Scan frequency?

Some would consider me paranoid about computer security. As I run my business from home and my wife also does a great deal of on-line shopping, I feel the need to have my computers very secure.

Question: Is a daily in depth scan too much? Can it be harmful in any way to my system? Is it unecessary?

If so, how often would you suggest to scan all files for viruses and or to perform an in depth scan?

PS...I also do a daily scan with Spysweeper. Even though neither program generally finds anything. Seeing the clean scan log seems to give me peace of mind.

 

I've always scanned once a week which has been sufficient for me in many many years.
Daily scans can't really hurt your system, it just makes your harddrive work more during the week.

 

just wear and tear...

 

if u have your AMON and IMON set properly I think 2 scans/month are quite enough.

 

IMO. Needed scans will vary with PC useage. Surfing, downloads, even who`s address book you are in and how PC literate they are can affect your safety. My NOD32 is set to check for updates every 4 hrs. (every hour is default I believe). Then scan every night while the PC is not in use.

 

My recommendation has always been for the "Average" user, at a very minimum once a week, for those that go 4 Wheel Driving across the internet to chase every bad site that they can find, then once a day.

Cheers

 

The most paranoid setting available that has any real value is a full scan triggered by successful update of signatures / component. I do not use this myself.
And depending on what they want to do / want to achieve it may actually be an inteligent choice for some.

Cheers

 

Of course, he is running his buisness at home...
I'm just running 3 free webservers / 9 files, and still doing scans once a week, but if money and stuff like is involved you can never be too sure. If it was me, I would do a daily scan, but only when I was sleeping or not in the office or something.

 

Agreed, and for the 4 wheel drivers of this world, it would be a setting that I would use.

Cheers

 

For me...if I'm installing on an existing system...one in depth scan after install..then I leave it in the hands of IMON/AMON. That's for my home systems.

Now depending on the exposure of the computer...higher risk PCs for example..one sitting on a public IP in a data center, or frequent P2P warez users..perhaps some scheduled scans.

 

Only when suspicion arises.



snowbound

 

I'd say weekly scans at the most ... AMON/IMON should catch anything in the mean time ... My setup is for monthly scans.

 

I do on-deamnd scan only with any software whether it is AV( antivir) or anti-spysweeper( w defender). BTW, i do dafe surfing.

 

I don't use Nod, But if your resident scanner is worth it's salt then a weekly scan should be fine.this frequency has served me well in the past.

 

Mental note to self, talk to the Inspector, send several files marked you have won the Nigerian Lottery to Snowy, Dog and BigC

 

Did I really win

 

Of course you did, please PM me your bank account details, we are having trouble getting the money out of the country, the President is in exile and I am his cousin, I can assure you this is genuine, on my pet chickens life I swear (well I ate chicken tonight, sure hope that wasn't my favourite pet chicken)

 

Outstanding, banking details are on the way. I knew I had to get lucky sooner or later.

 

Quiet please.



snowbound

 

That's twice in one day I've been told

Well with that I'm going to bed

 

hmm....anyone wanting some chicken flu from Romania? Special discount only today. Don't heistate... I"m very generous today.

 

Daily scans for me.

 

Whats the point of real-time scanners if everyone is using on-demand almost hourly ? I make on-demand only after AV installation and in case my PC is acting weird. I leav eeverything else to RT scanner.

 

I sometimes made an on-demand scan of three in three weeks, just to see if catch sometimes, that I doubt that will find, and to see if it find some false-positive...

I only had a virus in 2000 with McAfee, because I installed an update file that was already infected from my University, and damaged a lot of exe's of my system.
The solution was the format...