Avast For Mac File System Shield

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Core Shields are the main protection components in Avast Antivirus. The Core Shields are: File Shield, Behavior Shield, Web Shield, and Mail Shield. By default, all Core Shields are enabled to provide optimal protection. Avast Antivirus shields actively analyze suspicious information both sent from and received to your PC, as well as potentially malicious content stored within your PC. These components detect and block malicious files, dangerous websites, unauthorized connections, and other threats.

  1. Avast Web Shield Disabled
  2. Mac File System Format
  3. Avast For Mac Review

Enable or Disable all Core Shields

Core Shields are your PC's main defense against malware. All shields are enabled by default for your protection, but all the shields can be instantly disabled for troubleshooting purposes. To disable all Core Shields temporarily:

  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings.
  2. Select Protection ▸ Core Shields.
  3. Click the slider so that it turns to red (OFF), and select the duration of time Core Shields will be disabled.

All Core Shields are now temporarily disabled. To enable all Core Shields, follow steps 1-2 above, then click the red slider so that it changes to green (ON).

Avast Mac Security offers three shields, on-demand scanning and WebRep clients which are automatically (optionally) installed to Safari, Chrome and Firefox browsers. Our Web Shield and Mail Shield combine to check the vast majority of incoming data from the Internet, while File Shield scans all programs stored and executed from your hard drive. Avast for Mac Free Download & Installation. Avast for Mac is unfortunately not available on iTunes or App Store. But you can simply download Avast Free Mac Security using the link below: From the Official Avast Servers. After you finish the download you can proceed with the installation. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac offers three shields – File Shield to scan for programs stored and executed from your hard drive, Web Shield and Mail Shield to check incoming data from the internet. This Avast Free antivirus for Mac still unfinished with bugs and in Beta stage may not recommended to run on a working system.

Configure Core Shields sensitivity

In this section of the Core Shields settings, you can determine the sensitivity of the shields. The higher the sensitivity, the higher the protection and potential for false positive malware detections. Reducing the sensitivity reduces the chance of false positive detections, but may also reduce the effectiveness of the Core Shields. Sensitivity is set to Medium sensitivity by default, but can also be set to High sensitivity or Low sensitivity. To change your Core Shields sensitivity:

  • Click and hold the white marker, then slide it to your desired sensitivity setting.

Configure Core Shields behavior

In this section of the Core Shields settings, select the tab for Virus or Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), and define the actions to be performed when each type of virus is found on your PC. Configure the following behavior settings:

  1. Actions: select which action Avast applies when a Viruses and Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) are detected. We recommend selecting Fix automatically.
  2. Enable CyberCapture Technology: define how you want to treat a threat on your PC. You can select Always block a threat to allow Avast to block the threat automatically, or Ask me about decision to receive a notification every time a threat is detected on your PC.
  3. Enable Hardened Mode: uses information based on reputation services to determine which executable files are safe to open.
  4. Enable Rootkit detection: enables Avast to monitor hidden malicious threats in the system. Unticking this option may resolve potential compatibility issues that can cause system crashes.
  5. Enable Exploit detection: enables Avast to detect and block attempts to run malicious threats or processes in the memory from exploiting vulnerable applications on your PC. Unticking this option may result in potential compatibility issues that can cause system crashes.

Enable or disable an individual shield

  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings.
  2. Select Protection ▸ Core Shields.
  3. Scroll to the Configure shield settings section and ensure the Field Shield tab is selected. Choose your preferred action:
    • Untick the box next to Enable File Shield to disable File Shield and select the duration of time File Shield should be disabled.
    • Tick the box next to Enable File Shield to enable File Shield.
  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings.
  2. Select Protection ▸ Core Shields.
  3. Scroll to the Configure shield settings section and click the Behavior Shield tab. Choose your preferred action:
    • Untick the box next to Enable Behavior Shield to disable Behavior Shield and select the duration of time Behavior Shield should be disabled.
    • Tick the box next to Enable Behavior Shield to enable Behavior Shield.
  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings.
  2. Select Protection ▸ Core Shields.
  3. Scroll to the Configure shield settings section and click the Web Shield tab. Choose your preferred action:
    • Untick the box next to Enable Web Shield to disable Web shield and select the duration of time Web Shield should be disabled.
    • Tick the box next to Enable Web Shield to enable Web Shield.
  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings.
  2. Select Protection ▸ Core Shields.
  3. Scroll to the Configure shield settings section and click the Mail Shield tab:
    • Untick the box next to Enable Mail Shield to disable Mail Shield and select the duration of time Web Shield should be disabled.
    • Tick the box next to Enable Mail Shield to enable Mail Shield.

You can also enable/disable all Core Shields, Firewall, and Real Site at once from the system tray. Malwarebytes for mac. Right-click the Avast system tray icon and select Avast shields control, then select an action from the context menu.

We strongly recommend you keep all crucial security components, such as Antivirus shields and Firewall, enabled to ensure your maximum protection. We do not recommend turning off these components indefinitely by selecting the Stop permanently or Disable permanently options.

Configure individual Shield settings

File System Shield actively scans all programs and files on your hard drive as they are opened, run, modified, and saved. If malware is detected, File System Shield prevents the program or file from infecting your PC.

To modify your File Shield settings, open the Avast user interface, go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Protection ▸ Core Shields, and scroll to the Configure shield settings section. Select the File System Shield tab. Configure the following settings:

  • Enable File Shield: turn File Shield on or off.
  • Scan auto-run items when removable media is attached: specify whether you want File System Shield to scan removable drives for auto-run viruses.
  • Scan recommended extensions: specify if File Shield should scan all files or only those recommended by Avast.
  • Scan all files: specify if File Shield should scan all files or only those recommended by Avast
  • Scan programs when executing: specify whether you want File System Shield to scan programs, scripts, or libraries each time they are run.
  • Scan files when opening: specify which file types you want File System Shield to scan each time the files are opened.
  • Scan files when writing: specify the file types you want File System Shield to scan while the files are being created or modified.
  • Generate report file: specify whether you want File System Shield to produce reports of scan results.

Behavior Shield monitors programs installed on your PC for suspicious behavior that may indicate the presence of malicious code.

To modify your Behavior Shield settings, open the Avast user interface, go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Protection ▸ Core Shields, and scroll to the Configure shield settings section. Select the Behavior Shield tab. Configure the following settings:

Avast Web Shield Disabled

  • Enable Behavior Shield: turn Behavior Shield on or off.
  • Generate report file: specify whether you want Behavior Shield to produce reports of scan results.

Web Shield actively scans data that is transferred when you browse the internet to prevent malware from being downloaded and run on your PC.

To modify your Web Shield settings, open the Avast user interface, go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Protection ▸ Core Shields, and scroll to the Configure shield settings section. Select the Web Shield tab. Configure the following settings:

  • Enable Web Shield: turn Web Shield on or off.
  • Enable Web scanning: specify if Web Shield should scan all downloaded files.
  • Enable HTTPS scanning: specify if Web shield should scan encrypted websites.
  • Enable QUIC/HTT3 scanning: specify if Web shield should scan communications sent and received via Google's QUIC protocol.
  • Enable Script scanning: specify if Web Shield should block malicious scripts from applications and websites. This includes remote threats from the web and outside sources, and local threats saved to disk or in the browser cache. Script scanning can also detect and block malicious scripts that come from HTTPS (encrypted) connections.
  • Enable site blocking: allows you to block access to specific websites. Click Show Blocked Websites and type the website address to add a website to the list. Then, click +Add Website to add another website to the list, or Close to confirm the addition and return to Web Shield settings.
  • Generate report file: specify whether you want Web Shield to produce reports of scan results.

Mail Shield scans for threats in your incoming and outgoing email messages. Scanning applies only to messages sent or received using mail management software, such as Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird.

To modify your Mail Shield settings, open the Avast user interface, go to ☰Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Protection ▸ Core Shields, and scroll to the Configure shield settings section. Select the Mail Shield tab. Configure the following settings:

  • Enable Mail Shield: turn Mail Shield on or off.
  • Scan inbound e-mails (POP3, IMAP4): specify if Mail Shield should scan all incoming emails sent using an SSL/TLS encrypted connection.
  • Scan outbound e-mails (SMTP): specify if Mail Shield should scan all outbound emails sent using an SSL/TLS encrypted connection.
  • Add a signature to the end of sent emails: includes a message for the recipient in an outgoing email confirming the email has been scanned for malware and is clean.
  • Mark in subject of mail containing a virus: specify a specific word or phrase that will automatically be added to the subject of any email containing a virus.
  • Scan attachment when attaching (Microsoft Outlook only): enable Mail Shield to scan outgoing email attachments sent with Microsoft Outlook.
  • Generate report file: specify whether you want File System Shield to produce reports of scan results.
  • Avast Premium Security 19.x
  • Avast Free Antivirus 19.x
  • Avast Omni 1.x
  • Avast Premier 19.x
  • Avast Internet Security 19.x
  • Avast Pro Antivirus 19.x
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Home / Pro / Enterprise / Education - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 / Pro / Enterprise - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 8 / Pro / Enterprise - 32 / 64-bit
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic / Home Premium / Professional / Enterprise / Ultimate - Service Pack 1, 32 / 64-bit

In very rare cases, Avast may detect and block some programsor website pages as a virus, although you know for sure it’s safe. These wrong detections are called false positives. If such false-positive detection prevails after the virus definitions update, you may want to exclude the detected software or website from the Avast scan.

This is a perfect fix when Avast is blocking one of your favorite programs, but you still want to run/allow it. In the past, Avast was blocking some of the most popular software (Steam for example) for a short period of time. To be fair false-positive detection happens basically to every antivirus on the market, it’s not just Avast.

Anyway, we strongly recommend scanning the file/webpage also through some other virus engines to make sure it’s really clean. For this, you can use a free online scanner VirusTotal. Sometimes you may think the file/URL are safe but they are actually infected and it’s not just Avast which is detecting them.

Quick Summary

  1. Make sure the blocked file or webpage is not malicious by testing it at www.virustotal.com
  2. Add it as an exception by going to Settings » General » Exclusions
  3. Confirm by clicking OK

Read more detailed steps and other options including screenshots below.

In this guide, you will learn how, but we strongly suggest using exclusions only when you’re an advanced user. There are three basic types of exclusions/exceptions in the Avast Antivirus 2019:

  • Global exclusion list of the folder/file/program/application from being scanned at all
  • Global exclusion list of the website/URL from being scanned at all
  • Exclusions in the specific shield (File System Shield, Mail Shield, or Web Shield)

Global Whitelist – Exclude Specific Folder/File/Program/Application from All Avast Scans

If you want to add the exception for the specific website, domain, or URL from being scanned by Avast, follow these steps. This is so-called Global Whitelist or Exclusion List.

Should I just go with another antivirus? What's happening? Avast for mac cpu usage. When I turn of the Avast firewalls the CPU usage goes back to the normal 5%.

  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ‘Settings‘ » ‘General‘
  2. Find the tab ‘Exclusions‘ and add specific programs to the ‘File paths‘ tab
  3. Added applications and/or paths will now be excluded from any Avast scanning

Adding File/Folder/Program Exception into Avast 2019

On the screenshot above you can see that application ‘FileZilla FTP Client‘ and ‘DAEMON Tools Lite‘ are excluded. Such exceptions also apply to all sub-folders on these folders as we have used ‘/*’ in the path.

Global Whitelist – Exclude Specific Website/URL from All Avast Scans

If you want to add the exception for the specific Avast shield, follow these steps.

  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ‘Settings‘ » ‘General‘
  2. Find the tab ‘Exclusions‘ and add specific websites or URLs in the ‘Urls‘ tab. Please note ‘http://’ will be added automatically, so if you want to exclude Yahoo, just type yahoo.com. Please note you need to differentiate between ‘http://’ and ‘https://’
  3. Added websites/URLs will now be excluded from any Avast scanning

Adding Website/Domain/URL Exception into Avast 2019

On the screenshot above you can see that URLs ‘https://www.gmail.com‘ and ‘http(s)://.gmail.com‘ are excluded. Such exception also applies to all pages on these domains as we have used ‘/*’ in the path.

Add Exception for Specific Avast Antivirus Shield (File System Shield, Mail Shield, or Web Shield)

If you want to add the exception for the specific Avast shield, follow the steps further.

  1. Open the Avast user interface and go to ‘Settings‘ » ‘Active Protection‘
  2. Select the shield (File System, Mail, or Web) for which you want to add the exception, and click on ‘Customize’ link
  3. Find the menu item ‘Exclusions‘ and add the item you want to exclude from scanning by the specific Avast shield. You can also specify when the exclusion applies (for reading, writing, or executing)
  4. Please note that global exclusions are always applied although they aren’t listed in the specific shield. Also please note a lot of items are listed there by default

Adding Specific Shield (File System, Mail, or Web) Exception into Avast 2019

On the screenshot above, you can see many items are excluded from the File System Shield scan by default. We haven’t added any of them.

[IMPORTANT] Restart All Avast Shields to Make Exclusion Work

After you successfully add the file or webpage to exclusions you need to actually restart all Avast shields to make it work. Otherwise, Avast will keep detecting and blocking it as a threat.

  1. Find Avast icon in the Windows system tray (click on the top arrow)
  2. Go to ‘Avast shields control‘ » ‘Disable for 10 minutes‘ » confirm
  3. Go again back to ‘Avast shields control‘ » ‘Enable all shields‘

Restarting All Avast Shields From the Windows System Tray

Now Avast should stop detecting the added files/URLs in the exclusions. You can also simply just restart your Windows.

Report a False Positive Detection to Avast

We also strongly suggest reporting the detection you believe is a false positive directly to Avast team. They will look into it and eventually confirm the reported file, software, or website is clean.

Link to report is included on every in-product pop-up displayed when the harmful webpage or file is blocked. Just click on ‘Report the file as a false positive‘.

Avast Web Shield Has Blocked a Harmful Webpage or File Pop-up

Then you need to fill-in following simple form. In the additional info, you can add a link from VirusTotal scan. Don’t forget to check the option ‘I know what I’m doing‘ and click on ‘Submit‘.

Avast In-product Form for Reporting False Positive Detection of Files or Websites

Alternatively, you can use the official web form for reporting false positive detection.

Official Avast Web Form for Reporting False Positive Detection of Files or Websites

Additional Notes

Although we have used Avast Free Antivirus 2019 screenshots in this article, these steps are also applicable for all Avast Antivirus solutions (i.e. also for Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, or Avast Premier) running the latest version available.

Mac File System Format

Steps are relevant for all Windows versions – Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (including Anniversary Update).

Avast For Mac Review

Managing exceptions or turning off Avast protection may leave your computer at risk.