Is Norton antivirus serious in its work? (Why is it possible to exclude files from scanning?) Thread poster: Narasimhan Raghavan
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While scanning for virus you get to see the following steps listed to the left of the scanning mask of the Norton antivirus.
1 Scan progress
2 Repair wizard
Fix
Quarantine
Delete
Exclude
3 Summary
All the entries are ok except Exclude. I will elaborate. There was this "dialer.kotu" detected by the virus scan. The delete column was selected and I clicked it. Immediately there was this red letter intimation that the delete failed. Now the sel... See more While scanning for virus you get to see the following steps listed to the left of the scanning mask of the Norton antivirus.
1 Scan progress
2 Repair wizard
Fix
Quarantine
Delete
Exclude
3 Summary
All the entries are ok except Exclude. I will elaborate. There was this "dialer.kotu" detected by the virus scan. The delete column was selected and I clicked it. Immediately there was this red letter intimation that the delete failed. Now the selection bar went to exclude and I was supposed to click ok to that. I didn't. On having a closer look at things, I was given to understand this clicking will result in getting the file containing the said virus excluded from future scans. I ask you. Can you get more irresponsible? Does one think out there that the problem will go away? In fact I clicked the skip button for 3 consecutive scans over a few days. On the fourth attempt the virus was deleted. Now things are ok. Has anyone else experienced such things?
Regards,
N.Raghavan
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2004-10-10 09:47] ▲ Collapse
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Jerzy Czopik 
Germany
Local time: 06:17
Member (2003)
Polish to German
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| You seem to misunderstand some things | Oct 10, 2004 |
Exclude does (should) not mean excluding from future scans.
AFAIR NAV does either delete or isolate infected files. In my eyes it works similar as any other anti virus software. Maybe it is not the best, but if you actualise your virus data base regular, you should be well protected.
What happend to you would even confirm this - obviously after the data base was actualised, NAV was able to process the virus, which should have been isolated until hen.
I have the german NA... See more Exclude does (should) not mean excluding from future scans.
AFAIR NAV does either delete or isolate infected files. In my eyes it works similar as any other anti virus software. Maybe it is not the best, but if you actualise your virus data base regular, you should be well protected.
What happend to you would even confirm this - obviously after the data base was actualised, NAV was able to process the virus, which should have been isolated until hen.
I have the german NAV, so maybe the menus are called different, but nevertheless you should be able to locate the following: after starting (opening) NAV you should see on the left side: Status / Check for virus / Reports / Further tools. If you click on reports, then you will see on the right side: Isolated elements / Virus encyclopedia / Protokoll file. Open the isolated elements and delete all files there.
Regards
Jerzy ▲ Collapse
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| "Yes i too faced this problem" | Oct 10, 2004 |
Hello Narsimhan,
Few days ago i too faced the same problem, but one small change in the experience, i didn't pressed the exclude button, i checked the options of the scanning and changed them, then i could sucessfully deleted the virus.
If we select the exclude button the virus file will be excluded from the scanning list and it will create problem for the other files, so it is better to change the options and delete the file,i did it and it worked and ... See more Hello Narsimhan,
Few days ago i too faced the same problem, but one small change in the experience, i didn't pressed the exclude button, i checked the options of the scanning and changed them, then i could sucessfully deleted the virus.
If we select the exclude button the virus file will be excluded from the scanning list and it will create problem for the other files, so it is better to change the options and delete the file,i did it and it worked and my computer is safe now.
Regards.,
Satish. ▲ Collapse
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| Then what else does Exclude mean Sir? | Oct 10, 2004 |
"Exclude does (should) not mean excluding from future scans."
Then what else does Exclude mean Sir? Believe me. I posted this after careful scrutiny. My intention is not to belittle NAV but only to express my amazement at such apparently irresponsible advice. The four options namely "Fix Quarantine Delete Exclude" are given in that order and it is not about the quarantined viruses I am speaking. With Exclude I checked and saw very clearly that it meant exactly that. That is to say t... See more "Exclude does (should) not mean excluding from future scans."
Then what else does Exclude mean Sir? Believe me. I posted this after careful scrutiny. My intention is not to belittle NAV but only to express my amazement at such apparently irresponsible advice. The four options namely "Fix Quarantine Delete Exclude" are given in that order and it is not about the quarantined viruses I am speaking. With Exclude I checked and saw very clearly that it meant exactly that. That is to say the concerned file will not be included in the future virus scans. What I have written has been confirmed by another posting subsequent to yours. Had I excluded the virus, I am afraid I would have been exposed to the virus but without any warning this time.
Regards,
N.Raghavan ▲ Collapse
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| Could you please be more elaborate in explaining your experiment Satish? | Oct 10, 2004 |
It will benefit all of us. What changes did you make in the options? And what do you think of the Exclude option?
Regards,
N.Raghavan
satish itikela wrote:
Few days ago i too faced the same problem, but one small change in the experience, i didn't pressed the exclude button, i checked the options of the scanning and changed them, then i could sucessfully deleted the virus.
If we select the exclude button the virus file will be excluded from the scanning list and it will create problem for the other files, so it is better to change the options and delete the file,i did it and it worked and my computer is safe now. Satish.
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Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 06:17
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
have you take a look at the NAV help file?
You are right, what "Exclude" means, but as far I understood the german help file, if you then click on "Skip" you do not exclude the file from further scanning.
There is an advice, what you should do, if you encounter such behaviour of NAV. As I´m not able to translate the german help into English, so perhaphs you could be so kind and take a look at the help file.
Regards
Jerzy
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Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 06:17
English to German
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| Which version are you using? | Oct 10, 2004 |
Hi Narasimhan,
Can you please provide details as to which version of NAV you're using? It's very difficult to answer any technical request without being aware of the exact version we're talking about...
It would also be helpful to quote the precise messages you received. There can be various reasons why the deletion failed at this point - for instance (and depending on your settings...), the file could have been quarantined already, in which case you would need t... See more Hi Narasimhan,
Can you please provide details as to which version of NAV you're using? It's very difficult to answer any technical request without being aware of the exact version we're talking about...
It would also be helpful to quote the precise messages you received. There can be various reasons why the deletion failed at this point - for instance (and depending on your settings...), the file could have been quarantined already, in which case you would need to access the quarantine area to delete it there.
Generally, Exclude can be a very useful function, which allows to exclude either certain file types, or specific files from checking. Once an infected file has been identified, it's the system operator's/administrator's job to decide what to do with it. For instance, the admin might want to submit an infected file to Symantec for checking, or might wait for a utility to repair the file. In that scenario, each scan would trigger a new alert on a file that's already known as being infected.
The software gives system admins full flexibility in how to handle threats. Frankly, I cannot see why this would be "irresponsible"...
Best regards,
Ralf ▲ Collapse
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Robert Zawadzki (X)
Local time: 06:17
English to Polish
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| This 'Exclude' makes sense | Oct 10, 2004 |
NAV kept finding a virus in a sample Microsoft app (from MSDN) i compiled myself (and I was as sure as one can be there was no virus on a drive before). So what else to do? Exclude, and the problem is gone. There has to be such an option in a package that uses heuristics. Perhaps using it should be difficult...
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| It is Norton Internet Security professional | Oct 10, 2004 |
"Can you please provide details as to which version of NAV you're using? It's very difficult to answer any technical request without being aware of the exact version we're talking about...
It would also be helpful to quote the precise messages you received. There can be various reasons why the deletion failed at this point - for instance (and depending on your settings...), the file could have been quarantined already, in which case you would need to access the quarantine are... See more "Can you please provide details as to which version of NAV you're using? It's very difficult to answer any technical request without being aware of the exact version we're talking about...
It would also be helpful to quote the precise messages you received. There can be various reasons why the deletion failed at this point - for instance (and depending on your settings...), the file could have been quarantined already, in which case you would need to access the quarantine area to delete it there."
I don't know the version number. As for the exact message, I am sorry I didn't write them down. But exclude meant just what it said. I didn't press it to see what would happen, the careful old man that I am.
"The software gives system admins full flexibility in how to handle threats. Frankly, I cannot see why this would be "irresponsible"..."
I agree with you Ralf. Hence I said "apparently irresponsible", as I was not sure myself but was only expressing my amazement at this option. I pressed the skip option and in the end after 2 or 3 attempts obver a few days the virus was successfully deleted.
Regards,
N.Raghavan
[quote]Ralf Lemster wrote: ▲ Collapse
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Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 06:17
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| This confirms, what I supposed | Oct 10, 2004 |
Narasimhan Raghavan wrote:
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I pressed the skip option and in the end after 2 or 3 attempts obver a few days the virus was successfully deleted.
It means, that after some days your NAV actualised its virus data base and was able to delete the file. But no harm was done to your PC furthermore. This is what I understood from the help file. Excluding makes sense for files, as rzawadzk described - when you are sure, these are not infected or you hve other reasons to exclude them.
Regards
Jerzy
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| Now I am convinced that Exclude option makes sense | Oct 10, 2004 |
But my circumstances were a little different. It was a dialer kotu constantly coming up thanks to the action of a file avpx.exe. I checked through google. This dialer had the nasty habit of disconnecting my dishnet connection and offering to connect through a "New Dialup connection". Each time I had to manually redial the dishnet connection and shift-delete the new dial up connection after getting it into disconnected mode from the connecting mode. Really irritating that. It was after failing to... See more But my circumstances were a little different. It was a dialer kotu constantly coming up thanks to the action of a file avpx.exe. I checked through google. This dialer had the nasty habit of disconnecting my dishnet connection and offering to connect through a "New Dialup connection". Each time I had to manually redial the dishnet connection and shift-delete the new dial up connection after getting it into disconnected mode from the connecting mode. Really irritating that. It was after failing to delete the avpx.exe that NAV proposed the Exclude option. Now my question: Was it reasonable to go in for the Exclude option at this juncture? What do you feel personally? As such it appeared to be a childish way of playing ostrich. Hence my amazement at this apparently irresponsible advice. Believe me, I am second to none in admiring NAV. All the more reason for this thread.
Thankfully now the avpx.exe is deleted after refusing to exclude that file from scanning and having pressed skip button each time the exclude was offered.
For avpx.exe see google:
"SWI Forums > avpx.exe keeps appearing on c:\ root
Full Version: avpx.exe keeps appearing on c:\ root. ...
forums.spywareinfo.com/ lofiversion/index.php/t28470.html - 11k - Cached - Similar pages" and other hits.
Regards,
N.Raghavan
rzawadzk wrote:
NAV kept finding a virus in a sample Microsoft app (from MSDN) i compiled myself (and I was as sure as one can be there was no virus on a drive before). So what else to do? Exclude, and the problem is gone. There has to be such an option in a package that uses heuristics. Perhaps using it should be difficult... ▲ Collapse
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Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:17
Russian to English
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In memoriam | Version number | Oct 10, 2004 |
If you want to find the version number go to:
Help > About Norton AntiVirus > "Norton AntiVirus" tab - and you should see the version number.
I have NAV 2005 but I imagine it would be the same for previous versions. You can usually find the version number in something like this way for most software.
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| Not all detected "virus" are bad... | Oct 10, 2004 |
Narasimhan Raghavan wrote:
"Exclude does (should) not mean excluding from future scans."
Then what else does Exclude mean Sir? Believe me. I posted this after careful scrutiny. The four options namely "Fix Quarantine Delete Exclude" ...
N.Raghavan
You have to consider that some Programs are detected every time as dangerous but for you it could be O.K., like dialers, just a way to access to a special service
Dialers are not bad per se.
Regards
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| avpx.exe fix | Oct 18, 2004 |
if this thread is still alive i was just wondering how did u exactly get rid of the avpx.exe dialer ?
you help would greatly be appreaciated i am getting frustrated at this !
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| Here is what I did | Oct 18, 2004 |
bubbleghost wrote:
if this thread is still alive i was just wondering how did u exactly get rid of the avpx.exe dialer ?
you help would greatly be appreaciated i am getting frustrated at this !
Keep the NAV updated. Repeat the entire system scan daily. Refuse to exclude the file from scan (this option caused this thread in the first place). One day you will be lucky to delete it.
In my case this virus went on disonnecting my dishnet connection and offering to connect through a newly self-created dialup connection. Keep on deleting the new dial up connection.
I checked in google. Not much help there either.
Regards,
N.Raghavan
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