AVIRA Free Antivirus User Guide

Avira Free Antivirus

User Manual

Introduction

Trademarks and Copyright

Trademarks

Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Protected trademarks are not marked as such in this manual. This does not mean, however, that they may be used freely.

Copyright information

Code provided by third party providers was used for Avira Free Antivirus. We thank the copyright owners for making the code available
to us.
For detailed information on copyright, please refer to "Third Party Licenses" in the Program Help of Avira Free Antivirus.

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Introduction

Table of Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Icons and emphases ....................................................................................................... 6

2. Product information ....................................................................................... 8

2.1 Delivery scope ................................................................................................................. 8

2.2 System requirements ....................................................................................................... 9

2.3 Licensing and Upgrade .................................................................................................. 10

3. Installation and uninstallation ..................................................................... 12

3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 12

3.1.1 Installation types ............................................................................................................. 12

3.2 Pre-Setup ...................................................................................................................... 12

3.3 Express installation ........................................................................................................ 14

3.4 Custom Installation ........................................................................................................ 16

3.5 Configuration Wizard ..................................................................................................... 17

3.6 Change installation ........................................................................................................ 18

3.7 Installation modules ....................................................................................................... 19

3.8 Uninstallation ................................................................................................................. 20

4. Overview of Avira Free Antivirus ................................................................ 21

4.1 User interface and operation ......................................................................................... 21

4.1.1 Control Center ................................................................................................................. 21

4.1.2 Starting and closing of Control Center ............................................................................. 22

4.1.3 Operate Control Center ................................................................................................... 23

4.1.4 Control Center overview ................................................................................................ .. 23

4.1.5 Configuration ................................................................................................................... 24

4.1.6 Accessing the Configuration ............................................................................................ 25

4.1.7 Configuration operation ................................................................................................... 26

4.1.8 Tray icon ......................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.9 Entries in the context menu ............................................................................................. 28

4.2 Toolbar ........................................................................................................................... 28

4.2.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 28

4.2.2 Use ................................................................................................................................. 29

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Introduction

4.2.3 Options ............................................................................................................................ 31

4.2.4 Uninstallation ................................................................................................................... 35

4.2.5 Uninstallation as add-on ................................................................ .................................. 35

4.3 How to...? ...................................................................................................................... 36

4.3.1 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 36

4.3.2 Perform automatic updates ............................................................................................. 36

4.3.3 Start a manual update ..................................................................................................... 38

4.3.4 Using a scan profiles to scan for viruses and malware .................................................... 38

4.3.5 Scan for viruses and malware using drag & drop ............................................................ 39

4.3.6 Scan for viruses and malware via the context menu ................................ ........................ 40

4.3.7 Automatically scan for viruses and malware .................................................................... 40

4.3.8 Targeted scan for Rootkits and active malware ............................................................... 41

4.3.9 React to detected viruses and malware ........................................................................... 42

4.3.10 Handling quarantined files (*.qua) ................................................................................... 45

4.3.11 Restore the files in quarantine ......................................................................................... 46

4.3.12 Move suspicious files to quarantine ................................................................................. 48

4.3.13 Scan profile: Amend or delete file type in a scan profile .................................................. 48

4.3.14 Create desktop shortcut for scan profile .......................................................................... 49

4.3.15 Filter events..................................................................................................................... 49

5. System Scanner ........................................................................................... 51

6. Updates ................................................................................................ ......... 52

7. FAQ, Tips ...................................................................................................... 54

7.1 Help in case of a problem .............................................................................................. 54

7.2 Shortcuts ....................................................................................................................... 56

7.2.1 In dialog boxes ................................................................................................................ 57

7.2.2 In the help ....................................................................................................................... 58

7.2.3 In the Control Center ....................................................................................................... 58

7.3 Windows Security Center .............................................................................................. 61

7.3.1 General ........................................................................................................................... 61

7.3.2 The Windows Security Center and your Avira product ..................................................... 61

7.4 Windows Action Center.................................................................................................. 64

7.4.1 General ........................................................................................................................... 64

7.4.2 The Windows Action Center and your Avira product ........................................................ 64

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Introduction

8. Viruses and more ......................................................................................... 68

8.1 Threat categories ........................................................................................................... 68

8.2 Viruses and other malware ............................................................................................ 71

9. Info and Service ........................................................................................... 75

9.1 Contact address ............................................................................................................ 75

9.2 Technical support ........................................................................................................... 75

9.3 Suspicious file ................................................................................................................ 75

9.4 Reporting false positives................................................................................................ 76

10. Reference: Configuration options .............................................................. 77

10.1 System Scanner ............................................................................................................ 77

10.1.1 Scan ................................................................................................................................ 77

10.1.2 Report ............................................................................................................................. 86

10.2 Realtime Protection ....................................................................................................... 87

10.2.1 Scan ................................................................................................................................ 87

10.2.2 Report ............................................................................................................................. 93

10.3 Update ........................................................................................................................... 94

10.3.1 Product update ................................................................................................................ 94

10.3.2 Restart settings ............................................................................................................... 96

10.3.3 Web server ...................................................................................................................... 97

10.4 Web Protection .............................................................................................................. 99

10.4.1 Scan ................................................................................................................................ 99

10.4.2 Report ........................................................................................................................... 106

10.5 General ........................................................................................................................ 107

10.5.1 Threat categories .......................................................................................................... 109

10.5.2 Security ......................................................................................................................... 109

10.5.3 WMI .............................................................................................................................. 111

10.5.4 Events ........................................................................................................................... 112

10.5.5 Reports ......................................................................................................................... 112

10.5.6 Directories ..................................................................................................................... 113

10.5.7 Acoustic alerts ............................................................................................................... 113

10.5.8 Alerts ............................................................................................................................. 114

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Introduction

Icon /

designation

Explanation

Placed before a condition which must be fulfilled prior to
execution of an action.

Placed before an action step that you perform.

Placed before an event that follows the previous action.

Warning

Placed before a warning when critical data loss might occur.

1. Introduction

Your Avira product protects your computer against viruses, worms, Trojans, adware and
spyware and other risks. In this manual these are referred to as viruses or malware
(harmful software) and unwanted programs.

The manual describes the program installation and operation.
For further options and information, please visit our website:

http://www.avira.com/free-av

The Avira website lets you:

 access information on other Avira desktop programs
 download the latest Avira desktop programs
 download the latest product manuals in PDF format
 download free support and repair tools
 access our comprehensive knowledge database and FAQs for troubleshooting
 access country-specific support addresses.

Your Avira Team

1.1 Icons and emphases

The following icons are used:

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Introduction

Note

Placed before a link to particularly important information or a tip
which makes your Avira product easier to use.

Emphasis

Explanation

Italics

File name or path data.

Displayed software interface elements (e.g. window section or
error message).

Bold

Clickable software interface elements (e.g. menu item,
navigation area, option box or button).

The following emphases are used:

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Product information

2. Product information

This chapter contains all information relevant to the purchase and use of your Avira
product:

 see Chapter: Delivery scope
 see Chapter: System requirements
 see Chapter: Licensing and Upgrade

Avira products are comprehensive and flexible tools you can rely on to protect your
computer from viruses, malware, unwanted programs and other dangers.

Please note the following information:

Note

Loss of valuable data usually has dramatic consequences. Even the best virus
protection program cannot provide one hundred percent protection from data
loss. Make regular copies (Backups) of your data for security purposes.

Note

A program can only provide reliable and effective protection from viruses,
malware, unwanted programs and other dangers if it is up-to-date. Make sure
your Avira product is up-to-date with automatic updates. Configure the program
accordingly.

2.1 Delivery scope

Your Avira product has the following functions:

 Control Center for monitoring, managing and controlling the entire program
 Central configuration with user-friendly standard and advanced options and context-

sensitive help

 System Scanner (on-demand scan) with profile-controlled and configurable scan for all

known types of virus and malware

 Integration into the Windows Vista User Account Control allows you to carry out tasks

requiring administrator rights.

 Realtime Protection (on-access scan) for continuous monitoring of all file access

attempts

 Avira SearchFree, a search toolbar integrated in the web browser providing quick and

convenient search options. It also includes widgets of the most common Internet
functions.

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Product information

 Web Protection (for Avira Free Antivirus users, only in combination with the Avira

SearchFree Toolbar) for monitoring data and files transferred from the Internet using the
HTTP protocol (monitoring of ports 80, 8080, 3128)

 Integrated quarantine management to isolate and process suspicious files
 Rootkits protection for detecting hidden malware installed in your computer system

(rootkits)
(Not available under Windows XP 64 bit)

 Direct access to detailed information on the detected viruses and malware via the

Internet

 Simple and quick updates to the program, virus definitions, and search engine through

Single File Update and incremental VDF updates via a web server on the Internet

 Integrated Scheduler for planning one-off or recurring jobs such as updates or scans
 Extremely high virus and malware detection via innovative scanning technology (scan

engine) including heuristic scanning method

 Detection of all conventional archive types including detection of nested archives and

smart extension detection

 High-performance multithreading function (simultaneous high-speed scanning of

multiple files)

2.2 System requirements

The system requirements are as follows:

 Computer Pentium or later, at least 1 GHz
 Operating system

 Windows XP, newest SP (32 or 64 bit) or
 Windows Vista, newest SP (32 or 64 bit) or
 Windows 7, newest SP (32 or 64 bit)

 At least 150 MB of free hard disk memory space (more if using quarantine for temporary

storage)

 At least 512 MB RAM under Windows XP
 At least 1024 MB RAM under Windows Vista, Windows 7
 For the program installation: Administrator rights
 For all installations: Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
 Internet connection where appropriate (see Installation)

Avira SearchFree Toolbar

 Operating system

 Windows XP, newest SP (32 or 64 bit) or

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Product information

 Windows Vista, newest SP (32 or 64 bit)
 Windows 7, newest SP (32 or 64 bit)

 Web browser

 Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, or
 Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher
 Google Chrome 18.0 or higher

Note

If necessary, please uninstall any previously installed search toolbars before
you install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar. Otherwise you will not be able to
install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar.

Information for Windows Vista users

On Windows XP, many users work with administrator rights. However, this is not desirable
from the point of view of security because it is then easy for viruses and unwanted
programs to infiltrate computers.

For this reason, Microsoft is introducing the "User Account Control" with Windows Vista.
This offers more protection for users who are logged in as administrators: thus in Windows
Vista, one administrator only has the privileges of a normal user at first. Actions for which
administrator rights are required are clearly marked in Windows Vista with an information
icon. In addition, the user must explicitly confirm the required action. Privileges are only
increased and the administrative task performed by the operating system after this
permission has been obtained.

The Avira product requires administrator rights for some actions in Windows Vista. These
actions are marked with the following symbol: . If this symbol also appears on a button,
administrator rights are required to carry out this action. If your current user account does
not have administrator rights, the Windows Vista dialog of the User Account Control asks
you to enter the administrator password. If you do not have an administrator password,
you cannot carry out this action.

2.3 Licensing and Upgrade

In order to be able to use your Avira product, you require a license. You thereby accept the
license terms.

The license is issued via a digital license code in the form of the file hbedv.key. This digital
license code is the key to your personal license. It contains exact details of which
programs are licensed to you and for what period of time. A digital license code can
therefore also contain the license for more than one product.

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Product information

If you purchased your Avira product on the Internet, or via a program CD/DVD, the digital
license code is sent to you by email.

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Installation and uninstallation

3. Installation and uninstallation

3.1 Overview

This chapter contains information relating to the installation and uninstallation of your Avira
product.

 see Chapter: Pre-Setup: Requirements, preparing the computer for installation
 see Chapter: Express installation: Standard installation according to default settings
 see Chapter: Custom installation: Configurable installation
 see Chapter: Configuration Wizard
 see Chapter: Change installation
 see Chapter: Installation modules
 see Chapter: Uninstallation: Uninstall

3.1.1 Installation types

During installation you can select a setup type in the installation wizard:

Express

 The program files are installed into a specified default folder under C:\Program Files.
 Your Avira product is installed with default settings. You have the option of defining

custom settings using the configuration wizard.

Custom

 You can choose to install individual program components (see Chapter Installation and

uninstallation > Installation modules).

 A target folder can be selected for the program files to be installed.
 You can disable Create a desktop icon and program group in the Start menu.
 Using the configuration wizard, you can define custom settings for your Avira product

and initiate a short system scan that is performed automatically after installation.

3.2 Pre-Setup

Note

Before installation, check whether your computer fulfils all the minimum system

requirements. If your computer satisfies all requirements, you can install the

Avira product.

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Installation and uninstallation

Note

When installing on a server operating system, the Realtime Protection and the
files protection are not available.

Pre-Setup

Close your email program. It is also recommended to end all running applications.
Make sure that no other virus protection solutions are installed. The automatic

protection functions of various security solutions may interfere with each other.

The Avira product will search for possible incompatible software on your

computer.

If potentially incompatible software is detected Avira generates a list of these

programs.

It is recommended to remove these software programs in order not to endanger

the stability of your computer.

Select the check box for those programs that should be removed automatically from

your computer and click Next.

You have to confirm manually the uninstallation of some programs. Select the

programs and click Next.

The uninstallation of one or more of the selected programs requires a restart of

your computer. After reboot the installation will continue.

Warning

Your computer will not be protected until the installation of the Avira product is
finished.

Install

The installation program runs in self-explanatory dialog mode. Every window contains a
certain selection of buttons to control the installation process.

The most important buttons are assigned the following functions:

 OK: Confirm action.
 Abort: Abort action.
 Next: Go to next step.
 Back: Go to previous step.

Establish an internet connection: The Internet connection is necessary for performing

the following installation steps:

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Installation and uninstallation

 Downloading the current program file and scan engine as well as the latest virus

definition files via the installation program (for internet-based installation)

 Where appropriate, carrying out an update after completed installation

Save the license file hbedv.key on your computer system if you want to activate your

Avira product.

Note

Internet-based installation:

For the Internet-based installation of the program, an installation program is
provided that loads the current program file prior to installation by the Avira
web servers. This process ensures that your Avira product is installed with
the latest virus definition file.

Installation with an installation package:
The installation package contains both the installation program and all
necessary program files. No language selection for your Avira product is
available for installation with an installation package. We recommend that
you carry out an update of the virus definition file after installation.

3.3 Express installation

Installing your Avira product:
Start the installation program by double-clicking the installation file you have downloaded

from the Internet or insert the program CD.

Internet-based installation

The Welcome screen appears.

Click Next to continue with the installation.

The dialog Language selection appears.

Select the language you want to use to install your Avira product and confirm your

language selection by clicking Next.

The dialog box Download appears. All files necessary for installation are

downloaded from the Avira web servers. The Download window closes after
conclusion of the download.

Installation with an installation package

The window Preparing installation appears.
The installation file is extracted. The installation routine is started.
The dialog box Select installation type appears.

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Installation and uninstallation

Note

By default Express installation is preset. All standard components will be
installed which you may not configure. If you like to execute a customized
installation, please refer to the chapter: Installation > Custom installation.

Confirm that you accept the End User License Agreement and the Private Use

Agreement. For reading the detailed text of the End User License Agreement, click
the EULA link.

Click Next.

The dialog box Join the millions of Avira users who already use Avira

SearchFree appears.

If you do not want to install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar, please unmark the

checkbox with the Avira SearchFree Toolbar End User License Agreement and the
one that defines Avira SearchFree (avira.ask.com) as your browser homepage.

Note

If necessary, please uninstall any previously installed search toolbars before
you install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar. Otherwise you will not be able to
install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar.

Click Next.

The installation progress is displayed by a green bar.

Click Finish to end setup process and close the License Wizard.

The Avira Tray Icon is placed in the taskbar.
In order to ensure effective protection for your computer, the module Updater will

search for possible updates.

The Luke Filewalker window opens and a short system scan is performed. The

status of the check as well as the results are displayed.

If after the scan you are asked to restart your computer, click Yes to ensure that your

system is fully protected.

After a successful installation, we recommend that you check the program is up-to-date in
the Status field of the Control Center.

If your Avira product shows that your computer is not secure, click Fix problem.

The dialog Restore protection opens.
Activate the preset options in order to maximize the security of your system.
If appropriate, perform a complete system scan afterwards.

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Installation and uninstallation

3.4 Custom Installation

Installing your Avira product:

Start the installation program by double-clicking the installation file you have downloaded
from the Internet or insert the program CD.

Internet-based installation

The Welcome screen appears.
Click Next to continue with the installation.

The dialog Language selection appears.
Select the language you want to use to install your Avira product and confirm your

language selection by clicking Next.

The dialog box Download appears. All files necessary for installation are

downloaded from the Avira web servers. The Download window closes after
conclusion of the download.

Installation with an installation package

The window Preparing installation appears.

The installation file is extracted. The installation routine is started.

The dialog box Select installation type appears.

Note

By default Express installation is preset. All standard components will be
installed which you may not configure. If you like to execute an Express
installation, please refer to the chapter: Installation > Express installation.

Choose Custom to install individual program components.
Confirm that you accept the End User License Agreement and the Private Use

Agreement. For reading the detailed text of the End User License Agreement, click
the EULA link.

Click Next.

The dialog box Join the millions of Avira users who already use Avira

SearchFree appears.

If you do not want to install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar, please unmark the

checkbox with the Avira SearchFree Toolbar End User License Agreement and the
one that defines Avira SearchFree (avira.ask.com) as your browser homepage.

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Installation and uninstallation

Note

If necessary, please uninstall any previously installed search toolbars before
you install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar. Otherwise you will not be able to
install the Avira SearchFree Toolbar.

Click Next.

The Choose Destination Folder window opens.

The default folder will be C:\Program Files\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\
Click Next to continue.

-OR­ Use the Browse button to select a different destination folder and confirm by clicking

Next.

The Install components dialog appears:
Select or deselect components from the list and confirm with Next to proceed.

In the following dialog box you can decide whether to create a desktop shortcut

and/or a program group in the Start menu.
Click Next.
Click Finish to end setup process.

The Installation Wizard is closed and the Configuration Wizard will open.

3.5 Configuration Wizard

At the end of a user-defined installation, the configuration wizard is opened. The
configuration wizard enables you to define custom settings for your Avira product.

Click Next in the welcome window of the configuration wizard to begin configuration

of the program.

The Configure AHeAD dialog box enables you to select a detection level for the

AHeAD technology. The detection level selected is used for the System Scanner

(On-demand scan) and Realtime Protection (On-access scan) AHeAD

technology settings.
Select a detection level and continue the installation by clicking Next.

In the following dialog box Select extended threat categories, you can adapt

the protective functions of your Avira product to the threat categories specified.
Where appropriate, activate further threat categories and continue the installation by

clicking Next.

If you have selected the Avira Realtime Protection installation module, the

Realtime Protection start mode dialog box appears. You can stipulate the

Realtime Protection start time. At each computer reboot, the Realtime Protection

will be started in the start mode specified.

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Installation and uninstallation

Note

The specified Realtime Protection start mode is saved in the registry and cannot
be changed via the Configuration.

Note

When the default start mode for Realtime Protection (Normal start) has been
chosen and the logon process upon startup is carried out fast, programs
configured to start automatically upon startup might not be scanned because
they might be up and running before the Realtime Protection has been started
completely.

Enable the required option and continue the configuration by clicking Next.

In the following System scan dialog box, a short system scan can be enabled or

disabled. The short system scan is performed after the configuration has been

completed and before the computer is rebooted, and scans running programs

and the most important system files for viruses and malware.
Enable or disable the Short system scan option and continue the configuration by

clicking Next.

In the following dialog box, you can complete the configuration by clicking Finish
The specified and selected settings are accepted.
If you have enabled the Short system scan option, the Luke Filewalker window

opens. The Scanner performs a short system scan.
If after the scan you are asked to restart your computer, click Yes to ensure that your

system is fully protected.

After a successful installation, we recommend that you check whether the program is up­to-date in the Status field of the Control Center.

If your Avira product shows that your computer is not secure, click Fix problem.

The dialog Restore protection opens.
Activate the preset options in order to maximize the security of your system.
If appropriate, perform a complete system scan afterwards.

3.6 Change installation

You have the option of adding or removing individual program components of the current
Avira product installation (see Chapter Installation and uninstallation > Installation

modules).

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Installation and uninstallation

If you wish to add or remove modules of the current installation, you can use the option
Add or Remove Programs in the Windows control panel to Change/Remove
programs.

Select your Avira product and click Change. In the Welcome dialog of the program, select
the option Modify. You will be guided through the installation changes.

Note

If you uninstall the Avira SearchFree Toolbar, Web Protection is also
uninstalled.

3.7 Installation modules

In a user-defined installation or a change installation, the following installation modules can
be selected, added or removed.

 Avira Free Antivirus

This module contains all components required for successful installation of your Avira
product.

 Avira Realtime Protection

The Avira Realtime Protection runs in the background. It monitors and repairs, if
possible, files during operations such as open, write and copy in on-access mode.
Whenever a user carries out a file operation (e.g. load document, execute, copy), the
Avira product automatically scans the file. Renaming a file does not trigger a scan by
Avira Realtime Protection.

 Avira Web Protection (for Avira Free Antivirus users, only in combination with the

Avira SearchFree Toolbar)
When surfing the Internet, you are using your web browser to request data from a web
server. The data transferred from the web server (HTML files, script and image files,
Flash files, video and music streams, etc.) will normally be moved directly into the
browser cache for display in the web browser, meaning that an on-access scan as
performed by Avira Realtime Protection is not possible. This could allow viruses and
unwanted programs to access your computer system. Web Protection is what is known
as an HTTP proxy which monitors the ports used for data transfer (80, 8080, 3128) and
scans the transferred data for viruses and unwanted programs. Depending on the
configuration, the program may process the affected files automatically or prompt the
user for a specific action.

 Avira Rootkits Protection

Avira Rootkits Protection checks whether software is already installed on your computer

that can no longer be detected with conventional methods of malware protection after
penetrating the computer system.

 Shell Extension

The Shell Extension generates an entry Scan selected files with Avira in the context
menu of the Windows Explorer (right-hand mouse button). With this entry you can
directly scan files or directories.

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Installation and uninstallation

3.8 Uninstallation

If you wish to remove the Avira product from your computer, you can use the option Add
or Remove Programs to Change/Remove programs in the Windows Control Panel.

To uninstall your Avira product (e.g. in Windows XP and Windows Vista):

Open the Control Panel via the Windows Start menu.
Double click on Programs (Windows XP: Software).
Select your Avira product in the list and click Remove.

You will be asked if you really want to remove the program.
Click Yes to confirm.

All components of the program are removed.
Click Finish to complete uninstallation.

Where appropriate, a dialog box appears recommending that your computer be

restarted.

Click Yes to confirm.

The Avira product is now uninstalled and all directories, files and registry entries

for the program are deleted when your computer is restarted.

Note

The Avira SearchFree Toolbar is not included in the uninstallation program and
must be uninstalled separately by following the steps detailed above. To do this
in Firefox the Avira SearchFree Toolbar must be enabled via the Add-On
Manager. After uninstallation the search toolbar is no longer integrated in your
web browser.

Note

If you uninstall the Avira SearchFree Toolbar, Web Protection is also
uninstalled.

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Overview of Avira Free Antivirus

4. Overview of Avira Free Antivirus

This chapter contains an overview of the functionality and operation of your Avira product.

 see Chapter Interface and operation
 see Chapter Avira SearchFree
 see Chapter How to...?

4.1 User interface and operation

You operate your Avira product via three program interface elements:

 Control Center: monitoring and controlling the Avira product
 Configuration: Configuring the Avira product
 Tray Icon in the system tray of the taskbar: Opening the Control Center and other

functions

4.1.1 Control Center

The Control Center is designed to monitor the protection status of your computer systems
and control and operate the protection components and functions of your Avira product.

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Overview of Avira Free Antivirus

The Control Center window is divided into three areas: The Menu bar, the Navigation bar
and the detail window Status:

 Menu bar: In the Control Center menu bar, you can access general program functions

and information on the program.

 Navigation area: In the navigation area, you can easily swap between the individual

sections of the Control Center. The individual sections contain information and functions
of the program components and are arranged in the navigation bar according to activity.
Example: Activity Local Protection - Section Realtime Protection.

 Status: This window shows the section selected in the navigation area. Depending on

the section, you will find buttons to execute functions and actions in the upper bar of the
detail window. Data or data objects are displayed in lists in the individual sections. You
can sort the lists by clicking in the box defining how you wish to sort the list.

4.1.2 Starting and closing of Control Center

To start the Control Center the following options are available:

 Double-click the program icon on your desktop
 Via the program entry in the Start > Programs menu.
 Via the Tray Icon of your Avira product.

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Overview of Avira Free Antivirus

Close the Control Center via the menu command Close in the menu File or by clicking on
the close tab in the Control Center.

4.1.3 Operate Control Center

To navigate in the Control Center

Select an activity in the navigation bar.

The activity opens and other sections appear. The first section of the activity is

selected and displayed in the view.

If necessary, click another section to display this in the detail window.

Note

You can activate the keyboard navigation in the menu bar with the help of the
[Alt] key. If navigation is activated, you can move within the menu with the
arrow keys. With the Return key you activate the active menu item.
To open or close menus in the Control Center, or to navigate within the menus,
you can also use the following key combinations: [Alt] + underlined letter in the
menu or menu command. Hold down the [Alt] key if you want to access a
menu, a menu command or a submenu.

To process data or objects displayed in the detail window:

Highlight the data or object you wish to edit.

To highlight multiple elements (elements in columns), hold down the control key or

the shift key while selecting the elements.

Click the appropriate button in the upper bar of the detail window to edit the object.

4.1.4 Control Center overview

 Status: In Status screen you will find all sections with which you can monitor the

functioning of your Avira product.

The Status section lets you see at a glance which program modules are active and

provides information on the last update performed. You can also see whether you
own a valid license.

 Local protection: In Local protection you will find the components for checking the

files on your computer system for viruses and malware.

The Scan section enables you to easily configure and start an on-demand scan.

Predefined profiles enable you to run a scan with already adapted standard options.
In the same way it is possible to adapt the scan for viruses and unwanted programs
to your personal requirements with the help of manual selection (not saved) .

The Realtime Protection section displays information on scanned files, as well as

other statistical data, which can be reset at any time, and enables access to the

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report file. More detailed information on the last virus or unwanted program detected
can be obtained practically "at the push of a button".

 Online protection: In Online protection you will find the components to protect your

computer system against viruses and malware from the Internet, and against
unauthorized network access.

The Web Protection section displays information on scanned URLs and detected

viruses, as well as other statistical data, which can be reset at any time and enables
access to the report file. More detailed information on the last virus or unwanted
program detected can be obtained practically "at the push of a button".

 Management: In Management you will find tools for isolating and managing suspicious

or infected files, and for planning recurring tasks.

The Quarantine section contains the so-called quarantine manager. This is the

central point for files already placed in quarantine or for suspect files that you would
like to place in quarantine. It is also possible to send a selected file to the Avira
Malware Research Center by email.

The Scheduler section enables you to configure scheduled scanning and update jobs

and to adapt or delete existing jobs.

4.1.5 Configuration

You can define settings for your Avira product in the Configuration. After installation, your
Avira product is configured with standard settings, ensuring optimal protection for your
computer system. However, your computer system or your specific requirements for your
Avira product may mean you need to adapt the protective components of the program.

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The Configuration opens a dialog box: You can save your configuration settings via the
OK or Apply buttons, delete your settings by clicking the Cancel button or restore your
default configuration settings using the Default values button. You can select individual
configuration sections in the left-hand navigation bar.

4.1.6 Accessing the Configuration

You have several options for accessing the configuration:

 via the Windows control panel.
 via the Windows Security Center - from Windows XP Service Pack 2.
 via the Tray Icon of your Avira product.
 in the Control Center via the menu item Extras > Configuration.
 in the Control Center via the Configuration button.

Note

If you are accessing configuration via the Configuration button in the Control
Center, go to the Configuration register of the section which is active in the
Control Center. Expert mode must be activated to select individual

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configuration registers. In this case, a dialog appears asking you to activate
expert mode.

4.1.7 Configuration operation

Navigate in the configuration window as you would in Windows Explorer:

Click an entry in the tree structure to display this configuration section in the detail

window.

Click the plus symbol in front of an entry to expand the configuration section and

display configuration subsections in the tree structure.

To hide configuration subsections, click on the minus symbol in front of the

expanded configuration section.

Note

To enable or disable Configuration options and use the buttons, you can also
use the following key combinations: [Alt] + underlined letter in the option name
or button description.

Note

All configuration sections are only displayed in expert mode. Activate expert
mode to view all configuration sections. Expert mode can be protected by a

password that must be defined during activation.

If you want to confirm your Configuration settings:

Click OK.

The configuration window is closed and the settings are accepted.

- OR ­ Click Accept.

The settings are applied. The configuration window remains open.

If you want to finish configuration without confirming your settings:

Click Cancel.

The configuration window is closed and the settings are discarded.

If you want to restore all configuration settings to default values:

Click Restore defaults.

All settings of the configuration are restored to default values. All amendments

and custom entries are lost when default settings are restored.

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Overview of configuration options

The following configuration options are available:

 System Scanner: Configuration of on-demand scan

 Scan options
 Action on detection
 File scan options
 On-demand scan exceptions
 On-demand scan heuristics
 Report function setting

 Realtime Protection: Configuration of on-access scan

 Scan options
 Action on detection
 On-access scan exceptions
 On-access scan heuristics
 Report function setting

 Web Protection: Configuration of Web Protection

 Scan options, enabling and disabling the Web Protection
 Action on detection
 Blocked access: Unwanted file types and MIME types, Web filter for known unwanted

URLS (malware, phishing, etc.)

 Web Protection scan exceptions: URLs, file types, MIME types
 Web Protection heuristics
 Report function setting

 General:

 Extended risk categories for on-demand and on-access scan
 Security: Update status display, complete system scan status display, product

protection

 WMI: Enable WMI support
 Event log configuration
 Configuration of report functions
 Setting of directories used
 Update: Configuration of connection to download server, set-up of product updates
 Configuration of acoustic alerts when malware is detected

4.1.8 Tray icon

After installation, you will see the tray icon of your Avira product in the system tray of the
taskbar:

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Icon

Description

Avira Realtime Protection is
enabled

Avira Realtime Protection is
disabled

The tray icon displays the status of the Realtime Protection service.
Central functions of your Avira product can be quickly accessed via the context menu of

the tray icon. To open the context menu, click the tray icon with the right-hand mouse
button.

4.1.9 Entries in the context menu

 Activate Avira Realtime Protection: Enables or disables the Avira Realtime

Protection.

 Enable Avira Web Protection: Enables or disables the Avira Web Protection.
 Start Avira: Opens the Control Center.
 Configure Avira: Opens the Configuration
 Start update Starts an update.
 Help: opens the Online Help.
 About Avira Free Antivirus: Opens a dialog box with information on your Avira

product: Product information, Version information, License information.

 Avira on the Internet: Opens the Avira web portal on the Internet. The condition for this

is that you have an active connection to the Internet.

4.2 Toolbar

4.2.1 Overview

Avira SearchFree includes two main components: Avira Search and the Toolbar.
The Avira SearchFree is installed as an add-on. When the browser is first accessed (in

Firefox and Internet Explorer) a message will pop-up, asking you for permission to install
the toolbar. You will have to accept in order to complete a successful installation of Avira
SearchFree.

Avira Search is a search engine and contains a clickable Avira logo linked to the Avira
website and web, image and video channels. This allows Avira users a safer Internet
navigation.

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The toolbar, integrated in your web browser, consists of a search box, an Avira logo linked
to the Avira website, two status displays, three widgets and the Options menu.

 Search toolbar

Use the search toolbar for free to quickly search the Internet using the Avira search
engine.

 Status display

The status displays provide information on the status of the Web Protection and the
current update status of your Avira product and helps you identify which actions you
need to take to protect your PC.

 Widgets

Avira offers you three widgets to the most important Internet-related functions. With one
click you have direct access to Facebook and your email, or you can ensure safe web
browsing (Firefox and Internet Explorer only).

 Options

You can use the Options menu to access the toolbar options, clear the history, find
toolbar help and information and also uninstall the Avira SearchFree directly via the web
browser (Firefox and Internet Explorer only).

4.2.2 Use

Avira Search

You can use the Avira Search to define any number of terms to browse the Internet.
Enter the term in the search box and press the Enter key or click on Search. The Avira

Search engine then searches the Internet for you and displays all hits in the browser
window.

To find out how to custom configure the Avira Search in Internet Explorer, Firefox and
Chrome, go to Options.

Status display
Web Protection

The status message with information on the Web Protection status of Avira appears on the
left-hand side. You can use the icons and messages to identify which actions you need to
take to protect your PC.

Web Protection

If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Avira Web
Protection is working, your PC is protected.

No further action is necessary.

Web Protection

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If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Avira Web
Protection is turned off. Check your application to turn on Web Protection to be protected.

Update status
The status message with information on the update status of Avira appears on the right­hand side. You can use the icons and messages to identify which actions you need to take
to protect your PC.

Daily update

If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Daily update
complete, your PC is protected.

No further action is necessary.

Daily update

If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Avira is out of date.
Click here to download the latest update to keep your PC protected.

Click the yellow icon or text to update your Avira product. This is done in accordance

with the custom settings you defined in Avira Free Antivirus.

During the update, you will receive the message Updating...
After a successful update, the green icon is once again displayed with the

message Daily update complete.

Unavailable

If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Avira is unavailable.

To ensure your protection, check to make sure that your application is still installed and
running.

Click the gray icon or text to go to the Avira Help page. There you will find

instructions on what to do next.

Error

If you move the cursor over the icon, the following message appears: Avira reported an
error.

Click the gray icon or text to go to the Avira Support page.

Widgets

Avira SearchFree contains three widgets with the most important functions for the
nowadays Internet web browsing: Facebook, E-mail and Browser Security.

Facebook

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