its ony later i had my settings adjusted in my shields to scan for PUP.Morever,i have turned off autoplay on my system now u should try tweaking it.From that day,avast is one of my favourite AV and it is always protects me from any dangers online or offline.

 

[AntivirusGeek]

Turning PUP on helps Avast to detect autoruns viruses and many other viruses on the system.

No u are wrong! u should just know that just by the avast alerts...when avast says malware blocked it cetainly doesnt mean its a PUP detection....when avast detects a PUP it will specifically show u as potentially unwanted program blocked alert.

I had my friend's USB stick when i just bought avast and i didnt know about the adjustment on settings but avast did the autorun virus detection immediately with defaults and i scanned the USB stick with avast with PUP off and it removed 723 threats from his stick i tried the scan with PUP on and no variation in results...Avast! saved from a whole lot of threats that day that my friends NOD32 couldnt do...its ony later i had my settings adjusted in my shields to scan for PUP.Morever,i have turned off autoplay on my system now u should try tweaking it.From that day,avast is one of my favourite AV and it is always protects me from any dangers online or offline.

I'm glad to know about your experience but you didn't read properly.
I said that most autorun viruses a PUP's. Did i say that ALL are PUP's? Clearly Not.........The point is that Avast doesn't detect PUP's on default settings hence if there is a PUP from the internet or flash drive or any other thing then you will be infected!!!!! So the settings was just to adjust Avast for better/extra protection.
Come on........Get Real........
Your friend's USB did not contain any PUP's hence turning on PUP and then scanning will come up clean.....Do you expect Avast to detect a PUP if its not there????
I was just sharing one of my many experiences and so you need too read carefully before you post "YOU ARE WRONG". I'm not wrong....it was just your error in failing to understand when i said that most and i repeat MOST autorun viruses are PUP's

You have not read properly..Please do so in the future

 

[malwarekiller]

I said that most autorun viruses a PUP's.

Autorun viruses are NOT PUP see:
http://home.mcafee.com/virusinfo/virusprofile.aspx?key=1098588

 

[AntivirusGeek]

I said that most autorun viruses a PUP's.

Autorun viruses are NOT PUP see:
http://home.mcafee.com/virusinfo/virusprofile.aspx?key=1098588

I'm sorry but you are totally misguided.. Please look at this
http://www.pc1news.com/search.html?q=autorun+pup&cx=010074089348532472766%3A7brudnzn_oy&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&sa.x=0&sa.y=0
That clearly proves that you have not done any research because that link contains more that 10 of some of the many autorun viruses that are PUP's

You cannot show me ONE autorun virus that is a worm and then want to tell me that autorun viruses are not PUP's....THAT IS INSANE!!!!!!

 

[bogdan]

It's mostly about semantics. The term PUP (Potentially unwanted program) was used because some companies complained about their useless toolbars being called malware so anti-malware authors had to use a nicer term. Another example of a PUP could be a software tool (like those from NirSoft) that could be used by an advanced user to manage his PC or could be bundled within a malicious program to harm someone else's PC. The bottom line is: if avast detects a PUP and I don't remember installing/using that particular file, it's better to get rid of it.

 

[AntivirusGeek]

It's mostly about semantics. The term PUP (Potentially unwanted program) was used because some companies complained about their useless toolbars being called malware so anti-malware authors had to use a nicer term. Another example of a PUP could be a software tool (like those from NirSoft) that could be used by an advanced user to manage his PC or could be bundled within a malicious program to harm someone else's PC. The bottom line is: if avast detects a PUP and I don't remember installing/using that particular file, it's better to get rid of it.

excellent and i'm glad you understand because avast with default settings doesn't detect PUP's hence the need to adjust the settings

 

[muddappa]

Don't forget to check 'remove compressed file if repair fails'. It is not checked by default