Avast Security and Avast Premium Security provide a range of scans to protect your Mac from malware and network threats. You can also create your own scans with parameters you specify. The following virus scans are available:

• Smart Scan: Quickly scans the most vulnerable areas of your Mac.
• Deep Scan: Performs an in-depth scan of your system, including checking your storage drives and memory for malware.
• Targeted Scan: Scans specific files or folders on your Mac.
• External Storage Scan: Scans any removable storage devices connected to your Mac.
• Custom Scans: You can set up scans with your own parameters, including scheduling your custom scans to run regularly and automatically.

This article explains how to run a scan, process the scan results, schedule a custom scan, and manage settings for all scans.

Run a scan

You can run any scan from the Scan Central screen. Follow the steps below to open Scan Central and run a scan:

1. Open Avast Security and click the Virus Scans tile.
2. To start your preferred scan:
   1. Smart Scan: Click Scan now, then click Next when prompted to progress to the next stage of the scan.
   2. Deep Scan: Click the Deep Scan tile.
   3. Targeted Scan: Click the Targeted Scan tile, then select the files or folders you want to scan, and click Open.
   4. External Storage Scan: Click the External Storage Scan tile, then select the removable drives you want to scan, and click Start.
   5. Custom Scans: Select the Scheduled scans tab, hover your cursor over the panel for the scan you want to run, then click the ► play button (Start scan now).
   
3. A progress screen appears while Avast Security performs the scan.
   The progress screen does not appear when you run a custom scan.
   
   Deep Scan may take several minutes or more to complete, depending on the number of files and the performance of your system.

When the scan completes, refer to the section below to learn how to process the scan results.

Process scan results

After you run a virus scan, details of any detected threats are displayed on the screen. To process your scan results, we recommend moving detected files to Quarantine:

1. Select from the following options:
   1. Move individual files to Quarantine: Hover your cursor over a listed threat, then click Resolve.
   2. Move multiple files to Quarantine: Tick the box next to each file you want to move, then click Resolve selected.
   3. Move all files to Quarantine: Tick the box next to Threat name, then click Resolve selected.
   4. Ignore detected threats: Click the back arrow, then select Ignore to return to the Scan Central screen.
   
2. After resolving the detected threats, or if no threats are found, click Done to return to Scan Central.

Schedule a scan

Custom Scans allow you to create and schedule your own scans to run regularly and automatically. To create a custom scan:

1. Select the Scheduled scans tab on the Scan Central screen.
2. Click Schedule a new scan.
3. Enter a Scan name, then use the drop-down menus to select Type of scan and Frequency. You can select from the following options:
   • Type of scan: Targeted Scan, Deep Scan, or Mac Scan.
   • Frequency: Once, daily, weekly, or monthly.
   Click the up or down arrows to change the Day and the Start time for your custom scan.
4. If you selected Targeted Scan, click Choose folder, then select the folder you want to scan, and click Open.
5. Review the Advanced settings list and tick or untick the box next to each setting to specify your preferred options:
   • Notify me about potentially unwanted programs: Scans for and notifies you about programs that are stealthily downloaded with other programs and typically perform unwanted activity.
   • Scan for Tools: Tools are apps that can be used for accessing, controlling, or potentially harming computers.
   • Test whole files: Scans entire files rather than only the parts typically affected by malicious code.
   • Scan external drives: Scans any external drives connected to your Mac at the time of the scan.
   • Scan mounted network volumes: Scans files that are shared via a network protocol.
   • Scan all Time Machine backups: Scans all backups saved in Time Machine. Time Machine is the built-in backup feature on your Mac.
     The external storage device used for your Time Machine backups needs to be connected to your Mac when the scheduled scan runs.
   • Scan archives: Analyzes all archive files, such as .zip, .rar, and other executable or installer archives. This significantly increases the scan duration.
   • Scan when on batteries: The scheduled scan runs even if your Mac is not plugged in.
   • Wake up your Mac for scan: The scheduled scan runs even if your Mac is in sleep mode. If necessary, Avast Security wakes up your Mac to run the scheduled scan.
6. If you want to exclude any files or folders from the scan, click Add exceptions, then select the relevant file or folder using the Finder window, and click Open.
7. Click Save.

Your custom scan is set up and appears on the Scheduled scans tab.

Manage scan settings

To access settings for predefined scans:

1. Click Preferences (the gear icon) on the Scan Central screen.
2. Select the relevant scan tab.
3. Tick or untick the box next to each setting to specify your preferred options:
   Some of the settings listed below are not available for every scan.
   • Scan for advanced issues: Checks if all Avast Security features are enabled.
   • Scan for performance issues: Checks for files that could be removed using Avast Cleanup Premium to free up disk space.
   • If no issues are found, continue to the next scan automatically: Moves you to the next stage of a Smart Scan automatically when no issues are detected, so you don't need to manually click Next.
   • Notify me about potentially unwanted programs: Scans for and notifies you about programs that are stealthily downloaded with other programs and typically perform unwanted activity.
   • Scan for Tools: Tools are apps that can be used for accessing, controlling, or potentially harming computers.
   • Test whole files: Scans entire files rather than only the parts typically affected by malicious code.
   • Scan all Time Machine backups: Scans all backups saved in Time Machine. Time Machine is the built-in backup feature on your Mac.
     The external storage device used for your Time Machine backups needs to be connected to your Mac when the scan runs.
   • Scan archives: Analyzes all archive files, such as .zip, .rar, and other executable or installer archives. This significantly increases the scan duration.
4. To exclude a file or folder from a scan, click Add exceptions, then select the relevant file or folder using the Finder window, and click Open.

Your scan settings are now updated.

Updated on: 02/06/2022