Virus Scanning

What can I do when the product shows the virus definitions are old or out of date?

Updates are considered old after seven days. You should always try to keep your virus definition database up-to-date as viruses can change very quickly and our cyber security partner F-Secure may release several updates per day.

If this is the first time the computer has been turned on in the last seven days, for example after a holiday, the entire update package will be automatically downloaded and installed within 30 minutes.

If the product still indicates that the virus definitions are out of date, try the following:

For Windows:*

1. Right-click the Product icon in the system tray, and select Check for Updates.
2. Check that the Windows date and time are correct. Incorrect settings can cause the product to report that your virus definitions are out of date.
3. Download and run the F-Secure Automatic Update Agent reset tool.
4. Right-click the Product icon in the system tray again and select Check for Updates.
5. If the above actions do not help, we recommend that you uninstall the product then reinstall it again.

Note: Ensure that your product subscription or license is still valid.

*There is no F-Secure Automatic Update Agent reset tool for Mac

How do I exclude modified hosts files from scanning?

A modified hosts file may trigger a detection (Redirected hosts file), even if you have intentionally modified the hosts file entry manually or with a program. The scanning engine in our security products are not able to tell if entries in the hosts file were modified on purpose or by malicious software.

To exclude the hosts file from scanning in the future, you need to exclude the file from the detection prompt itself:

1. On the detection prompt, select I Want To Decide.
2. From the drop-down menu, select Exclude The Spyware From Scan.
3. Click OK.

The hosts file is then excluded from subsequent scanning and appears in the security product's Excluded Applications list.

How can I turn on Browsing Protection?

1. Open Internet Security program/application.
2. Select Settings then click Browsing Protection.
3. To turn on the feature, switch the slider to the right.
4. If your browser is open, restart the browser to apply the changes.

Viruses were found, but were not automatically removed. What can I do?

Internet Security automatically detects and stops malware on your computer to prevent it from harming your system or data. However, under some circumstances, our security software will not remove infected files. These files will not harm your device, but they might cause additional virus warnings whenever you or a system process is accessing that file.

Reasons for not deleting an infected file:

1. The file is an important system file and removing it would render your computer unusable. We prevent the malware embedded in those files from causing any harm to your system or your data, so you will be protected despite the frequent virus warnings you will get whenever the infected file is executed or otherwise accessed.
2. The file is inside an archive. In that case, we would have to delete the complete archive to remove it, including all clean files therein.
3. The file is a temporary file created by an application. Those files are usually locked by the application creating them, which means they cannot be opened or executed to do their damage, but also not deleted by Internet Security at that point. Those files are then either replaced with a permanent version or automatically discarded when the process is finished.

Your system is most likely clean and safe, but you can follow the steps below if you want to be absolutely sure.

1. Update the virus definitions manually. This will ensure the Internet Security product has the latest database updates installed.
2. Run a full computer scan. This will allow for a more thorough scan and is highly recommended if you suspect an infection.

How do I exclude a file or folder from scanning?

Sometimes you may want to exclude a file or folder from scanning. Excluded items are not scanned unless you remove them from the excluded items list.

To exclude a file or folder from scanning:

1. Open the main user interface and go to the Tools page.
2. Once on the Tools page, click App and File Control.
   Note: You need administrative rights to access these settings.
3. Select the Excluded tab. This view will show you a list of currently excluded locations and applications.
4. Click Add New.
5. Select the file or folder you want to exclude then click OK to exclude the selected files, drives, or folders from future scans.
6. Click Close.
   
   Note: Real-time and manual scanning use the same exclusions. If you want an excluded file or folder to be included in a real-time or manual scan, go to the Excluded tab and click Clear to clear the file or folder.

How do I schedule a scan?

Automatically scan and remove viruses and other harmful applications when you’re not using your computer, or run a scan periodically, to make sure your computer is clean. To schedule a scan, follow the instructions below.

1. Open the Internet Security program or app.
2. Select Settings then click Scheduled Scanning.
3. Click on the slider to turn on the Scheduled Scanning feature.
4. Select when you would like the scan to start.
   Daily - Scan your computer every day.
   Weekly - Scan your computer on selected days of the week. Select the days from the list.
   Monthly - Scan your computer on selected days of the month. Select one of the day options then select the day of the month from the list next to the selected day.
5. Select when you want to start the scan on the selected days.
   • Start the scan at the specified time.
   • Start the scan after you have not used your computer for the specified period of time.
6. Optimize Scheduled Scanning settings.
   1. For less interference with other activities on the computer, run the scan on low priority.
      Note: Running the scan on low priority takes longer to complete.
   2. For faster scanning, select only known file types that are most likely to be harmful, such as files that end in com, dot, doc, exe, htm , ini, jar, pdf, scr, wma, xml, or zip. If you want to scan all files, leave this Select Scan option unchecked.
   3. Scan files that are inside compressed archive files, such as .zip files, by checking the option. Leave the option unchecked to scan the archive file but not the files that are inside it.
      
      Note: Selecting to scan the files inside the archive file makes scanning slower.
7. Click OK.

Note: Scheduled scans are canceled when the gaming mode is on. When you turn the gaming mode off, they run according to the schedule again.

What do I do when Internet Security detects malware?

When Virus Protection is turned on, it automatically scans your computer for malware without asking you any questions. By default, the product immediately handles malware to prevent them from causing harm.

However, if you don’t want the product to handle malware automatically, you can choose to have real-time scanning ask you what you want to do to the malware when it is found. Follow the steps below to enable this option.

1. Open the product user interface by clicking the Product icon in the system tray.
2. On the Status page, click Settings.
   Note: You need administrative rights to change the settings.
3. On the left navigation panel, select Virus Protection.
4. Untick the Handle Harmful Files Automatically checkbox.
5. Click OK.

From now on, you can select the option you want based on the type of malware found. See the tables below for more details.