Bottom LineĪvast’s Boot-time scan can be a useful addition to a user’s malware cleanup toolkit but moves into dangerous waters whenever system files are involved. More experienced users can utilize these logfiles to analyze scan results after selecting “No Action” from Avast’s action parameters menu. Highlight the red entry you want to investigate further and click on that button to open up a… um… well… detailed report. Scans which have identified malware will be displayed in red, clicking on any of those red entries will activate the Detailed Report button. A clean scan will just appear here as a summary.

These event logs and logfiles can be accessed easily via the Avast interface.įrom within the Scan options window, click on the Scan history link at the bottom:Ī new window will open which lists each Boot-time scan that has been completed. Use with care and make sure not to select those ‘action’ options which lead to repair, fix, or deletion of files.Įach time you run Avast’s Boot-time scan the program will log the event internally and, if a scan identifies malware, a log file is created and saved in Avast’s Program Data folder. The Avast Boot-time scan is a powerful tool, do not overuse it, only utilize it at those times if/when you have good reason to suspect your machine may be infected. *If the scan stops and waits for an action to perform, do not use the “ Yes” or “ Yes all” options for system files – always press number 3 on the keyboard to skip moving the file. You start the scan and toddle off to bed only to wake the next morning to find it stalled while waiting on user input. While this is certainly a prudent precaution it can also be a pain in the butt. The scan will not start back up again until that answer has been forthcoming.

Avast Boot-time Scan: Important notes! System files and ActionsĪvast’s Boot-time scan does generally take a long time to complete, often around 2 to 4 hours, depending on numbers of files – and here’s the rub – if a system file is flagged as a threat, even though the action parameter has been preset, the scan will pause and ask the user to confirm an action.

Boot scan with avast