Full scan

[Anne]

Ful scans are now taking a lot longer than they used to. Initially I could do a FULL scan in 1 hour 40 minutes (212888 files) I have removed a lot of unwanted files and a FULL scan now takes 4 hours 54 minutes (155347 files).

My  laptop is Lenovo TAB 3 essential running Windows 10. My browser is Microsoft Edge. Sincerely hope that someone can shed some light on what my slow problem is. Thanks

[ritchie58]

Hi Anne,

There a number of factors that determines how long a Full Scan takes.

First, of course, is how much "stuff" you have on your hard drive such as back-up files, installed third-party software packages, pictures, music files, etc...

The settings you use can also increase scan times. For instance if you enable Scan Packed Files & Scan Archive Files and have a number of compressed files that will be scanned. Since most malware comes as a compressed file it is recommended to use these settings however. Having the ClamAV module enabled will also increase scan times.

Another thing that can increase the time is 'when' you started your scan. Sometimes if you start a scan during 'off-peak hours' that can reduce the scan time. Doing a Full Scan during the early morning or later evening hours can help since the servers are not quite as busy at those times.

Something else that can affect scan times is how fast you ISP's internet connection is. A slower DSL connection may take longer then a fast broadband connection for instance.

Finally, if you are doing other things with your PC (such as browsing the internet, listening to music files, viewing image or video files, etc...) while the scan is taking place will increase the time too. It is best to close any open apps before starting the scan & just run the Full Scan without opening any new apps during that time.

Personally speaking 'I simply run a Scheduled Flash Scan every day' as that's quite fast and only run a Full Scan if I notice unusual OS behavior or something else that warrants further investigation. A Flash Scan will look at the most critical components of your Operating System that most forms of malware would likely attach itself.

Cheers, Ritchie...

P.S. - This is off topic but wanted to mention I recently installed the newest version of Microsoft Edge x64 for Win 10 and have to admit I rather like that browser too! This is coming from someone who was a die hard Mozilla Firefox fan for years! I find Edge fast, low on system resources & just as secure as FF. You can even install some of the same extensions that FF uses. A few of my favorites that I can still use with Edge & is available at the Microsoft Store is No-Script, AdBlock Plus & Ghostery. I'm also using Cookie AutoDelete with Edge too.