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-
- ░ QUICK PREVIEW ░ - Scanning
-
-
- The 'Scan.doc', option (2) in this pop
- up, contains much more in the way of
- collateral information about scanning.
-
- The 'Advanced Reader's.doc', option (R) in the
- first 'HELP' menu, details the inner workings of
- the heuristic scanning methods for those of you
- who may be more technically curious.
-
- Finally, the Technical.doc, also in the first HELP
- menu, details the different heuristic scanning methods
- and heuristic flags which may occur while a scan is
- running.
-
- You will see almost immediately that Virus ALERT has
- almost unprecedented scanning speed. This is because
- the scanner uses its OWN more efficient method for
- accessing files whenever possible, instead of DOS.
-
-
-
- You will see the word 'OWN' in the scanner information panel
- at the left of the scan running screen if Virus ALERT is able
- to use this method in your computer. If not, you will see the
- word 'DOS' instead, meaning that the regular Dos method is in
- use.
-
- Virus ALERT will run slightly slower if you have
- shelled out to Dos to run a scan, say from a word
- processor or developer's program.
-
-
- ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
-
- Otherwise, regarding the ALERT scanning menu, the
- purpose of the scanning menu is to let anyone run
- full powerful virus detecting scans without having
- to know anything about the technology.
-
- You simply select the drive you want to scan in
- the menu, and Virus ALERT will run the scan with
- every possible ALERT power feature already set
- for the choice.
-
-
- All scan runs are preset for the maximum possible
- detection sensitivity for the drive you select.
- Similarly, the drive selections in the menu are
- set for the most probable likely use.
-
- For example, option (2) in the menu does your
- computer's ram, the hard drive(s) boot sector,
- and all subdirectories.
-
- The scanner is set to check all files, but Virus
- ALERT qualifies every file first, and any file which
- it encounters that the scanner knows cannot harbour
- a virus by its nature, it will not bother to scan.
-
- Hence it may sometimes seem that Virus ALERT has
- scanned fewer files than are in the path which is
- being scanned. Not to worry, Virus ALERT scans
- everything worth scanning.
-
- The term 'Root Path', option (1) in the scanning
- menu, refers to the portion of your hard drive which
- is not a subdirectory or partition of some sort.
-
-
- Since the root path contains much of the basic
- stuff used every day, it is the first area of the
- hard drive data to be exposed to an infiltrating
- file virus. So you should check the root path often.
-
- Here's a tip: one of the main jobs of Virus ALERT's
- 'VaGuard' fulltime protection feature is automatically
- to scan the root path every time you boot up. So if you
- have not already installed VaGuard, make sure you check
- it out in the 'Utilities and Other Options' menu, option
- (O) in the main ALERT menu.
-
-
-
- THINGS TO NOTE
- ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
-
-
- ░ A prompt comes up which says 'No Executables, or files, Found' ░░░
-
- Most of Virus ALERT's scanning menus are preset
- to scan ALL DRIVES in both selections (1) and (2).
-
-
- This means that if you have more than one hard drive, or have
- partitions in one or more of the hard drives, Virus ALERT will
- automatically find the booting hard drive, scan it first, then
- any partitions, and then the whole of any other drive(s).
-
- In option (1) only the root path(s) get scanned. In option (2)
- everything gets scanned. If one of the drives or partitions has
- no executable files, a prompt will say so.
-
- If it was the last drive in the sequence, the scan will end on
- the prompt, and it may therefore look as if Virus ALERT didn't
- do anything.
-
- If so, just look to see what the final drive designation was.
- Usually it will be sitting at a drive or partition with no files
- or executables.
-
- ░ Scanner 'Flags' ░░░
-
- One or more small characters may appear at right of each file as
- it is scanned. These are 'flags' put up by the Heuristic scanner,
- identifying various file characteristics noted by the scanner.
-
-
- If the scanner finds a known virus, the flags beside a file
- turn red. If the flags turn red but the virus prompt does not
- come up, then this implies a suspicious file which might contain
- an unknown virus. One suspicious file in a hard drive is likely
- not to much to worry about. A number of files with red flags is
- very likely a virus.
-
- An explanation of these different flags is also given under the
- title `Interpretation of Scanner Codes' in the 'TECHNICAL DOC',
- option (T) in the Help menu.
-
-
-
- ░ SCREEN REPORT ░░░
-
-
- After every scan, the screen report is written
- to the C: drive as a text file named 'ALERT.LOG'.
-
-
- The file is overwritten every new scan,
- so it can't grow like a wild cabbage.
-
-
- If you want to scan a drive which is not shown in the menu,
- or your C: drive has a 'no write' feature or some other
- complication so it will not accept the screen report, use
- option (3) in the menu.
-
- Similarly, option (3) can be used for doing impromptu
- checks of specific paths, file groups, or extensions. A much
- more specific method for doing such user definable scans is
- offered in the 'Utility Menu', option (U) in the 'Utilities
- and Other Options' menu in the Main menu.
-
- For more about using option (3), and the screen report, see
- 'Screen Report' in the SCAN.DOC, option (2) in this pop up.
-
- ░ IF A VIRUS IS DETECTED ░░░
-
- If the scanner detects a virus, a prompt offering a number of
- options will jump unmistakably to screen. You can't miss it.
-
- Usually, just choose the option '(C)ontinue scan' to finish
- the scan. The discovered virus will be listed in the top
- half of the scanning screen.
-
-
- If you want to scan uninterrupted by the prompt, choose
- (N)on stop continue instead. Any further viruses will be
- listed in the top half of the screen, and the total number
- detected will be listed at the bottom right.
-
- To remove the virus, you have choices. Use the 'CLEAN'
- option in the main ALERT menu. But don't forget to note
- whether the virus was a boot sector virus, or in a file.
- The cleaner requires that you make the distinction.
-
- If the virus was a file infecting virus, you can also choose
- to use (K)ill in the virus found prompt, which will overwrite
- the infected file with 000s, then delete it.
-
- Or you can choose (D)elete which will just delete the infected
- file using the normal Dos delete command. But there is still a
- trace risk in that the infected file will still be intact on the
- disk until the space on the disk written over by another file.
-
- So it's better to use (K)ill, unless you want to keep the
- file around (just off the air) to look at it later when
- you know the circumstances are safe.
-
-
- Sometimes, if you also have ONGUARD on board and you
- scan a disk in the A: drive which has a boot sector
- virus, both Vascan and ONGUARD will get excited, and
- as you try to press keys to quit, first the prompt
- from one comes up, then the other.
-
- Or another antivirus's TSR may be on board, likewise
- causing interference. If so, the best thing to do is
- to reboot from a write protected floppy disk in the
- A: drive and run ALERT from the A: drive free from
- any antivirus TSR influences.
-
- If you do not want to do that, then press the Enter
- key a few times; when the scanner prompt comes back up,
- press (C)ontinue, and then the enter key a few more times
- to clear ONGUARD (or other TSR) out of the way.
-
-
- FINISHED press ESC to exit
-
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